The political struggles of Aung San Suu Kyi and Thaksin are totally different.  Noble Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained unjustly because the Burmese junta fears her popularity among the Burmese. She has been sacrificing her life for the people of Burma.  Greedy Thaksin did many wrong doings in Thailand and tried to enrich his family.  He deserved to be banned from political involvement for five years.

No one can deny that the world sympathises with Aung San Suu Kyi for her selflessness. However, I am sure that only a handful of people support Thaksin (not merely sympathise), and that is for their own benefit.  Why should the world sympathise with Thaksin for making billions of baht from the Thai people? 

A Burmese Girl

BANGKOK

---------------------------------------------

Junta SMS campaign irks mobile subscriber

As if it wasn't bad enough to get an annoying SMS telling me I can call between 1am and 5am for free if I subscribe to my mobile phone company's new promotional package. Or ones that said I've just won Bt1 million in a contest I never entered. To claim the prize, I must call the following number and leave my bank account number and my mother's maiden name on an answering machine.

Now it is worse. Recently I received a series of bizarre messages telling me that a poll found 91.7 per cent of Thais agree with the Constitution Tribunal's verdicts on Thai Rak Thai, that the Council for National Security (CNS) wants to see peace and reconciliation in the country, and that the CNS wants everyone to exercise discretion before participating in anti-coup protests.

I called the phone company and demanded that it stop sending me such messages. I also asked the female operator what is going on. She hemmed and hawed about the company being asked by the CNS to send the messages. "It should stop soon, though," she added.

Somsak Pola

SAMUT PRAKAN

-----------------------------------

Disunity allowing trouble in deep South to fester

A sectarian country that has been tainted with civil wars and political uprisings over the last 30 years, Lebanon is unlikely to experience peace and democracy after its so-called declaration of independence post-World War Two. From a person who has lost most of his relatives as either martyrs for the so-called cause or as a result of the bombings of civilian areas by various sectarian groups, perhaps I am qualified to share with you what I think is the cause of political turmoil in that part of the world. It can all be summarised with one phrase: Disunity working at the heart of Lebanese communities and in the Middle East.

Such disunity may also be a major reason for the chaos that is taking place in the southern region of Thailand. Although I am not a politician and I surely do not necessarily understand Thai politics, I do however think that peace in the southern region may never come unless various political parties in this country find a way to do what is best for their country. Disunity among political factions, which is usually passed on to regular members of society, strengthens the stance of those who are willing to exploit weaknesses of the government to cause further disharmony and turmoil in the southern region.

Perhaps the recipe for peace in the South does not lie within the realms of the government itself. Perhaps it lies in the minds and ideologies of each and every single Thai person. If we foster unity among the people of Thailand and strengthen the ties that exist among the various political factions, it will virtually be impossible for obstructionists of justice to exploit our weakness and cause more damage to Thailand's reputation for peace. The "Land of Smiles" should always be an image reflected within our hearts and this must be the image that the world should maintain about Thailand.

Political views and differences are necessary for a country to develop towards becoming a full democracy. However, the recipe for peace in Thailand and especially the southern region lies within the hands of every single Thai member of this society. Our dedication to the country as a whole, as well as putting the country's good ahead of our political agendas and promoting unity among the various factions of this society will eventually bring about peace and harmony.

Petros Rigas

BANGKOK

---------------------------------------------

Schools should take lead in promoting helmet use

Traffic accidents are fast becoming the leading cause of death for Thai youths. In particular, motorcycle accidents make up the greatest proportion of these fatalities. Such wanton carnage on the roads is not only horrific and life scarring but, more importantly, preventable.

Parents undoubtedly must play the lead role in challenging their children's attitudes to road safety and to lead by example. Beyond this, I believe schools must take on some of the burden of educating Thailand's ever increasing, young, mobile population.

During her working days, my mother was a physiotherapist, dealing with the aftermath of road trauma victims and she would often labour the value of wearing a safety helmet. Now I, as a health teacher at a prominent government secondary school in the centre of Chiang Mai, find myself echoing the same message.

Students' excuses for not wearing a helmet range from messing up their hair to helmets making their heads hot and the school simply believes that it's an issue for parents and washes their hands of any involvement. This is where I believe schools should step in and follow the Thai law of compulsory helmet usage, and bar any student who enters a school's grounds on motorcycles without a securely fitted helmet. This would encourage students to think responsibly and act in ways that promote road safety.  Furthermore, as schools like mine are always on the lookout for a money spinner, they could promote an event whereby the school, in partnership with an approved safety helmet manufacturer, sells helmets at near cost price, with any profits being shared by the manufacturer and the school. This way everyone comes out on top. It's time to stop these senseless deaths.

Matthew Farrelly

CHIANG MAI

----------------------------------------------

Scrap failed, self-serving Elite-Card programme

While I appreciate that eliminating the Elite Card will incur costs and some potential liabilities, continuing the farce will be much more costly. It is better to erase the damage done by this self-serving, self-aggrandising ploy by the previous government.

The market has spoken. The Elite Card has failed. Against a target of one million, only a few thousand have bought the chimera. But we have to remember that the real purpose of the Elite Card was to create jobs for cronies and their cronies, and to generate business for crony companies. In that respect, it has been a great success. Where have all the budget funds gone? Who are the executives and staff members? Who owns the companies contracted for various services? Huge amounts of money have been spent and gone into the pockets of Thaksin cronies, but the benefits to Thailand have been virtually nil. Kill it now. Work out the liabilities and set up a mechanism to handle them, but stop shovelling money into the pockets of Thaksin cronies, funds that could benefit ordinary Thais in so many ways.

An Elite Card non-holder

BANGKOK

------------------------------------------

Rain concert not quite a perfect storm for fan

Rain came and went, and his Thai fans will never want to stay dry again. I went to his concert this weekend with a friend. Our statement was: "We are not too cool for a Korean fetish." Since we are not getting Justin Timberlake anytime soon, why not enjoy the next best thing? We stood out in the crowd of Rain's camouflaged purists. An auntie two rows down was in her kimono, a pair of opera glasses tucked neatly in her obi. A teenager was in her blouse so short I wondered if she walked out from one of those dreams in which we forget to wear pants and go to a market.

I thought the first half of the concert was boring if not painful. It hurt to see Rain, with all his talent, dance around those sloppy props. At one point the music turned mellow and a purple bed the size of the Titanic pulled onto the scene. We saw renaissance sculptures, a man and a woman cuddling on a white furry sheet. Well, they were actually humans who froze for the entire song, while Rain crooned heartbreakingly.

We had more fun in the second half. Jets of water shot down from the top of Impact Arena and right over Rain at the end of one song. He dried himself quickly and soon emerged as a drunken boxer, writhing Kung Fu break-dance style. The visual effects were mesmerising with two gigantic screens showing flying daggers and roaring dragons zooming in and out.

There were a couple of female dancers whose bodies were apparently meant to break the mould created by whippet-thin Asian girls. The task was enormously accomplished and the mould was shattered in a very big burst. In any case, the fans worshipped Rain, his voice and his abs.

Rattaphol Onsanit

BANGKOK