PostBag
Your Postbag letters of July 1 were somewhat mistaken about the current furore over the Preah Vihear temple: "PAD fooling the people" and "Nationalist bombast a little too late". The outcry is not over the temple's ownership but more over this government's involvement in Cambodia's solo application to the World Heritage Committee.
Twice in the past, Cambodia submitted a bid on its own to the World Heritage Committee and in both cases they were deferred for Thailand's participation.
Thailand's stance has always been for a joint application since almost the whole mountain and the sensible approach to the temple belong to Thailand.
However, on June 18, this government via the foreign minister, succeeded in reducing the worthiness of that chip to zilch by issuing a joint communique concluded with the deputy prime minister of Cambodia and with Unesco's officer as a witness, supporting Cambodia's solo application.
The power of the minister in concluding this communique has now been questioned and labelled by some as ultra vires, which the minister had no right to sign. The Administrative Court has now agreed and issued a temporary injunction to the ministry not to validate that communique.
Thailand is mature enough not to doubt the decision of the World Court but is more concerned with the conduct of our foreign minister. Without following the line of argument on historical demarcation, using one's common sense, that mountain inclusive of that temple should have either exclusively belonged to Cambodia or to Thailand. It is somewhat odd for someone to be the owner of a building atop a cliff while the remaining area is owned by another party.
Therefore, Thailand's claim for a joint application for the temple and surrounding areas, including the temple approach, is least demanding and should have been accepted by Cambodia for joint benefit.
SONGDEJ PRADITSMANONT
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US gun laws
Naturally, a controversial ruling by the US Supreme Court is going to have its detractors. I'd like to add my two baht's worth.
Firstly, most Americans know that perhaps with the exception of trade or national security issues, what we do in America doesn't affect Thailand much. However, I see that undercurrent of English or European attempt at humour regarding our gun laws. Most of us honestly don't much care what your opinions are. It is a right set down in our Constitution which we enjoy and which certainly the English and many other European countries have given up and lost.
As such, crime rates in those countries are climbing rapidly while the crime rate in the US is generally dropping - with the exception of a few horrible cities such as Washington DC, where until recently the only people with guns were the criminals. In most states in America, if you invade my home I shoot you and that's the end of it. May sound strange to you, but we like it and have no intention of changing it.Yes, we do have the occasional nutcase taking a gun into a school or some such location and shooting people.
I'm still upset that at the beginning of World War Two thousands of our citizens donated their private weapons to be sent to England so that the citizens of that country could "fight them on the beaches". And they didn't bother to send them back. And then their government took them all away.
So, you guys do it your way and we'll do it ours. Remember, when seconds count, the police are just minutes away!
UNCLE HO
HERE'S MORE: In reference to the excerpts of former foreign minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon's UCLA commencement speech, which appeared in the Bangkok Post's June 21, 2008 issue (Opinion & Analysis, page 9), readers can now listen to the entire speech via podcast by clicking on the following website: http://www.international.ucla.edu/. In addition, some of Mr Kantathi's other recent speeches can be listened to at as well as at http://aparc. stanford.edu/events/5330.
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