LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Police could play an important role in educating Thailand's youth on motorcycle safety
Outside of Bangkok, in every city and town in Thailand, the police will be seen at intervals stopping motorcyclists for failing to wear a helmet, or to check if they have paid a road tax and that they are carrying third-party insurance.
Sometimes they will ask the motorcyclist for a valid driving licence. The motorcyclists they pull over might have, only a few minutes prior, committed one of any number of traffic offences including: riding the motorcycle on the wrong side of the road; carrying more than one passenger; carrying passengers riding side saddle, carrying goods which are a danger to other road users; speeding; weaving in an out of lanes of traffic; overtaking another vehicle in the face of oncoming traffic; entering main roads from side roads without looking or stopping; driving underage; and countless other offences. What do the police hope to achieve then by stopping motorcyclists only for headgear and road tax? Do they believe that their actions prevent accidents or in any way assist in improving the driving ability of those on Thailand's roads? Thailand's police have an opportunity to get into Thailand's schools and teach the rules of the road. Later, the police can then turn their attention to real traffic offenders - to those who pose a danger to others. At the same time we can stop the charade of wearing a helmet only when there is a police patrol around. The question should be asked: when is it safe not to wear a helmet? In Thailand the answer would seem to be that you don't need to wear a helmet when the police are around, or if you are the third, fourth or fifth passengers, that in these situations head injuries do not occur! If, however, we wish to encourage people to wear helmets at all times, then we should take measures like making the inclusion of two crash helmets mandatory whenever a motorcycle is sold at a dealership. The police should link up with local schools in order to impart the life-saving knowledge of road safety to Thailand's most valuable asset - the young and future users of the country's roads. I feel strongly about this because my next door neighbour, a 23-year-old woman in the prime of her life, died in an accident a few days ago at the hands of someone who had no knowledge of the rules of the road. Suadaao Kanthararom Si Sa Ket
------------------------------------------- Sickness a get-out-of-jail-free card in Thai justice system
Re: "EC trio granted bail," News, July 29. Thank you for this insight into the Thai justice system. Reading your story, it appears that one can obtain freedom from incarceration for medical reasons. In the event that I am ever imprisoned in Thailand for a serious crime, it is good to know that I can obtain a release from prison if I have my lawyer tell a judge that I suffer from an allergy or maybe a rash in an uncomfortable area. Tang On Bangkok ------------------------------------------- Commissioners just fall guys who don't deserve ridicule
Re: "Jail inmates should not be allowed special treatment", Letters, July 29. I read with dismay the letter by Surasak Piputtana, saying, "Even the jail applies double standard for the three election commissioners!" Maybe Surasak wants to see the three commissioners handcuffed, shackled with chains and steel balls, and then taken away in a caged-bus packed with other convicts. Surasak was probably thrilled to see the three being lined up and put through a strip-search in front of cameras when they arrived at prison. Surasak probably wants to see them put in brown trunks and brown shirt and have their heads shaved while in prison. Are we living in a society where we joyfully stomp on a fall guy? I feel sorry for the three election commissioners. The court ruled they committed a crime and sentenced them to a prison term. You don't have to sympathise with them, just don't ridicule them. The law of karma works on everyone! Meechai Burapa Chiang Mai
------------------------------------------ Political parties need not be dissolved to serve justice
It may well be, as others have alleged, that the coupling of both the Thai Rak Thai and Democrat parties in probes regarding wrongdoing, is a ploy to let Thai Rak Thai off the hook, since dissolving two major parties would create chaos in society. But that need not be the outcome. I would like to suggest that the justices of the Constitution Court have a whole arsenal of actions they can employ to assure that true justice prevails. Assuming during the course of the trial there is testimony that certain persons acted on their own without direction from their party, or that a party leader had no knowledge of the actions of his subordinates, the court has a responsibility to judge the truthfulness of such assertions. A majority of the justices can declare such assertions "highly non-creditable" and hence disregard such testimony in reaching their judgement. If the majority of the judges were to find one (or, heaven forbid, both) of the major parties guilty of electoral fraud, the court can determine that the dissolution of the party is not an appropriate remedy. The court may find that such a dissolution order would do irreparable damage to individual politicians who may not have had any direct role in committing fraud, or that party dissolution would harm civil society as a whole. Instead of dissolving the party, the court could ban the guilty party's leader from holding an executive position in any political party for a period of five years. I would find this sanction alone insufficient to fit the seriousness of the crime however. Other remedies would have to be devised and ordered by the court. Since money and the lust for power is at the root of the problem, the court could also enjoin a party leader from making any financial contributions to any politician or any political party for a period of five years. The court should also issue an injunction covering the whole class of individuals deemed "related parties". This class should include a party leader, his siblings, wife and children or anyone related to a party leader or his wife through marriage. To some, these measures might seem extraordinary, however I believe they fit the magnitude of the crime against society. The justices of the Constitution Court must demonstrate pure intentions and the fortitude to act decisively for the benefit of society. If the court lives up to its responsibilities, justice will prevail and the people's faith in the integrity of the political system will begin to be restored. Lancelot Nakhon Pathom --------------------------------------- Leaders without foresight caused current Mideast crisis
As the current Middle East crisis spirals out of control, one wonders how it was allowed to get to this stage without serious diplomatic efforts to avert it. The US has sat back giving Israel time to deliver a quick knockout punch. Israel has taken the gloves off and got on with it. Whilst the UN has tried to become involved, it has largely been ignored or dismissed. Now it looks like a big-fight billing, with Israel and Lebanon at the top of the bill and the United States and Iran on the under-card. The pretext for the Israelis was said to have been the kidnapping of their soldiers. This now seems to be a rather distant and vague factor in this recent turn of events. The agenda seems to be to have been to take on, and take out Hezbollah and Hamas using all available military might. Then belatedly, into the ring, steps Condoleezza Rice and instead of taking an objective macro view of the dangerous situation makes a speech that will only incite hostilities by speaking of a "New Middle East". America and Israel should have both kept focused and solved one problem before taking on others. The Israelis in allowing kidnapping of their soldiers on two separate occasions and allowing themselves to be strategically distracted by the enemy - culminating in an out-of-proportion response which sees them tied down in a place they hastily withdrew from six years ago. The Americans for their part have two limbs caught in traps in Afghanistan and Iraq, yet they seem to condone another disastrous venture, similar to ones which they have been severely hurt by in the past. This is bad judgement. Digging deeper when you are already in a hole is not sensible. It has Bush folly written all over it; it just doesn't make sense, but it shows the dangers of simplistic thinking - something which has been a trademark of US politics since 2000. A Warner Bangkok ---------------------------------------- Letter writer mistaken on Asean's position on Burma
Re: "Not opposing Surakiart's UN bid is like supporting Burma", Letters, July 29. Edward Kaddie's slight on Asean's stance on Burma was based on out-of-date information. Asean, spearheaded by Malaysia, has been critical of Burma's military junta for almost a year now and its view is almost the same as that of the United States and other Western countries. The decision to skip Burma as the place where Asean's next meeting is to be held is extremely encouraging and the likelihood of expelling Burma from the Asean grouping is no longer remote. Only yesterday, Condoleezza Rice praised Asean for its new stand after attending the Asean Regional Forum in Kuala Lumpur. With that revelation, shouldn't the writer withdraw his words calling Surakiart "the junta's foremost stooge" and shouldn't he urge the States to support our Thai candidate? Songdej Praditsmanont Bangkok
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