Peaceful revolution possible

Re: "Water cannon blast rally", (BP, Oct 17).

Friday night's highly visible crackdown set our economic recovery back significantly. What tourist would want to encounter such an unpredictably dangerous situation?

I'm reminded of JFK, who said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."

We should follow in the footsteps of HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn: "King meets ex-communists", (BP, Oct 17), our beloved national father HM the late King Bhumibol, and then-PM Prem Tinsulanonda when they reached out to Communist Party of Thailand members to bring them back into society -- and used their inputs for the common good.

We must rapidly open up avenues for safe discussion of how to quickly and peacefully bring about the deep changes we know we need -- maybe have universities or committees like Khun Vicha Mahakun's or Khun Anand Panyarachun's (the latter on revising the constitution) recommend changes in the areas pointed out by our youth. Visibly show society and our youth that we recognise the need for change, appreciate their thoughtful input, and rapidly act on it. Show that we, working together, will make peaceful revolution possible.

Burin Kantabutra

Look to future, not past

I find it very sad that in order to cling to power, Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha chose the past instead of the future of this country. His legacy in Thai history books is going to be that of the prime minister who, instead of leaving gracefully, desperately clung to the past and his power. He used water cannons on people, most of whom were little more than children, rather than lead them and us into the future. Shame on him and the other cowardly, frightened old men around him.

Observer

Hardline tack not the answer

Re: "FTI sweats over conflict escalating", (BP, Oct 15).

The subhead of this news report refers to foreigners being put off by the street demonstrations (even before the decree was announced). This is undoubtedly true, but there have to be consequences for the government, police and the invisible hand in choosing this path. They could have tried other strategies, or is the prime minister following orders rather than giving orders? Is the cabinet in charge, or the generals, or former generals? Or who?

It is clear that down the chain of command the only strategy they know is a hardline approach. Do they really want a repeat of the Hong Kong situation? Just when the country is trying to entice tourists, they choose to frighten them away. Just when the economy could have improved, they have chosen a path to an ailing economy.

Watson

Let's look at the true deaths

Re: "The real picture", (PostBag, Oct 17).

It's common for individuals to succumb to a combination of factors, for example emphysema, combined with pneumonia or flu. Doctors and coroners frequently list up to three so-called "comorbidities" on death certificates along with the leading cause of death. These comorbidities frequently contribute to a person's death, but they do not diminish the importance of the leading cause of death.

The best way to assess the fatal impacts of Covid-19 is to consider "excess mortality", which refers to the number of deaths from all causes during a particular period, over and above the total deaths that would be expected under "normal" circumstances.

Analysis of excess mortalities during the Covid-19 pandemic period in the United States indicates the US has suffered 260,000 more deaths from March 1 to Aug 16 this year than the previous five-year average for the same time period each year. This is not only vastly higher than the normal death rate, it is nearly 100,000 deaths more than officially attributed to Covid-19, meaning that the true deaths from the pandemic are likely to be even higher than the official number.

Samanea Saman
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