Last year, Boyce insisted that free-trade agreement talks between the Thai government and American trade representatives, which he chaired, should be kept secret. This upset many Thai businessmen and they were right to be upset.

Boyce later lobbied the Thai government with American alcohol and tobacco companies to reduce the restrictions on advertising of alcohol and tobacco in Thailand. This drew criticisms of Boyce from the Thai public.

Subsequently, Boyce's predecessor, Darryl Johnson, returned to Thailand to lobby the Thai government with American pharmaceutical companies to stop Thailand from producing urgently needed anti-Aids medicine on its own, ignoring patent protection laws.

Now, in today's press, Boyce complains about Thailand's desperate move to save more than half a million HIV-positive Thais. He claims that this has reduced investor confidence in Thailand and hurt the Thai government's image. That is nonsense, of course.

In America, today, April 1, is also April Fool's Day.

Rodley Tufren

Bangkok

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Being comfortable with nudity part of Thai history

Yet again the various protectors of "Thai culture" reveal their obsession with Thai women daring to be nude. From the statements made the issue seems to be that it is "un-Thai" for a woman to show her body.

When Prisana Pongtadsirikul, secretary-general of the National Culture Commission, asks why the models didn't have their photos taken with their clothes on or in "traditional Thai clothes" she reveals a prejudice for conservative 19th century Victorian values. It was the Europeans, foremost the English, who brought to Thailand the shame and taboo of revealing the human form. In the Ayutthaya period being unclothed was traditional Thai dress!

"There is no more thankless trade in the kingdom of Siam than that of a tailor, for the majority of people have no need of him," says Nicholas Gervaise in his 1688 book "The Natural and Political History of the Kingdom of Siam". And observed, Simon de la Loubere in 1693: "They hardly cloath [sic] themselves".

De la Loubere was not even particularly scandalised by the Siamese lack of dress. He found a logical explanation for it: "As the cloaths [sic] imbibe whatever the body transpires [soaking sweat] ... the less one is cloath'd, the more easie [sic] it is to be neat, as the Siamese are"; "the simplicity of manners, as well as the heat, is the cause of the nakedness of the Siamese". It is obvious the guardians of Thai culture don't know their history or have chosen to embrace the restrictions that came with the European-Victorian era, where women were seen as little more than children, unable to think, decide and act for themselves.

Christopher

Bangkok

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Let savage attack on woman serve to kick off police reforms

Re: "Officer suspended over horrendous assault", News, March 23.

I "Googled" the name of Suphansa Wichanant, the young woman who had her arm hacked off. Her name in Thai elicited 206 sites in the Thai language. It's encouraging to think that many Thai people are interested in this appalling story - and hopefully they're sincerely concerned also. Perhaps this incident can serve as a call for tangible changes in business-as-usual here.

Here are some suggestions:

1) Hold police fully accountable for their actions - whether on duty or off.

2) Commemorate good actions among men in uniform. Including public praise for those that resist bribes (and those who report bribe offers).

3) Have internal/external investigations "with teeth".

4) Hold superior officers at least partially responsible for those below them in their respective departments.

5) Invite police from other countries to come and give seminars on police procedure that has proven effective abroad.

6) Rather than being let off, have an officer found guilty of wrongdoing pay a higher price, as they are the ones who are supposed to be upholding the law, and setting an example.

7) Superiors should stress "personal responsibility" among all their charges.

8) Have experts give seminars on how to do scientific investigations to prevent the botching of crime scenes as is so often the case.

Reward good behaviour, make crime pay - starting with the guys in uniform.

Brahmburgers

Chiang Rai

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Iran fully within its rights to arrest trespassing sailors

Statement of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Thailand on the trespassing of Iran's territorial waters by the British troops:

On March 23, 15 British sailors, who trespassed on Iran's territorial waters, were taken into custody by Iranian border guards. Obviously the illegal entry of British servicemen into Iran's waterways is against international laws and violated Iran's inalienable international rights.

Registered data and GPS information taken from detainees along with the explicit confessions made by the British sailors during their interviews all prove the truthfulness of Iran's claims that the British troops have entered Iran's territorial waters illegally and without permission. Also two of the arrested sailors admitted that they had entered the Iranian territorial waters illegally and apologised to the Iranian nation.

According to Article 30 of the International Law Commission on the international responsibilities of governments, the British government is responsible to avoid such measures which are in contradiction with the rules of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the international laws.

The policy of the Islamic republic of Iran is to pursue the matter by taking proper legal measures to solve it. Iran believes this case is an issue of bilateral concern and that the interference of other parties will not help to solve it. Iran is willing to solve the issue through talks and based on technical as well as legal investigations,

Unfortunately British officials who are aware of the mistake of their marine troops have launched political cries as well as propaganda through media to cover up their wrongdoings and attribute them to others. But all documents and evidences prove the illegal entry of British sailors into Iran's territorial waters.

The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that any interference by third parties would complicate the solution of the issue, and demands that the European Union refrain from uttering any irresponsible and improper statement in said regard. The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran in Thailand would like to call on peace-loving countries and the world community to condemn the violation of Iran's territorial waters by British sailors and encourage the British government to pursue bilateral solutions for solving the problem.

Akbar Khodaei

Public Relations Section

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Thailand

Bangkok

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'300' yet another lamentable Hollywood rewrite of history

Re: "'300"s depiction of Persia driven by 'vicious stereotypes'", Letters, March 31.

In the last few years, Hollywood seems to have been forced to turn to classic themes for lack of ideas. In this, it has found an emulator in the Australian Mel Gibson who has produced a very controversial film "The Passion of the Christ" and has just now at best mangled the Mayan culture with "Apocalypto". For one individual it is certainly a feat to insult two large communities within such a short time. Hollywood is certainly not behind: not satisfied to have reduced Homer's Odyssey to an insipid pap - the massacre of the Proci in particular, the most dramatic scene ever, it has mangled and butchered the Iliad in "Troy" and in the miniseries "Helen of Troy".

At the same, it falsified Roman history in "The Gladiator" reducing it to a fantastic story pretending to truth. But the very latest butchery, "300", is a disgraceful distortion and misrepresentation of the battle of the Thermopilae and of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. In a nutshell, it sucks up to Washington neo-cons by turning marines into pretend Spartans, demonises Persians (today's Iranians), dismisses Europeans as "Athenian boy-lovers and philosophers" and denigrates the 700 Tespians and the other allies as a bunch of weekend soldiers. Then it concentrates on comic-book heroics: all against any version of the battle but certainly blatant, base propaganda for a war against Iran.

An insult to Leonidas, the Spartans and to all the Greek Oplites who died at the Thermopilae - and to history. Congratulations, Hollywood.

Dr Massimo-F Buonaiuto

Nonthaburi

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Support for Burmese junta will hit China financially

On Friday, the United States government began to impose trade sanctions on China to protect American jobs harmed by illegal Chinese government subsidies. The US Commerce Department imposed duties on two Chinese makers of high gloss paper, one at 10.9 per cent and the other at 20.4 per cent, by calculating the allegedly illegal Chinese government subsidies to these two Chinese companies.

Other American industries and trade unions are also expected to petition the US government to impose tariffs on imports of Chinese steel, plastics, machinery, textiles etc. Last year, the Schumer-Graham bill to impose a 27.5 per cent tax on Chinese imports had the support of 68 US senators, which is more than enough to override a presidential veto. Some form of anti-China trade legislation is expected to become US law within the next year.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the US Senate, can filibuster anti-China trade legislation in the US Senate, but he is still angry at the Chinese government for vetoing the UNSC Resolution on Burma. Senator McConnell is the leading supporter of the Burmese democracy movement.

China's support for the illegal military junta in Burma will cost them plenty.

Myint Thein

Senior Advisor to the Burmese Resistance

Dallas, Texas