OPINION

Pita's big mess

Re: "Pita 'has sold iTV shares' ", (BP, June 6).

It's hard to believe that Pita Limjaroenrat has got himself into this mess, knowing full well that it was against the EC rules to hold media shares.

First, he said that the shares were not really his but held in trust, and he had informed the EC of the fact in 2019 before being made an MP.

Now he has sold them. Why, if there is no problem? I'm afraid that the sale amounts to an admission of guilt.

The chances of him being disqualified are now very high.

The interesting thing will be what happens to him as a possible PM candidate as a prime minister does not have to be a member of parliament under the current rules.

Re: "Conscript dies at training centre", (BP, June 8).

The report highlights several inconsistencies in the claimed cause of the death of Pvt Wanyawut Lampapahe, and it reeks of an army cover-up.

First, we are told the late Pvt Wanyawut was punished for smuggling an e-cigarette onto base, then a Facebook post claimed he died of a ruptured spleen, and then the army claims that he died from a pre-existing chronic disease.

This last excuse begs the question of why a person with a chronic disease was not exempted from conscription in the first place.

Despite Pvt Lampapa's mother's equanimous acceptance of her son's death, it calls for a full and independent inquiry.

Pvt Lampapa joins a growing list of soldiers who died at the hands of their supposed comrades in arms, a list which includes Pvt Songtham Mudman, who was beaten to death by fellow soldiers in April 2011, Pvt Wichian Puaksom, who was tortured to death in June 2011, and Pvt Yutthakinun Boonnian, who was beaten to death in March 2016. There are probably more.

The coalition government-in-waiting is committed to the abolition of conscription and an overhaul of the army. This should include measures for the independent investigation of the deaths of army recruits.

Re: "The eyes of the world are cast upon Ukraine", (Opinion, June 7).

I think the eyes of the USA and EU have a 20-50 vision of its victory over Russia. The worldview is more about ending this war quickly. Yes, there are moral repercussions of the unjust war in Ukraine.

However, such high morals have also killed millions of innocent people in Vietnam and the Middle East.

In addition, despite all the moral and economic support for the last 70 years, the Israel-Palestinian conflict continues to this day.

The one thing missing in your analysis is that more than 8 million Ukrainians have fled the country, and the other 8 million are internally displaced. It is also alleged that soldiers from the EU and USA are directly involved in this war.

Sadly, all the sanctions imposed on Russia are causing more harm to the ordinary people in the EU and the USA. The G-7, I call them the Gullible-7, have their economies in tatters.

Mr Krugman, a complete reversal of the Russian gains in this war is nothing but a pipe dream.

Let us look at the situation on the ground, not the fake news by EU and US media. There is much to learn from the ongoing crisis on the Korean Peninsula and the Palestinian conflict.