However to remove the auditor general is behaviour of a most dangerous kind.

This woman endured the most appalling abuse at the hands of the previous regime before she was finally restored to her position after her proposed successor failed to assume the position. If the junta wants to be thought of as saviours both at home and abroad this action sends a clear message that it is not. Its members have begun the slippery journey towards becoming arbitrary thugs. How long until they resemble their colleagues in Burma?

Dr John Symons

Bangkok

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Parking garage elevators desperately need attention

As a Thai, I am proud of the new airport, despite the fact that politicians have shown an unlimited appetite for making money from various projects in this place. However, these corrupters will be exposed pretty soon, I hope.

The reason I am writing today is to remind AOT that it must fix the elevator problem in the parking building or it will potentially end up in a lawsuit for inducing a heart attack in someone, possibly me.

I am an executive of a trading firm who does lots of international travelling. I usually drive to the airport, park my car in the parking lot and leave it there. Upon my return, I retrieve my car and drive home. This saves me time and money. Many travellers do the same.

None of the elevators in the parking garage at Suvarnabhumi Airport work. Imagine carrying a 30kg bag full of business materials, catalogues, brochures, laptop, duty-free goodies and other luggage. This is no fun. Elevators are not space shuttles, and elevator technology is not rocket science. I am sure there are ways to make the elevators work. If hotels or office buildings in Bangkok can make their elevators function properly and are ready to render a service, then AOT should be able to do the same. AOT has known for some months that the airport would open in September, so why didn't it make sure the elevators worked on opening day? To neglect a simple thing like this only shows how effective AOT really is.

CKC

Bangkok

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Suvarnabhumi beats Madrid's new airport

After reading many horror stories about Suvarnabhumi Airport, I thought I would tell you my own experience.

As a Spanish national I was well aware of the problems associated with the opening of a new air terminal: Madrid airport had its new state-of-the-art T4 terminal inaugurated earlier this year among almost complete chaos. There were computer system crashes, countless flight delays, massive lost luggage, shuttle train beak-downs, etc. Therefore, when we landed last Friday at Suvarnabhumi on an Air Aisia flight from Penang, I was on the look-out. The first bit of good news was that we landed 10 minutes before our scheduled time. The moment I stepped onto the moving sidewalk I looked at my watch: 11.12pm. I followed the signs to the immigration counters and, after a swift clearance, on to the baggage claim hall. At 11.25pm I was waiting by the carrousel and by 11.35pm I was happily pushing my trolley through customs. All in all, 23 minutes from aeroplane to arrival hall. I was truly impressed. From there to the taxi stand the situation was more confusing. Signs were not clear and some paper signs scotched onto pillars looked suspicious. In the end I made it to Level 1, found my way to an admittedly messy taxi queue, but still managed to catch a cab in no time. May all my experiences with international airports be like this!

Nino Correa Guimera

Madrid

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Chaos at the taxi queue is a major problem

I have read your articles on Suvarnabhumi Airport and could not agree more. AOT Taxi stand personnel actually gave my wife grief when she complained about the utter chaos at the taxi stand. Because she is Thai, according to the staff member, she should not complain. The architecture firm responsible for the design is clearly incompetent, missing basic design fundamentals such as the traffic flow of arriving persons, sufficient number of toilets and the information required on signage for passengers.

We are currently reviewing a regional gathering of investors planned in November here in Bangkok. Because of the problems that people will have at the airport, we are considering relocating the event. The airport is the first point of contact for tourists and businesspeople visiting Thailand. Is this the first impression Thailand wants to present?

AOT has embarrassed itself and Thailand.

Daniel Mitchell

Bangkok

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Surakiart's comments on Soe Win are revealing

Surakiart Sathirathai as UN secretary-general? Now that would be a black day for human rights.

When Soe Win was appointed Burmese Prime Minister in October 2004, Surakiart reportedly had this to say: "Soe Win is a nice and easy-going leader with an international understanding."

I beg your pardon, Khun Surakiart?

The "nice" Soe Win distinguished himself in 1988 by deploying troops to crackdown on democracy protestors and ordering them to open fire on Rangoon General Hospital. When he was Northwestern Regional Commander in Chin State, his "easy-going" nature revealed itself by upping the persecution of Chin Christians. With regard to his "international understanding", Soe Win said in 2003 that the junta "not only won't talk to the NLD [National League of Democracy] but also would never hand over power to the NLD". Surakiart's spinelessness was eloquently displayed when he switched loyalty overnight from Thaksin to General Sonthi. And with a perspective on international affairs as perverse as this, it is difficult to think of a worse choice for this extremely important position.

Nigel Pike

Phang Nga

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Who ever said the laws were supposed to make sense?

Re: "Thai hotels appear to have a no-Thais policy", Letters, September 30.

As a fellow citizen, my heart goes out to Khun Thanyaporn. I also experienced the same treatment more than once. My initial reaction was a mixture of anger, confusion and denial. I handled it by conducting a reality check with the help of my colleagues to establish that: (1) I was physically in Thailand, my country of birth; (2) I was a Thai citizen living in my own country; (3) my money had the same value as the money used by foreigners to pay for hotel charges.

After that, I decided not to file a complaint with the National Commission on Human Rights, but instead I went abroad for my holidays and vowed never to subject myself to this sort of unnecessary humiliation in my own country again. I shall leave the Amazing/Unseen Thailand unseen if I cannot reserve and pay for hotel accommodation on the same basis as foreigners.

The no-Thais policy is one of many things in Thailand that do not make sense to me, such as buying a single can of beer between 2pm and 5pm is not allowed by law, but it is legally permissible to purchase a case of beer at any time of day. The given rationale for this law is to discourage excessive consumption of alcohol.

Maybe the best way to handle this existential absurdity is to come to terms with the reality of living in Thailand.

Compatriot

Bangkok

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US Democrats have had their share of immorality

Re: "The US is in no position to talk about democracy", Letters, October 1.

In his anti-Bush, anti-Republican , anti-American letter, John Francis Lee reveals himself as a true left-leaning liberal and likely Democrat. He typifies the ineptitude of the left-wing, in that they ignore the facts to make their points against the Republicans.

Lee accuses George W Bush of the "murder tens of thousands of innocents outside his own country". Are these the mass graves that are being found in Saddam's Iraq or Milosevic's Bosnia? Which US president authorised the carpet bombing of German and Japanese cities? The Democrat FD Roosevelt. Which US president authorised the dropping of the atomic bombs? The Democrat Harry Truman. Which US president authorised the bombing and "invasion" of Vietnam? The Democrat LB Johnson.

It is also typical of Democrats to switch the point in mid-sentence. Lee purports to comment on Thai democracy, but where is that comment? Instead he accuses the Republicans (via Diebold) of stealing elections. Where is his proof? The left-wing in American politics never requires such an inconvenient thing like "proof" or facts before making wild accusations.

The most famous vote stealers in recent American history were Democrats: Johnson and the Democratic mayor of Chicago Richard Daly. I would invite Lee to return to the history books to learn just who was president during those hypocritical "military takeovers in the last century, from Panama to Iran to Vietnam to Chile to Haiti". Their ability to blithely ignore their own history is precisely why the Democrats will never return to any semblance of power in the US government. It is mainly because they are not even a semblance of the party that they used to be.

I do, however, agree with Lee's closing: "In the meantime this American, like everyone else in Thailand, is ready to judge the Thai military by the fruits of its efforts in pursuit of its stated goals." The knee-jerk reaction of the Bush administration to the coup shows a lack of understanding of Thai politics.

Grandpa in Chonburi

Chon Buri