POST BAG Crime against humanity
- Published: 22/11/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
Thailand's mistreatment of the Hmong refugees in Phetchabun and Nong Khai and its inexplicably headstrong refusal to allow resettlement in third countries (''Three years and counting'', Spectrum, Nov 15) surely constitutes a kind of crime against humanity for which the country will pay dearly in the court of karma, if nowhere else.
In fact, Thailand's current state of internal strife and foreign relations turmoil may be simply the karma principle at work. Please do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
Anonymous
Forget Thaksin
I enjoyed reading Khun Voranai's commentary ''Ridiculing the ridiculousness'' (BP, Nov 15) and must say it is ridiculously refreshing, lucid and intelligent. Why waste time and energy making a fuss without finding a solution (read: all useless political rallies). May I, a proud Thai and patriot, humbly suggest a solution to all our woes: Expatriate Thaksin. If Thaksin and his Puea Cambodia party don't like living in and working for the better good of the Thai Kingdom and its people, then they should close shop and move out. Let us stop wasting resources on trying to bring Thaksin back. Get rid of him and let's all work together to make the country better.
Xydtipaht
Writer has done us a service
Like Sven Anten, whose letter appeared in the PostBag, on Nov 15, I also felt outraged with the attitude of the reported HIV-positive prostitute in rendering carefree and unprotected sex to her customers, as reported in Spectrum on Nov 9. However, I laud the Bangkok Post's writer for being so explicit, so that all readers can be emphatically aware of her un-civic and anti-social attitude. Yes, she is guilty of attempted murder, pure and simple, against all her customers. The writer, Maxmilian Wechsler, has done his duty in highlighting the attitude, which is likely to be common among these prostitutes.
Unfortunately, there is no law against a bad attitude and the writer can go no further in stopping this vicious spread. All one can do is to pass this article around for all your friends to read.
Bangkok
Rule of law is only hope
I agree with Atiya Achakulwisut (''Way forward is between yellow and red'', BP, Nov 17). There is no answer or resolution to the clash between values of conservatism and liberalism. It is the perennial debate that even the most stable sophisticated democracies never resolve.
The answer for Thailand to move forward is to enforce the rule of law. This comes with a hard part and an easy part.
The hard part is to depoliticise the military and make it subordinate to civilian authority, as in all mature democracies. But how? Two ideas are a public campaign supported by all the major political parties involving education, information, marketing and advertising; and increased penalties and enforcement of laws against coups.
If this were successfully achieved, then anytime there is a major demonstration, the military could be relied upon to obey civilian orders and put down illegal demonstrations with reasonable force. For example, if the military had obeyed civilian orders to stop the Government House and airport sieges last year when ordered to, those events would have ended much sooner. It can be done, as seen by the professional way the armed services ended the Songkran rioting in Bangkok this year.
The question is whether politicians of different hues could unite on such an important and fundamental campaign for change in Thailand's political culture.
The easy part is to continue everyday efforts to enforce the rule of law through the courts, Parliament and government, as the current prime minister seems to be bravely attempting.
Pecker
Chiang Mai
Dam projects are a disaster
Within one month, two massive dam projects have been reported by the Bangkok Post. On Oct 28 the paper reported the Huay Samong dam, worth 8.3 billion baht, has already been approved by the present government. According to the article, the planned dam in the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex World Heritage Site will flood thousands of rai, including fertile forest in Thap Lan and Pang Sida national parks. Environmentalists fear the dam will destroy the local ecosystem.
The Royal Irrigation Department, and certainly behind-the-scenes local politicians, are pushing this lame-brain scheme to provide water to the lowland people at the expense of Thailand's wilderness that has evolved over millions of years.
On Nov 17, another story was published about another dam project worth 9 billion baht that is also being pushed by the same department and probably other local politicians in Mae Wong National Park in the West. If it goes through, this dam will again destroy hundreds of thousands of trees and animals in its wake. This is an important buffer zone to Huai Kha Khaeng, another World Heritage Site.
There are many other protected areas in Thailand (Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary in Chaiyaphum province among them) that are being eye-balled for dam construction by greedy selfish people who don't give a damn about the Kingdom's natural heritage.
It is without doubt that these so-called mega-projects are the worst form of corruption, as some stand to make big money if and when these dams go through.
All the felled trees go to someone in the logging business, and the reservoirs will open up the wilderness to so-called ''community forest use'', which will be a disaster with the greatest consequences.
Conservationists need to band together, like they did on Egat's Nam Choan dam project in Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary back in the 1980s, and stop these dam projects.
The death and destruction of the nation's natural forests cannot be justified. It needs to stop now.
Damn Frustrated
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