THE NGO WAY _ PERSPECTIVES AND EXP 1ENCES FROM THAHLAND Qdited by SHINICHI SHIGETOMI KASIAN TEJAPIRA | APICHART THONGYOU INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPING ECONOMIES JAPAN EXTERNAL TRADE ORGANIZATION CHIBA, ]APAN institute of Developing Economies, ]apart External Trade Organization 3-2-2, Wakaba, Mlllama-ku, Chiba-shl, Chiba 261-8545, Japan A11 rights reserved. Published 2004 Printed in Bangkok, Thailand I5BN4-258-55069-8 C3033 CONTENTS Preface i List of Contributors iv Map of Thailand V l. Introduction 1 Shinichi Shigetomi 2. The Emergence of NGO Movement in Thailand 21 and the Sarit Regime Kalian Tejapira 3. Spaces and Performance of NGOs in Thailand: 39 Their Transformation in the Development Process Shinichi Shigetomi 4. Funding for NGOs in Thailand: 61 The Politics of Money in the Nonprofit Sector Garvin Chuzfima 5. The Thai Monarchy and Non-governmental Oganisations 99 Charita Chitbundid, Chaithawat Thufathon, and Thanapol Eawsakul 6. Thai NGOs and Rural Development: 147 Formation, Growth, and Branching Out Alic/wrt Thongyou 7. The Roles of NGOs in the Context of Urban Areas 183 Ma neerat Mitprasat 8. The Government - NGO Coordination of Environmental 211 Protection in Thailand Weerawot Pooh pissaro 9. NGOs on Children's and Women's Issues: With Special 249 Emphasis on the Fight Against Child Exploitation (FACE) Sudarat Sereewat 10. The Thai NGO Movement on Health 271 Barztorn Orzdatn 11. NGOs as Political Actors in Thailand: Their Development and 289 Strategies in the Democratization and Human Rights Movements Shirzichi Shigetomi PREFACE In 2000, one of the editors of this report (Shinichi Shigetomi) was collecting data on the development of the NGO sector in Thailand, in order to contrib- ute to a comparative study of State-NGO relationships in Asian countries. Despite the fact that NGOs were widely accepted as important players in Thai economic, social, and political development, their activities were not well-documented. For example, in the field of rural development, which attracted many voluntary workers until the mid~l980s, we do not have any comprehensive reports about the development of NGOs. Shigetoini, therefore, interviewed NGO activists and ex-activists, which was indispensable with regard to filling in the gaps in information. The interviewees talked about their exciting experiences in the 1970s and 1980s, accounts of which had rarely appeared in the historiography of Thai economic and political development. It would have been regrettable if their memories had disappeared without any written record. In 2001, Shigetomi was assigned by the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE) to implement a joint research project with Thai scholars in Thailand during the 2003 fiscal year (April 2003 - March 2004). Shigetomi proposed the above NGO study. Although the actual period of project implementation will be short (nine months from August 2003, since Shigetomi is scheduled to stay in the United States until July), it seems long enough to record the experiences of NGO workers. Shigetoini contacted Apichart Thongyou, one of the pioneer NGO work- ers in the rural development sector. Apichart had been one of Shigetolni's interviewees in 2000 and the person whose exciting experiences stimulated Shigetomi to come up with the above research idea. Apichart accepted the proposal and persuaded some NGO workers and scholars to participate in the study project. Meanwhile, Shigetoini invited Kasian Tejapira, a political scientist at Thammasat University, to join the project as well. Keiser is not a special~ ist in NGO issues. However, Shigetomi expected that he would contribute by analyzing the political backgrounds of the NGO movements, since he had been studying the leftist movements in Thailand. Kasian proposed adding some chapters that discuss interesting topics related to NGOs, such i as NGO funding, the discourses of NGOs, and the relationship between the monarchy and NGOs. In this way, a rough draft of the study emerged as a mixture of chapters describing the experiences of NGOs by sector and chapters analyzing NGO~related topics. The members of the study team were a mixture of NGO staff and scholars. We have had six meetings over a period of nine months. The discus- sion has been unexpectedly exciting. Each member presented what he or she has been doing and is going to write in the final paper. Every presentation was welcomed with many questions and comments. Kasian actively moderated and stimulated the discussion. Some members carried out field surveys in the provinces, even though they were quite busy with their regular activities. In spite of the limited time available for the project implementation, the participants worked with high motivation. This research was possible because the National Research Council of Thailand and the Faculty of Political Science at Thammasat'University allowed Shigetomi to conduct his research in Thailand. The project has re- ceived assistance from many individuals and organizations. This space is too limited to mention all their names, but we would like to express special thanks to Dr Chaiwat Satha-Anand (Thammasat University), Dr Maniemai Thongyou (Khon Kaen University), Dr Anek Laothamatas (Member of Parliament), NGO Coordinating Committee on Development, and all the OD workers of the Northeast Rural Development Association (NERDA). Mr Somphot Son boon and Ms Korakoch Sirichoke translated some parts of this volume. The JETRO Bangkok office provided the meeting place and other facilities for this project. Jirapa Khunlub, a graduate of Thammasat University, was helpful in assisting with research and editing. Lastly, we appreciate the efficient editing and printing by Co-Local Co.,Ltd. March, 2004 The Editors 11 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Apichart Thongyou Secretary General, Sawasdee Foundation, Thailand Bar torn On dam Chairman, Human Settlement Foundation, Thailand Chaithawat Thulathon Researcher, Fa Dian Kan Publishing, Thailand Chanida Chitbundid Graduate student, Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology Thammasat University, Thailand Garvin Chutima Resource Mobilization Director, Thai Fund Foundation, Thailand Kasian Tejapira Associate Professor, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University, Thailand Maneerat Mitprasat College of Politics and Governance, Mafias arakham University, Thailand Shinichi Shigetomi Oversea Research Associate, Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO, Japan Visiting Scholar, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University, Thailand Sudarat Sereewat Director, Fight Against Child Exploitation (FACE), Thailand Thanapol Eawsakul Researcher, Fa Dian Kan Publishing, Thailand Weerawat Paphussaro Director, NGO and Private Sector Collaboration, Department of Environmental Quality Promotion, Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment, Thailand iv