Leave it to General Chavalit to come up with another brilliant idea. He proposes that his former boss Thaksin be allowed to return and the government could put Thaksin under house arrest for easy surveillance. This idea must have a Burmese origin. Here we have the making of Thaksin as the Aung San Suu Kyi of Thailand. The difference is that Thaksin controls billions. Money is a powerful magnet in Thai politics and Thaksin's Chan Song Lar residence would be as busy as Government House.

The last, single sensible idea that came from General Chavalit was when he resigned from the premiership on November 6, 1997 after presiding over an economic crisis in a free fall spiral.

Netirat Intira

Bangkok

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Thaksin should stay where he is in London exile

Re: "Sonthi slams Chavalit over CNS criticism", News, November 12.

General Chavalit thinks Thaksin should be allowed back right now? Why? Do they still owe each other money or something?

Thanom, Prapas and Narong stayed in Singapore for three years, Chalerm stayed in Denmark for about two years, and Thaksin can't stand being abroad for two months? Is there not enough luxury available in London to satisfy him?

And wasn't Pridi Phanomyong in exile for many more years? Is Thaksin such a sentimental softie, that he so urgently wants to come back? Maybe we should send his whole clan into exile, just so that he doesn't feel lonely? That would certainly solve a lot of problems here in Thailand.

Thaksin in Thailand is the least I and many, many others want.

Sam Munich

Bangkok

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Now turn the tables and investigate Chavalit

May I suggest that the panels investigating the ill-gotten wealth of the Shinawatra clan take a break, have a change of scenery and investigate the wealth of Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and his wife Khunying Pankreua. They might find that there was a sharp and inexplicable increase in their assets after the baht devaluation in the late 1990s.

Liam

Bangkok

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Do senior government officials break the law at will?

Re: "Tax scam slowly unravels", News, November 10.

I quote: "As a bureaucrat, it is always difficult to adjust to different political environments." Does this mean that government bureaucrats decide when to break the law and not break the law when it serves them personally to do one or the other?

Again I quote: "Pridiyathorn has no intention of sacking Sirote or Suparat because he needs them to assist him in fiscal policy planning." So, if these two government finance officers helped a Shinawatra or two evade taxes, it really doesn't matter! They shouldn't be sacked (let alone be tried in court for a crime they are alleged to have committed - tax-evasion complicity) since they are potentially needed to help Pridiyathorn do his job.

I wonder if Pridiyathorn plans any stock or futures purchases of his own soon? Oh how I love "Amazing Thailand".

KC

Shanghai

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Old tactics to get rid of tenants are still a favourite

Re: "Thugs demolish Chatuchak stalls", Letters, November 10.

It has long been rumoured that Chatuchak has to make way for some development or other.

This type of thuggish action has been happening in China and Russia a lot recently, with weapons a bit more sinister than knuckle-dusters, though they are bad enough.

I would suppose, in a so-called civilised society, legal notices of eviction would be served with a time scale. The stalls have been there a long time and appear very popular. I have been there a few times myself. I like the feel to the place. Because the stalls have been there so long, a challenge to an eviction order could take place in court. That could go on for a long time, even if unsuccessful. Time equals money. The developers would not want this inconvenience and consequently sent in the heavies. Money is power the world over.

This does not make for a sanuk society. Bangkok looks "first world" but in reality it is still "third world". Thailand looks first world in parts but at core it is still a third-world society. It will take generations to change, if at all.

Yuri Velasquez

Bangkok

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Ban on advertising of alcohol is part of a historical cycle

Re: "Ban on alcohol advertising is immoral and unhealthy in a democratic society", Letters, November 11.

History demonstrates that Western societies suffer periodic crises of morality and ethics. For example, compare the boisterous English Regency period with the subsequent and rather more sober Victorian era (although there is wide scope for debate on that subject). Compare the licentious 1920s - particularly in cities like Chicago, Shanghai and Berlin - with the 1930s (despite the Depression). Compare the freewheeling 1960s and 70s with the political correctness of the last two decades of the 20th century and up to the present.

Thailand, despite its claims to the contrary, was first colonised by the Chinese, and is now increasingly under the influence of Western political correctness. Perhaps there is merit to state control of sales and advertising of drugs - of which alcohol is one. Many would argue against this. Most forms of advertising amount only to aural and visual pollution. But this does not preclude the right of people to advertise their products. Or that of the consumer to choose. The sight of a Johnnie Walker ad will not compel anyone to rush to the nearest liquor store or bar.

Future generations in the Western world will likely tire of state interference in expressions of personal preference. Thais too, are quite capable of making their own personal choices and their own political decisions.

M Scrivener

Bangkok

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No answers on what the US Democrats will do in Iraq?

Re: "Where do US Democrats go now?" Opinion, November 10.

 While Philip Robertson and Kelly Nuxoll give us a dream list of all the things the Democrats are going to do to improve the country now they control both houses of Congress, they tell us nothing about what the Democrats are going to do differently in Iraq. And the war in Iraq is the reason the Democrats won in the first place.

 Do they even know what Democratic front-runner Hilary Clinton, a disgusting opportunist who supported this insane war, would do any differently if elected president? While I tend to regard the Democratic Party as the lesser of the two evils, I think both major parties are absolutely deplorable. And even their two spokespeople here in Thailand cannot tell us one thing that's going to change in Iraq despite their party's victories.

Eric Bahrt

Pattaya

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Time foreign contribution to Thailand was recognised

Expats, farangs or foreigners, whatever we are called, are only just tolerated in Thai society. Those who live here with retirement or residence visas or work permits should be given greater recognition. Basic rights are denied beyond the opportunity to swell the economy with foreign cash. The right to buy and own a home, the right to have representation in local government, and the right not to be exploited by the authorities, including the police and at tourist sites, are mostly denied. What I have read of the new government's policies and actions has impressed me so far. Will they now get round to recognising the contribution we the few make, and do something positive to support us?

Giles Wynne

Korat

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Thailand's step backwards for democracy in Southeast Asia

On Saturday, November 11, Thailand moved towards repression of pro-democracy activists from other Asean countries when Dr George Junus Aditjondro, an Indonesian academic known for his study of Suharto's corruption, was put on a Thai plane to Jakarta, after spending one night at the Immigration Detention Centre at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The reason given for the deportation of Dr Aditjondro was that his name is still on a blacklist from Jakarta dated March 1998 and issued by former president Suharto, who has since been replaced by four consecutive presidents.

Dr Aditjondro was to attend a regional meeting of researchers from the Asean region in Pattaya to discuss the development of democracy. Thailand is the only country in the world Aditjondro has been deported from, based on Suharto's black list. No other Asean country has refused entry to him during his investigation into the ill-gotten wealth of Suharto and his family and cronies. Apart from honouring an anachronistic Suharto blacklist, this case has shown how far the Thai authorities are ready to go to repress the freedom of a fellow Asean academic and pro-democracy activist.

P Kahayan

Bangkok

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