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Published on November 8, 2007

His political philosophy, beliefs, attitudes, aims, and ambitions would have been, should have been, known to the French electorate and the political pundits of all knowledgeable and responsible countries and, therefore, his behaviour now should be a surprise to nobody. Certainly not to me.

The fact of his election is a record of the acceptance of all his virtues as those of the French people and, as such, represent their will and intent. He is doing exactly what the French appointed him for.

His relationship with Bush has other implications but that is not important here. The only thing important is that France is a political nothing and good ol' Nick knows that the only way he can gain any recognition is hanging onto George W's coat-tails.

Long live the president of France. Look what happened to St Anthony Blair because of his "political affair" with George.

Emanuel D Samuel

Bangkok

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Gender must remain as designated at birth

Re: "Transsexuals' preferences hard-wired at birth", Letters, November 6.

Sam Winter's letter about transsexuals' status in society claims "babies are born with brains already "sexed" and grow up feeling male or female because they are hard-wired to do so.  Whether or not that's true, society needs basic ground rules regarding gender.

I know a Thai who was born a man, then adopted the identity and name of a woman for a decade - then reverted back to his birth name and back to being a male. We've been out of touch for several years now, so perhaps he's decided it's more convenient to revert back to being a woman for a second go round, I don't know.

Granted, there always have been and there always will be effeminate men and masculine women among us. My general rule of thumb for all people is, they can do as they please, as long as they're not causing harm to others.  

However, for the sake of ID cards and such, society needs things well defined. With rare exceptions (which can be surgically tended-to at infancy), each person is born with one or the other set of sexual organs. That defines whether a person is male or female. 

Thailand, as a society, is particularly tolerant, even lauding, of effeminate men - to the extent that several of the most popular TV shows are hosted by katoey who flagrantly flaunt their effeminate characters and garner endless howls of laughter from audiences throughout the country. Those shows, plus beauty contests and pressure from elders, encourage thousands of boys to emulate katoey - and many of those boys become more effeminate in their development - some going as far as getting a surgical gender changes a few years later, along with injections of hormones.

Each of the two main genders has its comparative advantages and disadvantages. Each, in turn, is treated preferentially - depending on circumstance. An advantage for women is that they usually get financial support from male mates. A disadvantage for women is they can be bullied and raped by men. A disadvantage for men is that they can be drafted into the military. 

When gender change becomes as easy as it has in Thailand, then people can make the switch for reasons beyond whether a male feels effeminate or a female feels masculine. As it is, gender change happens for more practical reasons as well -  perhaps to avoid the draft and/or to gain a male mate that will provide security. Gender switches are also common wherever there are sexual venues.

I say let people switch roles, but keep the original gender designation, male or female, on the ID card - unless it's a complete make-over with surgical and hormonal switches. To allow ID change based upon such things as cross-dressing or feelings of femininity are reasons too trite. To add an official third or fourth category of sexuality is absurd.

Plus, let's see more mature, wise and masculine men step up to the plate as role models for boys.

Ken Albertsen

Chiang Rai

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Asian democrats concerned over crackdown in Pakistan

 

The political situation in Pakistan, which has not had a stable civilian government in many years, has taken a decided turn for the worse. The emergency declared by General Musharraf on November 3 is a grave setback for the restoration of constitutional rule, and a tremendous blow to the rule of law. Although ostensibly intended to fight the so-called war on terror, his actions are more likely to have the effect of promoting extremism on both sides by reducing the space for peaceful political expression.

We call on General Musharraf to restore the constitution and the remaining institutions of democracy and the rule of law, notably Parliament and the Supreme Court, and enable them to function properly. We also call for:

1 The lifting of restrictions on the media, as well as those on peaceful assembly;

2 The immediate release of human rights defenders who have been detained or placed under house arrest, such as Asma Jahangir and her colleagues at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, as well as many leaders of national and state Bar Associations;

3 The release and reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the rest of the Supreme Court justices;

4 General Musharraf to swiftly carry out his pledge to resign his military office; and

5 Political dialogue among all major political parties, in order to create the conditions for fresh elections and the full restoration of parliamentary sovereignty.  

Finally, we express our firm solidarity with the Pakistani people, especially the many democracy advocates who are bravely standing up for their rights, and we reaffirm our hope that their determination will bring about real democracy in their country soon.

Bo Tedards,

Coordinator, World Forum for Democratisation in Asia

Bangkok

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Social policy the only way to end corruption

Re: "Democracy vs Corruption: the battle looms", Opinion, November 7.

For the coming election, is the real issue Democracy vs Corruption or should it be Social progress vs the Status Quo? What political parties bring the better chance for Thai society to improve through broad-based human development and increased opportunities for all, not just a few?

Corruption is not the cause of Thailand's problems, but rather the consequence of its social structure. Redistributive policies and investment in social services is the best way to modernise Thai society. I hope the parties that can best deliver these policies and services win the election. I trust Thai voters to choose what is in their best interest.

Jean Flame

Bangkok

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Guess who's really running the PPP?

Just a quick question to ponder and investigate. If Thaksin is not allowed to be involved in politics, is it breaking the law, or does it give an indication of breaking the law, when Chalerm Yoobamrung says that London signed off on him being number two on the People Power party list.

This would seem to be a clear admission that Thaksin is running the PPP against the rules and regulations of the Election Commission. Needing Thaksin to sign off shows he is in control of the party.

Concerned for Thai democracy

Bangkok

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Coups are sometimes necessary for Thai democracy

I just wanted to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for all of the hard and excellent work done by The Nation on a regular basis.

I personally think that The Nation can be proud of the stance it took in favour of the military coup that ousted Thaksin, who was democratic only in the very loosest sense. Everyone knows that if you took out all the paid votes cast in his favour, his majority would have been nowhere near as strong.

His government was corrupt and divisive, as you have continually and masterfully proven in your newspaper, and it needed to go. "Hooray!" I say to the wonderful job done by the military government that replaced him. I have sided totally with The Nation on this one from day one and completely respect the fact that your newspaper supports democracy even when it knows that this country's democracy is growing, and here, a military coup is not the worst thing that can happen.

I personally have my newspaper of choice going into this election. Please keep us all informed, as all you always do, of the real issues affecting this country and its politics.

Fonzi

Bangkok

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