Burin Kantabutra made the comment that both General Saprang Kalayanamitr and Squadron Leader Prasong Soonsiri should immediately embark on a study tour of the United States and the United Kingdom, just so they would understand how "the government of the people, by the people, and for the people" works. ("Those leading nation to democracy fail to grasp basics", Letters, March 11.)

Burin may have forgotten that both countries once had a prime minister and a president who were non-elected: Winston Churchill in 1940 and Gerald Ford in 1974. And when they tried to get their own terms via the ballot box, both were defeated: Churchill to Clement Atlee in 1945 and Ford to Jimmy Carter in 1976.

It is always a cherished principle that the prime minister must come from the people. But that prime minister must also be a good, decent, honest and capable person. Thai political history shows us that we have had so few of those.

Lest it be forgotten, the power to appoint the prime minister and his Cabinet is the prerogative of His Majesty the King. No matter how the Constitution is written, the drafters cannot ignore this fact.

Prachyadavi Tavedikul

Bangkok

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Foreign investors will simply move their money out

Regarding the comments by those who support the "short-term" restrictions on foreign money, it is possible they have forgotten the reaction of the Thai stock market to those restrictions: Bt800 billion vanished from the economy within a few hours.

Also, the intent of the restrictions - to curb currency speculation - has totally failed and the baht continues to hit new highs almost daily.

Those who support the ill-conceived monetary and corporate-law changes made by the junta may not have to look at a balance sheet every day or need to pay millions of baht every month in salaries.

But those of us who do have watched in dismay as the economy slows and profits disappear.

Restrictions on foreigners owning homes and businesses, restrictions on currency, on big food retailers and the concept of "self-sufficiency" may play well with the people, but money flows where it can best be used.

For example, our corporation has already made the decision to reduce funds intended for Thai expansion and directed them to Vietnam instead. This decision was not vindictive - it was just good business.

Those of you who want foreigners to move along may get your wish.

Michael Greenwald

Bangkok

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Laws look good on paper, but enforcement is the key

Re: "Civilian population providing insurgents with easy cover", Letters, March 11.

"Amazed in Kalasin" raised some good points in his letter. Certainly villagers should not be allowed to protect or hide a suspected murderer. I checked with a Thai lawyer and he told me there is no law in Thailand that criminalises 'harbouring a fugitive', as there is in most western countries. 

Similarly, there may only be weak laws in Thailand against 'obstructing justice', though I didn't ask that question of my lawyer friend. Laws by themselves are just edicts written on paper. They are only effective if authorities prosecute them with due diligence and (hopefully) fairness. 

From the other side of the fence: within Muslim Sharia (law) there must also be laws against killing people - though from what we read in the news of Muslim insurgents, there may be a lot of wiggle room for interpretation of such Sharia laws.

In other words, Sharia might say that killing a person is bad, but the next 20 paragraphs might give 20 different instances when murder is not only allowable, but necessary.  

In contrast, though one can knock the domestic American justice system - especially after the OJ Simpson fiasco - yet one thing appears quite consistent: even in a country of a quarter of a billion people from hundreds of different ethnic, religious and national backgrounds, there is a fair degree of equal treatment for all.

For example, if a woman driver in America were to injure a child and then run off, she would be prosecuted much the same regardless of whether she was rich or poor, or of what religion or none, or regardless of the shade of her skin tone.

The same could not be said of most other countries, where a crime defendant is heavily prejudiced by all the factors mentioned in the previous sentence, plus the ethnicity, social strata, religion and skin colour of the victim.

In some countries (Malaysia, India and Pakistan come to mind), even the private sexual preference of a defendant can be a major factor in deciding the punishment for a crime.

Ken Albertsen

Chiang Rai

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Technology is today's new political weapon of choice

While I sympathise with iTV's staff, I think there are a number of  significant points not mentioned by critics of the government decision on the channel's future:

1. Independence - iTV is touted as being "Thailand's only independent TV station". I seem to recall that there were two purges of  news staff who refused to toe the Thaksin/TRT line.

2. Ownership - iTV is not Thai anymore. It is majority-owned by Temasek, which is the investment arm of the Singapore government. To the well-known activist who blandly stated that the government was acting against national interests, I would like to ask, "What nation?"

3. Thaksin often said that we are in the information age and that the most powerful instrument of policy is information technology. It is clear from his recent high-level talks with the Singapore government that the latter has chosen to offend the Surayud government and wait for the day when Thaksin can make his comeback bid when, doubtless, iTV will emerge from its present "sleeper" status to be an important weapon.

4. While one nation can still seek to dominate another or to exploit its resources, the means have changed. It is no longer vast armies marching to conquer (with the possible exception of the United States, and look where it's got them); in the age of globalisation, it is the weapons of economic coups through information technology launched through cyberspace that can achieve these aims. Thus a small but highly technological nation like Singapore could well one day dominate Thailand, especially with the connivance of a local leader willing to sell out his own people.

We often say that Ayutthaya will not run out of good people; we seem to overlook that  bad guys also seem to be ever-present.

MK

Bangkok

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America never learns the lessons of its past battles

Recently, I returned from a trip to New York City where Hmong former refugees and I met UN representatives on a matter of importance.

The Hmong people fought courageously on the side of the US against the North Vietnamese-Laos PDR in that war so many of us would like to forget. We carried rifles against the communists in those battles. Then, in 1975, the US pulled out and left the Hmong behind, at the mercy of the conquering Laotian and North Vietnamese military.

Since that time the Hmong have been left to fend for themselves. They fled into the jungles of Laos and have been attempting to survive there ever since. Hmong ChaoFa-Hmong People Eyewitness reports that when the Hmong are enticed from the jungle with the promise of food and shelter, the men and boys are killed, the women and girls are raped and forced into slavery at military camps.

My colleagues met various delegations to present documentation of these atrocities, including photographic evidence, taken undercover, of what continues to happen as a result of what is called the "Secret War" in Laos. They are attempting to raise world consciousness about this tragic situation. The Hmong soldiers and their families who fought for our country deserve our support.

I was not called to serve in the Vietnam-Laos War, but I deeply respect those who gave of their physical health, their mental health, and often their lives to follow the dictates of our government at that time. Now, I'm finding that I can buy clothing made in Vietnam and Laos and, if I had the money, I could visit Vietnam or Laos as a tourist. Indeed, what did we gain from that war.

If we ever leave Iraq, we may soon wonder why we ever were there. If you find yourself questioning the usefulness of this foreign policy tool we call "war", perhaps it is time to put in place a "Department of Peace" in the US government.

If this works for you, go to www.thepeacelliance.org and help this growing movement to eliminate further world tragedies before another one happens.

Wu Jia

New York

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Earlier generations were more skilled in cultivation

Every day, people die on the roads and every day the trees that border them die, too. This is happening in Chiang Mai, and anyone who has been driving on the Bangkok-Chonburi motorway in recent years would have witnessed the depressing spectacle of thousands of tree-saplings slowly withering away. Saplings planted perhaps with the best of intentions but without any basic understanding of what it takes to let a tree grow.

One could conclude that Thais do not know how to grow trees. But then go for a drive through many of the eastern provinces of Isaan and you will find magnificent stately trees lining the roads; trees that were probably planted 50 to 100 years ago. What has gone wrong?

Chris E

Bangkok