According to the article, officials on Koh Pha-ngan are against selling land to foreigners, in order to preserve the island's environment and avoid Koh Samui's fate of overdevelopment.

While I agree Pha-ngan should be spared Samui's fate, I should point out that on my last visit there in 2003, I was unpleasantly surprised to see the main beach area being quickly engulfed by an ugly concrete sprawl - accompanied by garbage strewn along its narrow streets and the beach. It wasn't the construction of foreign resorts that was causing the blight - the shoddy, slapdash and sometimes unforgivably ugly buildings had all the tell-tale signs of being the work of local operators. On my first visit to the island in 1995, Pha-ngan still had the charm of being a cosy place off the beaten path, but eight years later that atmosphere had vanished.

As much as it suits certain politicians to decry the sale of precious Thai land to money-grubbing foreigners, it is the local landowners and developers who are often the grubbiest of them all, putting up construction anywhere they please, oblivious to any environmental or aesthetic considerations, with the bottom line as their only concern.

The Pha-ngan that I remember from three years ago was already falling victim to this culture of greed and carelessness. If the island really wants to bring its growth under control, it should start by reigning in its own local landowners and developers.

Oh, and one more suggestion for Pha-ngan authorities: hire a few people to clean the beach once or twice a day. The garbage that piles up on the sand, so cheerfully ignored by local authorities and guest-house owners, kind of undermines the whole beautiful sandy-beach experience.

Dave Sherman

Bangkok

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Premier might be under his wife's 'charismatic influence'

Perhaps the charismatic figure who is acting outside the Constitution that caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra referred to is his own wife. After all, she is charismatic, and her husband has often said she is his No-1 and most trusted adviser (although her advice may not be so sterling - considering the prickly predicaments he and the Thai Rak Thai are in). As for being "outside the Constitution" - isn't it true she has not been elected to nor holds political office, and yet she shares the reins of this careening carriage of government?

Brahmburgers

Chiang Rai

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PM has only himself to blame for dip in foreign investment

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra tried to imply that if the judiciary lacked credibility, foreign investment would suffer. For your information, you, Mr Prime Minister, are the central cause of diminishing foreign capital. Your hand-picked election commissioners were convicted. Your hastily held snap election was annulled.

Your political party is a few steps away from being dissolved, and as its chairman, you will be subjected to political exile for five years. You have never cleared up several allegations of corruption against you and your family, including questions in regard to your tax-free transfer of shares of Shin Corp to Singapore. You could also be convicted as a felon in a criminal case in a few months. Your scheme to privatise profitable public enterprises is nothing short of robbery of the treasury.

During your watch, the Muslim South has become a hotbed for separatist activities and civil war, because hundreds died needlessly. Having invited investors to hear about mega-projects, you shelved them a few weeks later by dissolving Parliament. It was you who sponsored a candidate for the United Nations top post who does not stand any chance of winning whatsoever while uttering, "The UN is not my father".

For your information, if you were out of the picture like you said on April 4 that you would be, there would be a net increase in foreign investment, because investors would conclude that Thailand had already hit bottom and had nowhere to go but up.

Netirat Intira

Bangkok

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EC Three could have learned from example set by Jaruvan

I, along with so many others, have been following the events and members of the remaining three election commissioners. I was relieved and pleased when the Criminal Court ended the sad saga of these men by finding them guilty as charged by the prosecutors.

When it came to tooting their own horn about their importance to voters, these three championed their own cause by adamantly stating the election process could not proceed with out them, defiantly ignoring the obvious facts, the lack of trust voiced by others to the contrary.

In contrast, I am reminded of the long-suffering Jaruvan Maintaka and her ordeal. She maintained her dignity, both as an official and a private citizen, while the commission she represented stripped her of her title, locked her out of her office and halted payment of her salary for almost two years while her fate was in limbo, and they passed the buck and obfuscated any attempts to reach a resolution. Despite such shameful and shoddy treatment by her adversarial colleagues and rather ambivalent media support, she diligently carried out her job without complaint or fanfare.

To her credit, such behaviour was a factor that contributed to her eventual reinstatement, the admiration of thousands and nomination to the new Election Commission (EC).

The three guilty EC men have returned to the warmth of their families now, and the time spent in recovery from the "gravity" of their medical problems should seriously curtail any misguided political influence from them. However, I hope someone collected their passports; you know, in case they impulsively decide to slip out of the country for some international medical attention.

Mr Bill

Bangkok

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Negotiating a cease-fire with Hizbollah a needed first step

The question seems to be is Hizbollah right in trying to eliminate Israel and recover what they believe is stolen land from Muslims, or is Israel right in defending itself from attacks into Israeli territory and capturing Israeli soldiers?

What if Israel had not responded when Hizbollah sent men into Israel and killed Israeli soldiers while capturing two of them? Do we think Hizbollah would just sit back and wait for Israel to make a deal on prisoner swaps, at the tune of: "We'll give you your two back, if you give us a thousand or so of ours back?" No, that would not be the case.

Hizbollah, seeing that Israel did not respond, would take the stance that they had gained the initiative and would now be free to go for more.

We know that Hizbollah has thousands of rockets stored in southern Lebanon. Are we to believe they were only for protection, or did they in fact have a plan to use them? I'm sure that is a question we all know the answer to.

The matter now is how to get out of this mess. Israel should make an announcement to Hizbollah and the world that it will cease firing into Lebanon if Hizbollah will cease firing rockets into Israel. The prime minister should propose an immediate cease-fire; however, he should also let it be known that the first rocket to hit Israel after a cease-fire deadline will be met with full retaliation. Then it will be up to the UN troops to enforce Resolution 1559 and disarm Hizbollah, returning Lebanon to the Lebanese people. This can all be done without United States involvement.

Sound like a fairy tale? I've read worse.

Charlie Brown

Chon Buri

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Israel's undefined borders long the cause of area strife

The Israeli-Arab conflict has a storied history that cannot be reduced to a single incident initiated by Hizbollah. There are, in fact, many who criticise Israel for the manner in which it decided to incorporate the West Bank and Gaza into the Israeli security system after defeating the Arab armies in 1967. After the war, Israel decided to establish new Jewish settlements in these areas. In the process, many of the Palestinians who lived in these areas were either intimidated into moving or forced to flee their ancestral homes. These bullying tactics persist today, as many Palestinians continue to be treated as citizens without rights.

The root of the present crisis in the Middle East lies in Israel's existence as an independent state with indefinite borders. Only when Israel is given definite and final borders by the international community and all the Arab states will there be real hope for peace.

It is easy for supporters of Israel to suggest continued violence as being necessary, since Israel possesses US-backed military strength. This kind of thinking, however, which betrays an ability to rationalise without thinking rationally, is clearly unacceptable. Can any lasting peace ever be achieved through violence? Though Israel has won most all of its battles in the past, the country has not won a lasting and just peace.

The solution, therefore, must be political. We have to pray for peace and work for justice through dialogue. War is a cowardly escape from justice.

Paul Kokoski

Hamilton, Canada

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Pre-election-day alcohol ban an imposition on non-voters

On a recent visit to Bangkok, my request for an alcoholic beverage was refused on the grounds that there was an election being held the next day. Although I am not in any way a hardened drinker, this seriously irked me. No matter how much I tried to explain to bar staff that I would not be voting, I was not able to get the drink. So it seems everyone is barred from drinking because a few might misbehave - a clear case of collective punishment. So now I really know what freedom means - even if it is having the option to have a beer when you want one without some government interference.

NW Castle

London

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