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Published on September 14, 2007

First, how can we give members maximum participation in the affairs of the parties? And secondly, how can we provide a mechanism through which members can have control over the operations of the parties?

For example, we should give members the right to participate in the process to select candidates for the election, may be directly or indirectly. Or we may require the parties to select candidates more openly. In this way, the candidates will be screened thoroughly and the voters will have only the best candidates to choose from. Representatives of the members should take part in the daily operations of the parties. We can think about greater participation in other areas of operations of the parties.

In the area of control, parties should be transparent in areas such as finance. Receipts should be issued to donors and kept for audit and the record of donation should be disclosed when required. Full financial statements should be published in newspapers. There are other functions of the parties which members should be able to exercise some kind of control over. If members can take part in daily operations of the parties, the public will have some idea of what's going on inside the parties and will have more trust in them.

When politicians are willing to pass laws to pardon their peers, negating whatever the court has decided, we need more control mechanisms for, and more direct public participation in, the operations of the parties.

Prichar

Bangkok

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Airport protesters are opportunistic fraudsters

On Tuesday the Cabinet approved a budget of Bt174.77 million for providing alleviation for people affected by noise pollution at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

It is a joke that our government falls for those opportunists. Only those who lived there before the construction of the airport deserve compensation. Anyone who moved there later is a speculator looking for quick profit. They don't deserve one satang at all. Why the hell would they want to live around the airport to begin with if they are not opportunists? This is a Bt 174.77 million fraud.

It is not hard to re-do the wall and replace windows with double-pane glass to cut out noise.

Surasak Piputtana

Bangkok

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The clock is ticking and still we do nothing

Yes, the flooding season is back. Deluges in Phetchabun, Loei, Chiang Rai, Bangkok, Phitsanulok. Who will compensate the victims for their losses? The Royal Forestry Department? The logging companies? Or the "influential families" behind the loggers? Let's agree that this is a rhetorical question. We all know the answer already.

After all these years of systematic forest destruction and thus the destruction of river watersheds, there is no reason to complain now. Just keep in mind that an intact forest area can absorb 25 times more rainwater then a golf course or agricultural land and then store the water as groundwater.

The destruction dynamics of forest ecosystems has been well studied and described by scientists. The sequence of events, which will change an ecosystem to the point of no return, has been described long ago and was our "writing on the wall". The threshold has been crossed already. Just prepare yourself for more floods, landslides, droughts and forest-fires as normal events in the future.

The rain is not the problem; it is essential for all life on this planet. Carbon dioxide is not changing our climate; it is our greed and ignorance. By the time you remember the proverb "we need nature, nature does not need us", it will be too late.

F Pelegrin

Khon Kaen

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Follow the paper trails; amend the laws

It is heartening to see Thai investigators finally discover evidence that points to what any interested observer understood - that Thaksin Shinawatra, during his time as prime minister, concealed assets and manipulated policy to enrich himself. This information was hidden, in plain sight, during his tenure. While on paper he may have transferred his shares in Shin Corp to his children, who could ever have believed that his young, inexperienced offspring - one accused of cheating in exams while another benefited from pressure applied to gain a university spot - would ever have the brains to know what to do with that stock?

Of course, Thaksin controlled those assets. Now it appears that there might be a paper trail to prove it. Perhaps Thai law should be updated so that anyone in the immediate family of public office holders must divest in businesses that are affected by government policy.

Christopher Wise

Bangkok

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War on terror is more complex than media portrayal

Re: "Terror on our doorstep", Editorial, September 11.

Thank you for a well documented article on the war on terror. You have given a sober-minded overview of the problems confronting Thailand and the world at large without resorting to the customary "Bush bashing". That the USA has made mistakes in Iraq goes without saying. Yet your criticism is objective and constructive and nowhere do I see a "you broke it, you fix it" attitude.

This tells me you have a very deep and mature understanding of the evil of Islamic militancy and the manner in which it is evolving today.

It is true the Iraqi and US governments have not always conducted themselves in an exemplary manner. It is untrue to say that they don't care for their people. It is also true to say that their job is an extremely complex and difficult one. In regard to the USA, not one terrorist attack of note has occurred on home soil for the last six years.

The world and Americans in particular have become pessimistic regarding the war on terror because it has been associated with Iraq. Militants know this well, and with every terror occurrence anywhere, the militant propaganda machine cunningly and deviously points the finger at the USA and the other countries involved in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mistakes by the US are condemned from the rooftops. In my home country we have an expensive paint called Wall And All. The ad reads: "It goes on and on and on it covers enormous areas." The media handling of US mistakes reminds me of Wall And All; it just goes on and on and on. All of this is designed to turn the tide of American public opinion against the war. The militants are exploiting this to the full.

A J Haupt

Pattaya

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The sequel: Why I left Thailand

I have to confess that I have neither purchased nor read John Arnone's recent contribution to the literary landscape, "Why I left America". I suppose that, having read what seems like thousands (but apparently only 300 or so) of his generally egotistical and belligerent letters to newspapers, I do not anticipate any surprises in his "Self-righteous rantings", as described by the Sunday Nation book review of September 9.

Paradoxically perhaps, I may be persuaded to read its optimistically anticipated sequel: "Why I left Thailand", if and when he decides to go ahead with it.

Tony Ash

Phetchaburi.

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An open letter to Prime Minister General Surayud Chulanont

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) would like to express our deep concern for the health and safety of the 149 Lao-Hmong refugees in the Nong Khai Immigration and Detention Centre . The IDC is for temporary detention of a few days only and is an inadequate living environment for those in long-term detention. The detention of these individuals in the IDC has been over nine months now. We ask you to allow the UN High Commissioner for Refugees access to the Lao-Hmong to facilitate third-country resettlement of these individuals to end their suffering and the government of Thailand's burden of sheltering them.

Of the 149, 90 are children who had no say on their entrance to Thailand. Five of these children were born in the IDC. Thailand has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which ensures, among other things, that the government of Thailand will keep the best interests of children in mind. Specifically, Article 37 states that detention "shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time". These children deserve a better life than prolonged detention in a small cell.

As third countries have offered settlement to the Lao-Hmong refugees, we ask that you allow this process to take place by allowing access for the UNHCR to the IDC. We understand your argument that resettling the Lao-Hmong will only encourage others to cross the border and seek resettlement as well, but surely these individuals have suffered enough at this point. They have been labelled as "individuals of concern" by the UNHCR and are not simply seeking better economic conditions but are legitimately concerned for their safety in Laos. The UNHCR, along with foreign embassies, should be allowed access to the Lao-Hmong in the IDC so the process of resettlement can be completed.

A sustainable solution for those entering Thailand illegally must be sought; keeping the 149 in the dreadful conditions of the IDC is not sustainable. In the meantime a humane end to the continuously deteriorating situation of the Lao Hmong in the Nong Khai can be achieved by allowing these individuals to be resettled in third countries.

Anselmo Lee

Executive Director, Ethnic Minorities in Southeast Asia Programme

Bangkok

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