OPINION

Rerun referendum

Re: "Charges dropped against Pai Dao Din," (BP, March 30).

In light of the decision by the Phu Khieo Provincial Court that announced the accused, Jatupat Boonpattararaks and his colleague Wasin Prommanee, were expressing opinions allowed under the law that the public had been told by the military junta were illegal activities, should we now expect a rerun of that referendum under the revised conditions. With the great mass of the public being under the impression that opposition was illegal, surely the reversal of this idea would allow people to freely oppose this constitution that was unfairly imposed on them.

When will the Government enforce annual bus inspections to ensure they are fit for the road? If they are not, ban them from operating until such time they pass the inspections. Journeys of four hours or more to have a relief driver on board. Make bus and public vehicle drivers be subject to a drug test before driving and at their destination. The transport companies be held responsible for accidents caused by to failing to carry out these measures. Until hard laws are enforced this road carnage will continue.

Re: "Somkid: Thailand eyes becoming CPTPP member," (BP, March 30).

No matter what the terms of this trade is, it will only benefit big corporations at the expense of the poor people, namely the rural population. I hear from upcountry people that farming is increasingly difficult and they have little choice with their pesticides, the most noxious, the ones banned elsewhere, are the ones offered to them. Organic growing has been made close to impossible. I would be happy to know if there was just a single reason that it would benefit the rural population.

I read Khun Sanitsuda's March 29 column, "Safe food, health lose out to chemicals," with great interest and agreement.

In the past years there have been several reports in the Bangkok Post outlining the poisoning of consumers by toxic residues in the majority of agro produce. I recall even tests of quality-certified produce which showed that 70% of the samples contained toxic residues. Based on these reports I had written to respective authorities that we have a concept to substantially improve agricultural management, resulting not only in clean and better quality, but also in higher yields and a doubling of profitability for hard working farmers. Our concept with a 100% natural micronised mineral is ECAS certified for organic growth. To my regret I never received any response. More work needs to be done to make the concept accepted by the authorities.

Re: "Ten ways to sidestep fault lines in Asean" (Opinion, March 27).

The above article by Kavi Chongkittavorn invites a diplomatic interpretation of recent Asean activities, having in mind the necessity of respecting Asean centrality, as well as maintaining its catalytic role in the regional and global multilateral cooperation.

From this perspective it is useful to remember that the heads of state of the Asean member states and Australia met this month in Sydney in a special summit which adopted the Sydney Declaration, a programmatic document (insufficiently circulated in mass-media) that proclaimed a "new era" in the "increasingly close" relationship between Asean and its southern neighbour.

Asean diplomacy managed to contribute to the clear recognition of Asean's central role in a regional architecture that is open, transparent, inclusive, and promotes stability and prosperity.

Moreover, in a world characterised by global vulnerabilities, perplexities and discontinuities it is rewarding to find in the Declaration a lucidly expressed strong commitment to regional peace and security, as well as peaceful resolution of disputes, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, the exercise of self-restraint, without resorting to the threat or use of force, in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, and the rules-based regional and international order.

Re: "Yingluck and Thaksin in Japan to attend event," (BP, March 30).

Thai media attaches importance to this news which is a proof that the authorities have no power or maybe no will to arrest them, and/or no countries in the world pay any attention to what Thailand wants. This is the same for the "Boss" case and other Thai fugitives.

The March 23 report, "Shopping Points to offer VAT refunds" suggested a huge increase in tourists over the last few years, but the cash refund facilities at Don Mueang have not been increased accordingly. When I flew out last week, the queue was so long that it bypassed all the barriers, winding a further 25 metres down the terminal. It moved at a snail's pace, making it impossible to reach a teller before my flight was called.

I therefore posted my VAT refund applications directly to Prasong Poontaneat, director-general at The Revenue Department, stating the problem, and requesting that they be paid directly into my credit card account. Because the department's website states that it is ''constantly applying innovative measures in order to achieve all set objectives" I described in my letter how the option of a credit card refund operates successfully at London's Heathrow Airport -- recognition that not all travellers need instant cash.

I am well aware that Don Mueang had to be reopened a few years ago and that major refurbishments are in the offing. But a direct payment offer could be integrated relatively easily into the existing facilities: separate tellers and/or officers should be offering credit card refunds. I therefore wait for a response from the Revenue Department.

Re: "UK allies oust envoys over poisoning", (BP, March 28).

The hot issue created by the UK prime minister and US president over the murder of a Russian spy has shaken the whole world. If it is justified for UK prime minister to condemn the Russian president for poisoning this single treacherous Russian spy, she should also condemn Queen Victoria who sent tons of opium to poison millions of Chinese in the last century. The US president should also condemn his predecessors for sending tons of agent orange to poison millions of Vietnamese. An ancient Chinese sage once said "Do not forget the past, it will be our teacher in the future".

Re: "Let's respect worker rights", (Editorial, March 15).

I wish to clarify some points regarding the situation on the ground and elaborate on the measures introduced by the Thai government to protect the rights of migrant workers, particularly in the fisheries sector.

First, while we agree with the article's sentiment that more should and could be done, it would be remiss not to acknowledge that the situation on the ground has drastically improved. This was pointed out in the ILO's "Baseline research findings on fisheries and seafood workers in Thailand" report, which was conducted when overseas fishing was prohibited in Thailand. The report listed positive developments such as fewer cases of physical violence, significant reduction in child labour and an almost 50% increase in workers having written work contracts.

Second, numerous new measures have been introduced namely, registration of migrant workers, use of the latest biometric technology such as iris, facial and fingerprint scanning; the stipulation regarding the minimum wage of migrant workers, with those entering the workforce via MoUs with neighbouring countries enjoying a minimum wage of 12,000 Baht/month; requirement for employers to pay their fishery workers monthly via bank transfer; the issuance of new legislation governing recruitment agencies to prohibit debt bandages and the verification of labour contracts; the revision of the existing regulations to allow workers to change employers; and the improvement of the effectiveness of labour inspections at ports, at sea and at seafood processing factories.

Third, the Government has implemented stringent law enforcement in order to deter any potential wrongdoers from committing human trafficking offences. From 2015 to March 2018, Thailand has brought 86 cases of human trafficking in the fisheries sector to criminal proceedings, resulting in hefty fines and lengthy imprisonment. A robust complaint mechanism has also been put in place via hotlines and websites set up in the native languages of migrant workers. Moreover, Migrant Worker Assistance Centres in 10 provinces have been established, due to closer collaboration among the government authorities and the NGOs. Furthermore, new legislation is in the pipeline to amend the existing laws with a view to ratifying core relevant ILO Conventions, such as anti-forced labour and working conditions inside vessels.

I hope that your readers will be informed with the above mentioned updates. We are disappointed that your newspaper made sweeping assumption that such costly reform was merely cosmetic to placate the EU. The government is determined to address this complex issue for the betterment not only of the migrant workers but also of the Thai fishing and related industries, particularly their long term sustainability. On this, we have undertaken integrated collaborative efforts with all government agencies, private sector, NGOs, CSOs and relevant external partners. We certainly hope for the same collaboration from the media sector.

Re: France's 'fight racism' ban on hate speech goes too far, (Opinion, March 28).

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry is deliberately obfuscating the fact that, although hate crimes are down 16% from last year, violent antisemitic acts against Jews are on the rise. The French PM's speech is in fact a reaction to the rise of a new anti-Semitism of Islamic origin in France. Last week saw the second savage murder of an old Jewish lady in Paris, by a Muslim shouting "Allahu akbar". Since 2006, 11 Jews have been killed because they were Jews, all of them by Muslims.

The former president of SOS Racism, Malek Boutih, has declared that "Jews are not safe in France. In certain departments, in certain neighbourhoods, if you are Jewish, you just hide ... anti-Semitism that persists in France is completely the fruit of a deliberate ideology of Islamist groups". Hate speech kills and it should be denounced and suppressed, and not only on the internet.

We read that a Lahu ethnic highlander has received the death sentence for the murder of a policeman (BP, March 29). Things certainly look bad for the rich brat in the fatal hit-and-run case who is still on the run.