OPINION

Murders most foul

Re: "Prayut defends military punishment", (BP, Nov 24).

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's comment, "What's wrong with it? I went through it all," is analogous to Donald Trump's oafish, disgraceful and totally tactless comment to the widow of US Army Sgt La David Johnson, "He knew what he was getting into".

And Lt Gen Natthaphol Boon-ngam's statement that "the military academy has strict regulations on disciplining cadets and anyone who violates the rules will be punished" is risible and totally lacking even a note of credibility.

Does he really think we have forgotten Pvt Wichian Puaksom, who was tortured to death by his army mates in June 2011, or Pvt Songtham Mudman, who was beaten and tortured to death by fellow soldiers in April last year, or Pvt Yutthakinun Boonnian who was beaten to death by his "comrades-in-arms" in March this year? And those are only the ones we know about.

These soldiers were murdered but what disciplinary action has been taken, other than a slap on the wrist with a feather duster?

These young Thai men put their lives on the line to protect their country, but ended up being murdered by their fellow soldiers. How many more such murders will it take before something is done to drag the brass of the Royal Thai Army into the 21st century.

Re: "Army hospital to return dead cadet's organs", (BP, Nov 23).

The army hospital claimed it has the right to perform an autopsy on the cadet who died in a military compound. Yes, but it should have been done with the consent of his parents and direct kin. Otherwise, it represented a destruction of the remains.

Furthermore, secretly removing organs and returning the remains to parents with them still missing equates to stealing human organs.

Re: "Prayut defends military punishment", (BP, Nov 24).

If this death had occurred anywhere else and away from the academy, it would have been regarded more critically. A serious investigation by police would certainly ensue.

Also, police investigators would be asking why the autopsy and forensic officers have allowed the heart, brain, liver, lung and intestines to be missing from Pakapong's body upon delivering the cadaver to his family for a traditional funeral ceremony.

The government should be more forthcoming regarding this extraordinary case. There are so many missing links here.

It must be pretty sad for the army that so many recruits have been beaten and died over the years that the parents, and I imagine many other people, find it hard to believe this latest death of a cadet was in any way natural.

It appears to me that the credibility of the army is in tatters.

Another distinctive first for Thailand. Aside from being one of the most dangerous countries in the world to drive in, it now has the distinction of being the first country in the world where seating has been removed from its subway cars to make room for more passengers. The train management probably considers their passengers equal to cattle. If those Bangkokians who use the service regularly are willing to put up with it, fine. If not, well, there are various other means to remedy the situation. A drop in revenue might get the management thinking.

It remains a question if those deciding to remove seats from subway trains have considered the EN International Standard, dealing with weight balance distribution between bogies, individual axles and carriage sides.

Although the additional passenger weight would be spread equally between sides at the affected end of the carriage, such a proposal is still concerning as the allowable, overall, percentage weight distribution limit between bogies could be exceeded.

Other train operators have experimented with such trials, including in Singapore and Taipei, with negative operational and design results, resulting in reverting to original designed configurations.

Another means of "cattle car" transportation (not only the MRT) are the locals on the SRT, 60-year-old running stock, no air-conditioning, windows fixed in broken positions going neither up nor down, broken wooden slates for seats (I guess one should be happy for those), gooey, sticky floors, obnoxiously stinking toilets, and smokers puffing between coaches under "no smoking" signs as the railway police walk by with smiles.

Yes, at least riders do have the option of a return trip, unlike those in Nazi Germany. I guess one should be grateful for little things.

Australian, Canadian and other Western mining companies seem to bring trash, pollution, diseases, conflict and poverty to locals when mining or when withdrawing. Western mining history in poor countries all around the world makes for sad reading.

They are exploiting weak legal systems, failing to respect indigenous peoples' rights, international human rights and social responsibility, causing "serious environmental impacts" by contaminating water and rivers, and cutting down forests, as well as forcibly displacing people, dividing and impoverishing communities, making false promises about economic benefits, endangering people's health, and fraudulently acquiring property. Some who protest against such projects have been killed or seriously wounded and others persecuted, threatened or accused of being terrorists.

The environment and people living around a mine are much more important than the profits of greedy Western mine owners. So Thailand, send your best environmental scientists to the gold mine in question and be picky, find all kinds of violations from the very small to the biggest, and if you find enough counter sue the mining company and demand compensation.

Ask what you want because the environment is priceless, and Thailand sets the price, so double up what the profit hunters demand in lost profits and get them out of the country forever.

A "super board" (BP, Nov 23) to counter domestic threats? What domestic threats? Are there bomb throwers roaming the country? Or are we under attack again by those terrible Facebook users? What's going on here?

Does that mean we will soon be under martial law?

Re: "The Bangkok Type", (Life, Nov 20).

I really enjoyed the life story of William Warren. His advice that foreigners in Thailand should not get involved in politics is quite straightforward, even though it is painful for many Thais to accept the fact that "Thai society is marred by incorrigible dishonestly". Mr Warren, however, was blunt and honest about what he experienced during his stay. As we all know, in Thailand the corruption starts from the top elites and percolates down the military, police and various civic bodies and administrative units.

I also doubt that the government gives any credence to what foreigners write or say. In that sense, the impact factor of Bangkok Post articles, opinions and letters on government policies needs to be carefully examined.

Despite scores of opinions, articles and letters about education and immigration reforms, nothing substantial has been done. While living here for some time I can say that Thai administration only acts when the economy starts going down. Some sort of reform comes only when a disaster strikes. That is the way it goes.

Re: "Airbus exploring single-pilot, autonomous aircraft", (BP, Nov 23).

This is a horror unto itself. The reason Airbus has cited is cutting airline operating costs to save money. All that is needed in a single piloted aircraft is for the pilot to suffer a heart attack during a flight. All the technology available will not land that plane safely. The traveling public can look forward to more Malaysia Airlines-type mystery disappearances.

It was a great relief to read that UN judges sentenced former Bosnian Serbian commander Ratko Mladic to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of genocide and war crimes in the Balkans over two decades ago (BP, Nov 23). It would also be a relief to see the same happen to the culprits of the ethnic cleansing/genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar. Probably justice needs time.

Many countries have a minimum wage policy which, like it or not, is there to ensure that the lowest-paid workers receive a certain wage. If minimum wages are increased this results in price increases being passed on to the consumer who, by no means, are "fat cats".

If this results in lower sales of the product being manufactured, then the factory closes and the workers have no jobs, or manufacturers simply move their factories to other countries where there wages are less. Then, who suffers? Certainly not the fat cats!

Re: "Don't only blame drivers for road tragedies", (Opinion, Nov 18).

The blame can be shared everywhere. Certainly the unbelievably bad road designs are a factor. (U-turns from the fast lane on any given highway. Non-illuminating paint or reflective markers on dark stretches of roads). What school did the roadway engineers graduate from?

My belief is that the biggest factor for Thailand being No.2 in the world for traffic fatalities is non-enforcement. I never see a policeman ticketing a speeding offender, or red light runner, or illegal lane change driver ... or even the millions of motorcycle drivers who may well wear a helmet, but do not have functional tail lights. At night time this is especially dangerous.

The paltry fines for breaking traffic rules are also not a deterrent. Two hundred baht will not make a difference to changing the attitudes of offending drivers -- 2,000 baht will! You can bet on it.

Long-term Resident in his Nov 30 letter, "Not my problem", is correct that completion of immigration form TM30 is the duty of the house or apartment owner, not the tenant, but he's wrong to suggest the tenant may not have a problem if the owner has not complied with the regulations.

I recently needed a certificate of residence from the local immigration office to enable me to renew my driving licence. The relevant department discovered that TM30 had not been completed by my landlord and would not issue the certificate until the fine had been paid. I had two options: Persuade the landlord to attend immigration and pay the fine (difficult in my particular case) or pay the fine myself.

The fact that I have been renewing my retirement visa for the past eight years based on my current address was irrelevant. Quite often the failure to complete TM30 comes to light only when the resident requires a certificate of residence.

Other long-term residents were experiencing the same problem on the day I visited the immigration office.

Re: "Disparaging delight", (PostBag, Nov 18).

John Libbey's use of a quote from George Orwell (definitely not on the junta's recommended reading list) to suggest that being less than enthused by the current government equates to disparaging the inhabitants of Thailand is just agreeable, and his expression of sympathy for those expats who he somehow assumes cannot leave Thailand for the country of their choice is puzzling. Surely for most expats, irrespective of their views, Thailand is the country of choice!

Continuing the Orwellian theme, the statement by the government spokesman that representatives of rubber farmers had not been arrested or detained but "invited" to a military camp does sound slightly sinister, and I wonder if they had the option of declining this offer of hospitality. However, it's always good to accentuate the positive, and the recent increases in GDP, and foreign investment into Thailand, are encouraging signs. The phrase "The economy, stupid" played a part in winning the 1992 presidential election for Bill Clinton, and maybe it will feature in another election here in Thailand, sometime in the future.

Seeing the amazing picture that was headlined "Raining on their parade" on the front page of the Nov 20 edition was a shame.

In fact this ridiculous "parade on the flooding street" is absolutely preventable just by arranging a drainage channel on the footpath that blocks the rain water to flow down to the sea.