For how much longer must we endure these trite lies from Thaksin Shinawatra, that he is as pure as the driven snow and the poor victim of nasty men?

Could this touchstone of avarice, abuse and unbridled greed please be brought to book? If the trail of the financial corruption is too cold or difficult to follow, then his statements concerning his war on drugs and the resultant murderous spree are all too starkly evident.

Will someone in this new government please stop this vile little show and either take steps to put this sickening liar behind bars or brand him for what he really is? Surely, the maxim "actions speak louder than words" still holds true?

Dr John Patterson

Bangkok

Ex-PM might be working on a move to Singapore

As an unabashed admirer of Singapore's paternalistic style of government and, presumably, "Asian values" (remember them?), has former Thai prime minister Thaksin been trying to cut a deal with the authorities down south that would see him retake control of Shin Corp in return for being granted Singaporean citizenship as a wealthy overseas investor?

From a family point of view it seems the Shinawatras would all fit in pretty well down there. After all, they're rich too. Of course, this would probably require a political deal with Thai authorities to let them off the hook, or at least guarantee lenient treatment of their various alleged legal transgressions. Given that the rule of law is not writ large in this part of the world (consider how many times Thai authorities let Thaksin off the hook while he was prime minister), I suggest that if such an arrangement could be made permanent then it may well prove to be a more practical solution than allowing everything to drag on through the Thai courts.

In my opinion, most Thais would consider such a deal to be an acceptably practical solution - providing it resulted in a commensurate gain in reform efforts by the Thai government.

Frank Lee

Australia

Don't forget the murders of activists under old regime

 Re: "Thaksin-era human-rights abuse cases must be dealt with", Letters, January 22.

I fully agree with Burin Kantabutra's criticism of the junta for the failure to investigate alleged human rights atrocities during the Thaksin era, such as the 2,500 alleged extra-judicial deaths during the anti-drug war, the 32 deaths at Krue Se, the 78 suffocation deaths at Tak Bai and the presumed murder of lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit.

He forgot to mention the many other human-rights activists and others murdered in that era without being investigated. Why did CNN never report on these matters? And why was there never a political outcry against these atrocities by the public and, more specifically, by the families and friends of all those victims?

Why are matters of human-rights abuses drawing much more attention, national and international, in countries like Iraq, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Russia, than in Thailand?

Nick

Bangkok

Sonthi's guarantees prove to be not quite certainties

 In a report in The Australian newspaper on Saturday, Thai intelligence officials were quoted as saying that the bombings on New Year's Eve were the work of the Jemaah Islamiyah group in the deep South. They reportedly said the attacks were meant to create tension between the old and new regimes in an effort to "confuse the Thai infidels".

Coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin had earlier said that he could "100-per-cent guarantee" that the bombings were not done by southern insurgents. He also said in May of last year that coups were a thing of Thailand's bad past and that "I assure everyone that there definitely won't be a coup". Sensing a pattern here? Well, I hereby propose a new nickname for him: "Pinch of Salt Sonthi". Because that is exactly what his comments should be taken with.

I hope the "ra-ra" junta cheerleading squad is still willing to accept all possibilities about who was responsible for the bombings and I hope that this story is researched and reported on fully in the local press.

BF

Bangkok

Journalists more to blame than the information law

 Re: "Access-to-information-law requires an urgent overhaul", Opinion, January 22.

Kavi Chongkittavorn wrote, with reference to requests for information to the Official Information Commission: "Surprisingly, the number of disclosure requests made by journalists was disappointingly low, to the point of insignificance..."

According to Kavi, this is because Thai journalists have been discouraged by the delaying tactics of government officials and prefer to rely on "personal connections" to obtain sensitive information.

Frankly, the only thing that surprises me is Kavi's nerve in offering such a lame excuse for Thai journalists' laziness and incompetence. Can you imagine Western journalists being put off by government obstruction? Of course not, the evasion would be documented, conversations recorded and the evasions themselves would become the story. The publicity generated would quickly lead to compliance and the information would be released.

Thai journalists find it easier and more in keeping with their status to hang around government offices waiting for officialdom to toss them a morsel of information, which they then obediently print as news.

Dom Dunn

Bo Phut

Suvarnabhumi, Don Muang could use a helicopter link

 There are any number of reasons why a return to the Don Muang airport might be required, such as the poor planning and faulty construction at Suvarnabhumi.

In order to save passengers connecting between the two airports from Bangkok's harrowing traffic, the powers-that-be simply need to provide a helicopter shuttle service. This would necessarily have to be free to passengers. Who pays the bill will depend on who is found to be responsible for the need to move.

Grandpa in Chon Buri

Chon Buri

Suvarnabhumi bus services are good, but hard to find

 Suvarnabhumi Airport has a good bus terminal that has air-conditioned buses that travel quickly to many destinations all over Bangkok and with low fares like in all public bus services.

However, after a new arrival walks out of the airport, there are no signs to indicate the way to the bus terminal. In fact, there are no proper signs for the airport's users and visitors at all. Why isn't there a simple sign in the arrival hall to give directions to the information counters, meeting points, money exchange counters, buses, taxi rank etc? And most importantly, a sign to the free shuttle bus to bus terminals where passengers can get a regular public buses?

Also, perhaps the Skytrain operator should start to think now about how to get passengers to stations on their future routes, and have the names of destinations at local bus terminals in English as well.

Gerrit

Bangkok

Runway cracks could be a result of cost-cutting

 Re: "Runway cracks widen at Suvarnabhumi", News, January 22.

Perhaps it is the fault of the construction company that won the contract from the government. I suspect they used substandard materials and shortcuts in order to maximise profits.

Saeui Tem

Bangkok

Backpackers are the best promoters of Thailand

 Thailand has always been the paradise for backpackers. I hope the Tourism Authority of Thailand will not forsake us in its quest for "quality tourism".

We don't spend as much as the golfers or Middle-East sheikhs do, but we are the best promoters of Thailand. Joe Cummings, author of the Lonely Planet guide to Thailand, started out as a backpacker. I have just returned from visiting northern Thailand and have been posting photos on my blog.

Khengsiong Chew

Kuala Lumpur

Why not show the Hmong refugees some compassion

 I try very hard to keep up-to-date with Hmong issues in Laos. I don't understand why the Lao government - if it has nothing to hide from the world - doesn't allow United Nations to supervise the deportation of Hmong back to Laos?

And why can't Thailand allow the Hmong to stay on? The Hmong refugees have not committed any crimes against them; all they want is to save the lives of their wives, children and themselves. Is there no compassion left in this world?

Someone who feels for all races

Bangkok