Published on June 13, 2005
We should expect a flood of creative new business and accounting relationships
This just in! Following PM Thaksin’s command that provincial governors must submit declarations of their assets, there has been a surge in demand for drivers and maids nationwide. One governor has called colleagues around his region to explain how to manufacture and explain “honest mistakes”. Some CEO governors are pondering the advisability of transferring key assets to mistresses in case drivers and maids are not available.
Netirat Intira Bangkok ----------------------------------- The troubles in the South are not purely religious Re: “Distance may have obscured some issues”, Letters, June 10. Sue of Chainat needs to know that while I may be “far, far away” right now, I have spent considerable time in Thailand and have just returned from studying the issue of Muslim minorities throughout Thailand. I am well aware of Huntington’s work. Muslims may be participants in 52 per cent of ethno-political conflicts, but many of the countries sited by Huntington and Sue are Muslim-majority countries, not Muslim-minority. Jonathan Fox has rigorously tested Huntington’s “civilisational” hypothesis and conclusions (see “Religion, Civilisation, and Civil War: 1945 Through the Millennium”, 2004) and finds his arguments lacking. I, too, find problems in Huntington’s work, notably his case selection of conflicts, which leaves out the multitude of cases where Muslim-majorities and Muslim-minorities exist and are not involved in conflict. Select cases by conflict, and you will find conflict. I was careful to note that the issues in southern Thailand are not simply religious, but ethno-religious. Muslims in other areas of Thailand, most of whom are not Malay, live peacefully in Thai society. Nor are they concentrated geographically, as Malay-Muslims are in the South, a significant variable supported by Ted Robert Gurr’s work. Other factors are at work as well. Moreover, in a recent opinion piece, Gothom Ayra astutely drew attention to the use of ethnicity and religion as mobilising frameworks, not simply sources of conflict [“Unity in Diversity: Buddhist viewpoints from the deep South”, June 10]. As in most countries, the Thai elite are rarely threatened by those who do not challenge their authority and policies. Sue would do well to familiarise herself with the extensive literature on Thai nationalism, nation-building and educational systems. She may want to look into the history of the National Cultural Commission, National Identity Board, and National Thai Association of Psychological Security. She may also benefit from reading reports from Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission, Forum Asia, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International regarding Thai attitudes and treatment of ethnic minorities. Rohan Gunaratna, Sidney Jones and Zachary Abuza, three experts on militant Islam in Southeast Asia, have found little evidence of linkages between Thai militant Islamists operating in the southern provinces and international groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah and Middle Eastern madrasas. They and several Thai security experts list this as a local problem with the potential to become regional or international if not handled correctly. The grievances of Malay-Muslims in Thailand are real. Even PM Thaksin has admitted that past neglect has contributed to the unrest (see “Protesters ‘treated inhumanely’,” Bangkok Post, June 5). Malay-Muslims in the South have had little success in finding justice and resolution through peaceful, institutionalised means. When given political and economic access, as well as some degree of respect, as happened during the 1980s and 1990s, the vast majority of Thailand’s Malay-Muslims have preferred to work peacefully with the government and mainstream society to find compromise. Sandra Leavitt Georgetown University, US ----------------------------------- The BMA must put up or shut up on green agenda Re: “BMA puts green agenda on show”, News, June 8. Please, BMA not only for show, but make it happen. Every district should have walking pavements, green parks, playgrounds, libraries, sports activities for teenagers, health information and language-skills training. Otherwise, it is only a paper tiger. SP Samut Prakan ----------------------------------- The Singapore solution would backfire on Samet Re : “It’s not too late to rescue Koh Samet from trash”, Letters, June 10. The idea of handing over Koh Samet or any island in the Thai territory to Singapore is laughable. Only a fool would think that Singaporeans could do a better job. Let me give you some light examples (just for amusement purposes) of what could happen if the Singaporeans took over the island. Fine: Bt1,000 fine for wearing bikini (Singapore is a very conservative country). Fine: Bt5,000 for smoking in the vicinity of the island. Fine: Bt10,000 for smoking on the island. Fine: Bt2,000 for wearing flip flops (deemed as inappropriate attire). Fine: Bt3,500 for littering. Fine: Bt4,500 for jaywalking on the island. Fine: Bt500 for the little kid who accidentally brought a piece of chewing gum to the island. Fine: 10 years in prison for asking your girlfriend or rental girlfriend for oral sex (classified under Singapore law as unnatural). Fine: Life imprisonment or the death sentence for buying drugs from your local peddler. (Think about the number of death sentences just on Koh Phangan alone over Full Moon Party festival.) They will make more money than the current Bt200 fee foreigners are paying, which should stop the incessant complaints about the place. The list goes on and on. Oh, and judging by recent developments, Singapore could also consider building a casino in the island. Based on the above, I guess everyone is now laughing at the idea of turning Koh Samet over. One final note, the place would definitely be clean since no one would go there, including the person who suggested that the island be handed over to Singapore. Reefer Bangkok ----------------------------------- Bugs, vermin pose a largely ignored public health threat Various articles containing references to dengue fever, malaria, bird flu and more have popped up recently. Why? What is our health department doing about this? The main causes of dengue and malaria are still waters. Thailand is full of still water ponds, and they are generally filthy – perfect breeding grounds for disease-carrying insects. Look at our canals. Most people regard them as “waste” disposal sites, especially markets, which dump everything into these canals. Raw sewage runs into them. Drive around at night, and you see the rats crawling everywhere. If honesty were more common, it would have to be admitted that all the conditions are in place for an epidemic of infectious diseases. Rats are the biggest spreaders of the worst diseases in the world, and we have a rat population of plague proportions. Again, what are we doing about this? A concerned Thai Citizen Bangkok ----------------------------------- The US must face up to its torture programme Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and Meyers continually claim that the United States treats its prisoners humanely. This despite all the evidence that suspected terrorists are being abused as a matter of routine. Suspected terrorists are being picked up in Afghanistan. They are assumed to be terrorists until proven otherwise and therefore denied protection under the Geneva Convention. At Bagram Air Base they were shackled to the ceiling and beaten on the limbs until they “confessed” or provided information. Some were beaten to death. (See the Pentagon’s own report, which was exposed in The New York Times.) The deaths were originally reported as being due to natural causes and no action was taken against the interrogators because it could not be determined which of several personnel who were carrying out the beatings had struck the blow or blows. Many prisoners were then flown to Guantanamo and, on the way, subjected to a form of torture known as “sensory deprivation”. At Gitmo they were subjected to further harsh treatment, including beatings, being shackled to the floor in stressful positions and being deprived of sleep, food and water for periods up to 24 hours or more. (See reports from FBI, the Red Cross etc.) After beatings, two British citizens “confessed” to being in a photograph with bin Laden; they were later released when it was proved that they were not in Afghanistan when the photograph was taken. Some prisoners were to be kept indefinitely until the US Courts intervened, and the Bush administration set up a travesty of a trial procedure to determine whether they were “guilty” of being terrorists. Then, despite all the claims by Bush, Rice, etc, that they do not condone torture, these kangaroo courts stated that confessions obtained by torture would be admissible as evidence. This according to a statement by Depute Associate Attorney General Brian Boyle. Is he calling Bush and the rest liars? In addition there is plenty of evidence that the CIA regularly abducts suspected terrorists in other countries, flies them out aboard “civilian” planes registered to shadow companies and takes them to countries where there is no restriction on torture. Of course all this was being carried out by a few rogue soldiers, and no officers knew what was going on. . . . But if you believe that you will believe anything. Mr William Chon Buri
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