Post Bag
XTREME SOLUTION FOR SOUTH
- Published: 5/07/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
I fully agree with your July 2 editorial, ''Military must be held accountable''. Essentially we have a civil war going on in the South of Thailand which most of the recent governments choose to ignore in favour of populist issues of the day.
My suggestion is to tow the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet to the region after the July war games. If it was deployed in the southern region it potentially could become a multipurpose island and a showcase for Thai ingenuity. It would be a great hospital ship for severely wounded soldiers, a safe party location for soldiers on leave, a place where government employees and teachers could de-stress for a few days and a perfect platform for ''Xtreme Tourism''.
David Barkdull
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TIME FOR A ROLE REVERSAL
Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu has said: ''Thailand was very lucky to have avoided a coup after the Songkran riots, but political uncertainties will not go away under the current coalition government.'' So the Thai military is like a malevolent god that can only be prayed to, whose wrath we can only hope to avoid? That's what Mr Korbsak would have us believe. Thailand needs a real, popularly elected government to put the military in its place _ subservient to the people of Thailand rather than their oppressors.
John Francis Lee
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WAITING FOR THE RIGHT OFFER
In last Sunday's PostBag Norman Kreger accused Imtiaz Muqbil of half-truths, lies and other distortions in his Soul Searching column of the previous week. Mr Kreger then went on to present his own version of lies, half-truths and irrelevancies.
If any one of the Israeli ''offers'' to the Palestinians had made an effort to address all (or even most) of the issues that contribute to their plight, I am sure it would have been accepted. For example, the Clinton plan would have: 1) no East Jerusalem; 2) nothing for the Palestinian refugees; 3) Israel controlling Palestinian air and sea space; 4) Israel controlling numerous roads into and out of settlements _ not even half a state.
The reference to repatriation of Germans, Indians and Pakistanis is irrelevant to the Palestinian issue. Do the Germans want to be repatriated? Do the Indians and Pakistanis? Do they live in refugee camps? Apart from the refugee camps in Gaza and Lebanon, Palestinians are scattered all over the Middle East _ millions of them _ with only a Palestinian ''passport''.
Israel's supposed exit from Gaza is a sick joke. Many of the settlers removed were re-housed in other settlements. When Hamas declared and stuck by a cessation of rocket-firing into Israel, Israel continued its assassination policy in Gaza, which was the cause of the rockets being fired in the first place.
Israel, like any country, has a right to defend itself. That defence doesn't include invading Gaza (again) and deliberately killing as many Palestinian civilians as its military outfit sees fit _ all to make sure of election success. The majority of the accusations of explosives and militants in schools, mosques, hospitals and UN locations are no more than Israeli propaganda, as no independent media or agencies were allowed into Gaza.
Right now, Israel will not allow any building materials into Gaza to give the Palestinians a chance of rebuilding their destroyed enclave.
Finally, Mr Kreger mentions suicide bombings. There have been none (that's zero) reported in the media for at least two years now in Israel. I'm afraid that it is people with Mr Kreger's type of attitude who have been the main obstacle to any chance of a peaceful solution for the long-suffering Palestinian people.
Ken Malcolm
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WHERE'S THE FOLLOW-UP?
On June 18, the Bangkok Post presented a brief article regarding the alleged relationship between some Rohingya refugees and southern terrorism. Within this article was this comment: ''A group of about 10 Thai senior officials is believed to be involved in the illicit trafficking (of Rohingya) and each of them makes about one million baht a month, the unit said.'' The article was referring to the southern border intelligence unit.
I have been waiting but have seen no further news on this allegation. I have lived here long enough to turn a blind eye to many things, as Thais do. We have come to expect, even accept, endemic corruption, but surely this is headline news.
Are the ''10 Thai senior official'' police? Border patrol? Army? Immigration? Is there substance to the allegation? If so, what action is being taken?
Then on June 20 in a related article it was said: ''A source at the Department of Special Investigation's Special Litigations Office said new suspects expected to be arrested were major human traffickers linked to the three Rohingya men apprehended this week.''
Are these ''new suspects'' some of the ''10 Thai senior officials''? I believe this newspaper, which printed the statements and allegations in the first place, owes its readers a full explanation.
Ron
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ISAN AND SELF-RELIANCE
As an Englishman and a student of sociology staying in a small village in Isan these past five months, I feel the urge to make some comments on the article published in last Sunday's Spectrum regarding Isan and rural poverty. In particular, the folio for the article is ''self-dependence'' and the underlying assumption seems to be that the poor of Isan are suffering from ''dependency'' on the largesse of supposedly ''populist'' politicians.
The academic quoted in the article _ a Mr Yenbamroong _ identifies the policies of Thaksin and his red shirts as obstacles to progress towards self-reliance. I must object. In my opinion it is only through political action _ building a political foundation for real social progress _ that sustainable improvement comes. For example, free at the point of use health care or pensions or welfare benefits by right.
These benefits are hard fought for and only really exist in a relatively few prosperous countries. They were only won because of real political change and surely it is a sign of progress and not a sign of failure that some attempts have been made in Thailand by Thaksin and his party to address the traditional neglect of the rural poor by the political elite of Thailand.
Finally, in all my experience, the people of Isan are among the most hard-working, self-reliant, spirited and resourceful people I have ever met.
Nick Warner
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