Bt500 is a substantial incentive. Better than slaving over a hot wok of cooking oil all day for perhaps Bt200 or Bt300 profit and more than double the Bangkok minimum wage.

The other rallies contained many different groups of people, as well as many in singles and pairs. Some went to support one or another of the organising committee. No suggestion of being paid or forced to come. In fact, most had to fund their trip to Bangkok entirely from their own pockets. But in these rallies, they all come with the same bottom-line demand: remove the immoral prime minister.

One cannot help wondering how many people would have been at the Friday rally in support of Thaksin if attendance had been voluntary and people had to pay their own way. And isn't it a breach of neutrality by public servants to make them act as press gangs for the prime minister? Presumably, we will see a lot more of the rent-a-mob crowds leading up to Thaksin's sham election on April 2. At what point do these press gangs constitute a breach of electoral law?

Gareth Clayton

Bangkok

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PM is too preoccupied to address southern problems

Amid all the current political turmoil, Thaksin has completely ignored the southern violence and unrest. While killings and bombings continue unabated, Thaksin fights only for himself. Wasn't it just a few months ago that Thaksin was quoted as saying his legacy would be the result of whether the southern problems were resolved?

If this is true, his legacy will be even worse than his self-serving, egomaniacal use of the Thai government and state resources. Violence has increased tremendously over the last weeks and months. The use of large bombs has increased, as has the death and injured count. Lack of progress in the South alone should be reason for Thaksin to be ousted.

It appears that the southern violence is being completely ignored by Thaksin. Of course, since this is a Democrat Party stronghold, why should he care?

Disgusted by Thaksin

Chiang Mai

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No light at the end of a tunnel if it's a dead end

Usually, in a crisis like the one in Thailand these days, there is a beacon of light at the end of the tunnel that affords us hopes and dreams: hopes of a better life for all of us and dreams of a warm and friendly society.

We all have our hidden agendas, and we all wish to gain something from the outcome of this so-called people's movement. We hope that life will improve and that people will change for the better.

But the motivating force that will guide us to these so-called better days seems to be undecided. For some, their ultimate goal is to see Thaksin resign. For others, it is to see wrongdoers tried and brought to justice. For others still, it is only to see the end of political uncertainty and bring some sense of stability, regardless of who stays and who goes.

As for me, my ultimate goal is to make our society a worthy place to hand down to our children. Where they have full rights as citizens and are protected by law, regardless of their status. I want to give my children a society in which every citizen performs his/her duty and in return receives all of the privileges available to those who do. I want to be proud of the world that we created for our children. My goals are simple and naive. My goals are very elementary compared with the agendas quoted by the big shots on the front pages of the newspapers.

But I see no light at the end of the tunnel. To me, these so-called "elite" of society and "people's leaders" are no more legitimate than the prime minister they are trying to remove. They have their own agendas up their sleeves, and when this is over, and things go their way, they will be singing songs of joy, while the people go back to being miserable. And if things don't go as they planned, they will go back to their cosy underground bunkers, being ambiguous and undecided while the people pay the price of being the losers.

Chul "Cho" Chang

Nakhon Pathom

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Look out if he starts saying, 'I am not a crook'

As the crisis deepens, Thaksin is gradually changing his tone and mien: from an autocrat to a humble lover of the poor victimised by those "stupid people" and begging on his knees for understanding to stay in power.

But his actual metamorphosis is rather from a pre-1945 Adolf Hitler into a May 1992 Suchinda Kraprayoon and a Watergate Richard Nixon.

Loki Ragnaroekssen

Pyrmont, Australia

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Since when has premier's rule become illegitimate?

Re: "Thaksin still doesn't get it", Editorial, March 6.

It's one thing to voice your dissatisfaction of Thaksin's behaviour, but it is outrageous to question his legitimacy. We can understand those who label themselves "fighters for democracy" who are trying to remove the PM from office on moral grounds. They have every right to voice their opinions. If The Nation and all those opponents are genuinely standing on a higher moral ground, then let it be known to all Thais how immoral Thaksin is or has been!

And let the voters, including those of whom The Nation always downgrades as easily bribed villagers, decide. I believe that no matter how "imbecilic" those villagers may be, they are capable of grasping the basic issue of morality. And by April 2, we shall see if Thaksin has the right to rule or not.

By resigning on your call, the PM would simply be dictated to by mob rule, which, you and I would agree, is both illegitimate and against fundamental democratic values.

Krishna

Chiang Mai

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No way that Taiwan could be considered an aggressor

Re: "Taiwan risks regional crisis with its push", Letters, March 5.

Let me get this straight: according to the Taiwan Affairs Office of the China State Council, Taiwan would be committing a "brazen" act by declaring independence. But if Taiwan declared independence, it is not Taiwan that has threatened to attack; it is China. Somehow this makes Taiwan the aggressor, according to this council. The only way this could possibly be true would be if no one were actually in charge of China's military; in other words, missiles would spontaneously fire on Taiwan if Taiwan declared independence. Tanks and planes, driven by only robots presumably, would spontaneously head towards Taiwan. And thousands of robot troops would arrive to fight the "aggressors", who simply said, "We want to be free. Let us go in peace." If Orwell were alive, he could write the sequel to "1984" based on the upside-down logic of these folks.

Linus G

Chiang Mai

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Keystone Kops may be a more accurate description

Re: Chiang Mai's farang cops", Sunday Style, March 5.

There are some inaccuracies in your report on Chiang Mai's farang tourist police. They are not required to have residency status or work permits, only to live here long term, which is not quite the same thing. Police visited condominiums on their recruitment drive and obviously were not too choosy in the selection process.

The result is a kind of "Dad's Army" reminiscent of the BBC television comedy series that portrayed a motley crew of mainly geriatric army reservists. Certainly, some of Chiang Mai's farang tourist policemen can hardly walk, and some could not run. Few can speak any Thai apart from ordering a beer.

The result of this is that the expat community doesn't trust or respect them. A country only gets a quality police service if it is willing to pay for it.

Thailand's police force is grossly underpaid, a situation that requires urgent rectification. Forget volunteers - the country deserves professionals.

Amused

Chiang Mai

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Night-time roadwork makes for some rude awakenings

I live on a high floor of a serviced apartment in Sala Daeng Soi 1. At 2.30am on February 26, I was awoken by a pounding noise that vibrated through my apartment. Actually, I had a dream about being shelled in war and then awoke to find that the city construction authorities had decided this was a great time to employ a huge tractor-mounted jackhammer to dig up a section of the roadway below the apartment building.

When I asked the operator of the machine why he was doing this in the middle of the night, he replied that his superiors had decided 10pm to 6am was the best time to wreak havoc on the neighbourhood, because during the daytime, cars might be parked along the road obstructing the machine! I gave up trying to discuss why some no-parking signs and tow trucks could solve that problem, particularly in a residential soi that has very, very little traffic or parking problems on a Sunday during the day.

So a hearty thank you (and a couple other salutations, too) to the relevant authorities, be they the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority, the public-works folks or whoever.

Oh, and it is now 11.30pm on February 26, and evidently they didn't finish, because they are at it again, since about an hour ago. The fellow driving the jackhammer is only doing his job and actually seemed to feel a little bad about the disturbance. But what kind of inept bureaucrat comes up with these idiotic ideas? And can we get his phone number so we can share with him the joy of being kept up all night?

Sleepless in Sala Daeng

Bangkok