The Preah Vihear debate should now go beyond nationalistic furore - which may have been founded by the politicisation of the issue by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and later on by members of parliament, who are charging something just short of treason was committed in allowing the unchallenged loss of sovereignty over some 4.6 square kilometres of land to Cambodia.
To date, Unesco's 1972 Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage protects 851 properties of outstanding universal value, including 660 cultural, 166 natural and 25 mixed properties in 141 State Parties.
Despite concerns about a political backlash similar to the ransacking of the Thai Embassy in 2003, the Cambodian public and media are reacting calmly to the raging controversy over Preah Vihear temple here in Thailand .
'Good laws are necessary for rights, but good laws do not guarantee rights." Dr David Feingold spoke the words that seemed to be the theme of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) panel discussion on citizenship for the highland people of Thailand at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) recently.
COMMENTARY
Grumpy friends complain to me in exasperation these days about the current state of our country. They wonder when peace will ever prevail again and say it is bad enough that everything is so expensive, but our fellow countrymen are adding more headaches by staging protests and causing unrest.
EDITORIAL
The news that the Thai military has over the last week forcibly returned hundreds of Hmong refugees from the Huai Nam Khao camp in Petchabun province to Laos, even after Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama told a representative from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the end of last month there would be no forced repatriation, amounts to an outright refusal by the present government to commit to fundamental human rights.
GUEST COLUMN / EDUCATION
The Thai Ministry of Education (MOE) has announced new licensing rules for foreign teachers, consisting of two main requirements: Attendance for all teachers to a 20-hour "Thai Culture, Language, and Professional Ethics Training Programme" (at a cost of anywhere from 3,000 to 8,000 baht), and successful completion of a "Teacher Professional Licensing Course." This full-year, 30-credit class is required for all teachers currently not holding a Bachelor's of Education degree. The cost for the course averages 60,000 baht. However, teachers are required only to pass a final written examination based on the course content (the exam fee is 4,000 baht).
IN SIGHT
Most of us are familiar with the major role played by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) around the world, but most non-profit organisations (NPOs) are not nearly as visible.
POSTBAG
This letter is in response to the recent editorial, "Bring control to stem cell use" (Perspective, 22 June 2008). As a patient who was treated in September 2005 in Thailand by the Thai-Israeli company mentioned in the editorial, I would like to point out not only why stem cell therapy companies in Thailand should be regulated by the Thai FDA and the Medical Council of Thailand, but also why the companies that are currently operating entirely unregulated in Thailand should have their operations suspended immediately until a proper framework has been put into place to control them.
