Justify the action
Eric Bahrt in his Oct 22 letter, "A moral responsibility", has a point in asking for the moral calculus behind animal experimentation to be made more explicit and that these experiments should be justified on moral grounds.
Eric Bahrt in his Oct 22 letter, "A moral responsibility", has a point in asking for the moral calculus behind animal experimentation to be made more explicit and that these experiments should be justified on moral grounds.
That moral calculus should surely depend on two things: Firstly, the capacity for suffering that an organism has; and secondly, the potential benefits that may accrue if the research proceeds. The brains and nervous systems of animals, including humans, are not identical to each other. Those animals that have the capacity to suffer the most should be the last resort as subjects in experiments. However, it is also true that higher mammals are most biologically similar to human beings and therefore may be the only viable models for medical research. If we are to justify causing such animals to suffer, then the potential benefits of the research must be great (A new brand of apple shampoo, for example, would obviously not be a sufficient justification).
On the other hand, Eric Bahrt's suggestion that we might experiment on criminals does not pass any kind of moral scrutiny. Criminals are clearly capable of suffering. If you are going to argue that they should be forcefully administered drugs in tests, you would surely have to justify such action as part of their criminal sentence as in, "Norman Stanley Fletcher, I sentence you to five years and one course of an experimental treatment for haemorrhoids". It's hard to see how any civilised society would agree to this, though I believe Josef Mengele tried something similar during World War II.
Nigel Woodward
An orgy of injustice
I have not read anything that indicates that the mentally bankrupt police who pressed lese majeste charges against Sulak Sivaraksa for violating the lese majeste law when he questioned whether King Naresuan's famous elephant battle during the Ayutthaya kingdom in the 16th century actually occurred, have been withdrawn.
It would therefore be appropriate if they now proceed to press similar charges against the directors and producers of the celebrated and highly popular film, Suriyothai.
This film depicts ancient Thai (Siamese) royalty indulging in an orgy or regicide, assassinations, murder, beheadings, impalings and torture, and in one scene a royal baby is clubbed to death inside a velvet sack to ensure the ascendency of his successor.
Surely these ancient royals could not have behaved thus! Press charges immediately, and history be damned.
David Brown
Don't blame Suu Kyi
Some contributors are having a field day rapping Aung San Suu Kyi for doing nothing about the Burmese military's killing of Rohingya. But I sympathised with her and here's why. There are two kinds of governments: those which have full control over the military and those fully controlled by it. For example, the US president can fire a four-star general at a snap of fingers (good thing the US has no Administrative Court). By contrast, in Myanmar, like unruly Thailand, the military has the government under its thumb and can boot it out on a whim.
Suu Kyi probably cries her eyes out every night but she is powerless to do anything. So don't blame her, blame the rogue military.
Somsak Pola
Can't avoid coups
Limiting power to coup-makers, as suggested by Kip Keino in his Oct 22 letter, "Time to curtail regime powers", is easily said than practicable.
Having personally gone through 15 out of 19 Thai coups, I can say that after each coup, there would always be two important clauses drafted by legal constitutional experts in the interim constitution rescinding the effectiveness of the previous constitution; and ensuring the coup-maker and his assistants are free from any criminal actions for turning the tables on the previous constitution.
Furthermore, surprisingly, Thailand is not No.1 or No.2 in the world for the frequency of coups. Spain has the trophy of No.1 with 36, followed by Haiti (28) and Thailand (21) -- two happened before 1932 when Thailand turned into a constitutional monarchy. Statistically, China and Japan scored 15 each. Even without being a champion, it is still shameful for Thailand not to find a right solution to avoid coups after 80 years.
Songdej Praditsmanont
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