How did a holiday that originally started out as a way to pay respect to the Lord Buddha and to one's elders descend into a wild ritual of contempt for other people? Does anyone know when the line was crossed from playfully splashing water onto one's friends and neighbours to sloshing anyone in the face with a bucket full of dirty water at any time of day, for days at a time, whether they have chosen to join the celebrations or not? And when someone has not given their consent to be hit full in the face with water, but people do it anyway, what message is passed on to the children?

I realise there is little hope of returning the holiday to its origins. But here are a few suggestions for reform that could possibly realign the ritual of Songkran with one of the first principles of Buddhism as well as all major religions: never do anything to any peaceful person without their consent.

Have designated spots in a city, town, or village where one can play with water. If you go to those spots that would imply that you have agreed to join the water fights. Restrict the water play to these spots or to throwing water among friends who have agreed to participate.

And why not limit the time to just one or two days? It's crazy that you cannot go anywhere for a full week without getting completely soaked.

Finally, throwing water at passing motorcycles, open pickup trucks, and songtaews should be strictly prohibited. Today I was splashed with a bucket full of water while driving by on my motorcycle. Not only did I nearly crash but it's quite likely I could develop an ear infection. I definitely did not give my consent for that.

Raji

Chiang Mai

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A waste of nearly two weeks of productive time

Not only has my business been closed since last Tuesday, I have to give my staff an off day on Wednesday so that they can vote for the senator aspirants whose insane advertising posters have bothered us for the past two weeks.

Needless to say that none of my staff will show up on Thursday. If they do, they'll only be looking forward to yet another weekend.

Glorious! This is exactly how I make money and pay my staff. Why don't we also declare the rest of the year a holiday just to be in line with an utterly unproductive and wasted April?

Go ahead. Smile. There's nothing else you can do about it. Thailand rules!

Thomas Schmid

Bangkok

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Water-splashing is as lethal as drunk driving

It is comforting to learn from your reports that fewer people are being killed this Songkran than last and that the deaths are lower than the goal (!) set by the government. We are also relieved to know that drunk drivers, speeders and motorcyclists without helmets or driving licences are the cause of it all. But there is another story, which I call "Happy Songkran in Nong Khai".

A small family of four is riding their motorcycle along the road to Tha Bo. Father is not drunk and is wearing his helmet, the visor slightly smeared with white powder. Mother holds her lovely baby and some groceries. The second child, a sweet five-year-old excited by the Songkran festivities, hangs on behind mother. Behind them is a six-wheel truck, windows painted black top and bottom to shield the road glare and the rest covered in other advertising stickers. The large sticker in the middle of the windscreen announces that the driver likes Caribou.

The driver has only had one drink but is driving a bit close to the motorcycle, since it is going so slowly. Along the side of the road Songkran revellers, most drunk, are having a wonderful time drinking, dancing, throwing cold water and powder. A beautiful young girl throws a bucket of water at the family on the motorcycle and another dabs them with white and pink powder. The father, temporarily blinded by the water, closes his eyes. Just as mother and baby shift their weight the motorcycle's front wheel hits some gravel, skids and spills the family on the highway. The crowd roars with laughter and continues dancing and playing as the truck slams on his brakes.

There is a shriek of brakes as the driver, who couldn't quite see the motorcycle falling, steps harder on the pedal. The mother screams as the truck runs over her baby and skids to a stop on top of the father's legs. The second child lands further up the road with blood gushing from her head; she moans in pain. The motorcycle and groceries lie along the side of the road. Most of the crowd continues dancing and drinking, but some help toss the family into the truck and watch it speed away.

Songkran is such a fun time for most people - the rest are just statistics.

Richard Stampfle

Nong Khai

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Hiding away until the return of the old ways

If it helps Phatarawadee Phataranawik's argument for resuscitating Siamese culture ('Rediscovering our proper Songkran roots', Opinion, April 15), let me add that I recommend to all my farang friends that they avoid Thailand during Songkran.

I myself hole up until it is over.

John Francis Lee

Chiang Rai

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Democracy can only work in a fair and just society

Sebastian Wasserzug believes that PM (or should I say, co-PM) Thaksin was ousted on dubious grounds (Letters, April 15). What he (and The Economist) fails to understand is that things would not have come this far if our checks-and-balances mechanisms had been allowed to operate as they were supposed to. The "urban elite" would not have mobilised if the ethical concerns about PM Thaksin were properly investigated by truly independent organisations.

I maintain that there is nothing undemocratic or dangerous about organising street protests to voice displeasure at, or to demand resignations of, elected politicians. What matters is the justification of such protests. Our future governments should learn from this incident and ensure that they are transparent and welcome investigations by unbiased entities.

Regardless of how strictly a country adheres to the idea of changes through democratic means, it cannot be truly democratic unless the democratic means can create a just and fair society.

Katha

Bangkok

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Ballot box should not have been ignored

Re: Your editorial "The Economist missed the point" on April 15.

You disagreed with the magazine's leader, "A blow to Thai democracy", because of its oversimplification and its ignorance of an exception to the rule of ballot democracy. You maintained that Thailand is no comparison to Italy, which is "a more advanced democracy". Hence, the Thai dissenters had to rely on street protests because the system of checks and balances was not working.

I beg to differ. The ballot box could have played the part if the opposition parties had not boycotted the election. The street movements would have disappeared and the opposition parties would have won all the seats in Bangkok and the South. The opposition would then have been more formidable alternative to Thaksin's party than before.

This would have been better than the current stalemate. There may be short-term satisfaction in seeing Thaksin humbled, but the side effect is that our country does not know which way to go next.

I wonder whether all those who attacked The Economist actually read the article. To be fair, I quote part of its last paragraph:

"With the 'dictator' now off the scene, can Thailand once again become a model transitional democracy? This will require maturity from both sides. Mr Thaksin must avoid interfering. And the opposition must now speedily return to democratic methods."

What is wrong with that conclusion? If we are less emotional on the issue, we may learn from the comments of a dispassionate party which is well respected and the only British magazine that is well circulated in the US.

Songdej Praditsmanont

Bangkok

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Read more into Thaksin's actions than you see

I would like to point out that by being able to invite foreign ambassadors, who are representatives of their respective heads of state, to his office and then tell the world about it, Thaksin sent the message that he is the de facto leader of Thailand.

This was an inappropriate action and a declaration of his true intentions for the future. Foreigners, especially the press, must be aware that Thaksin operates on the level of symbolism and they should not come to straightforward conclusions, like declaring "Thaksin resigns".

Rujaya Abhakorn

Bangkok

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UBC charges for what is given free elsewhere

UBC is way overpriced for what it offers. For example, other countries I've resided in have had BBC World and CNN offered as a free service; why doesn't that happen here? A news channel isn't even available on the cheaper UBC package; this is outrageous.

Methinks a bit of competition is required.

John Shepherd

Bangkok

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