Burma's generals sacrifice their citizens for power

If anyone ever had the slightest doubts about the motives of the ruthless generals controlling Burma they must have totally evaporated by now.

Their atrocious inaction in the immediate wake of the tragedy that has engulfed much of the country and millions of its citizens has once again demonstrated that their main priority is to enhance their opulent lifestyles and hold on to power at any cost. Countless lives could have been saved had immediate action been taken to permit foreign aid workers to enter the country.

While the world has once again immediately opened its heart to help those in distress, brushing aside politics for the sake of humanity, the generals dithered and continued to focus on the referendum which is aimed purely at boosting their hold on power.

How heartless can they be? Their spokesperson said they were ready to accept cash and aid but not yet willing to allow foreign aid workers to enter the country. These generals are morally bankrupt and gripped by their own insecurity and paranoia. One must hope that direct aid in the form of cash is not an option as one can surely guess where it will end up.

I trust that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is choking on his words when he said the generals are good Buddhists because they meditate. The world now knows what they meditate about.

Chris Kaye

Chon Buri

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Thai Rak Thai's reign was 'tyranny by majority'

Dom Dunn's contention that Thailand has never been ruled by the majority in his May 8 letter, "Let's give tyranny by majority a try", is incorrect.

Thailand was ruled by a super-majority from 2001 to 2006 when the Thai Rak Thai party, led by Thaksin Shinawatra, was in charge.

That super-majority in Parliament made Thaksin supremely confident that, under the rulebook at that time, nobody could challenge him. Hence, his manoeuvres broke a few rules of good governance. Thus the majority can always be selfish if its leader is of the belief that his power is permanent.

Currently, there is a simple parliamentary majority that also believes itself invincible.

The call for amendments to the new rulebook by the present government is believed by many to be a selfish move and one not in the national interest.

It now touches the nerves of decency even though it is legal and they have enough votes to support them.

So we Thai people better brace ourselves for another fine day of seeing tanks and troops and jubilant crowds at important junctions in Bangkok.

Is the oppression of the majority less selfish than that of the minority?

Hardly, in fact it is worse if there are no checks and balances because there are more people to share the loot.

Fortunately for Thailand, we have coups to act as a balancing factor, although we consider it a necessary evil.

Songdej Praditsmanont

Bangkok

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Israeli side of Palestinian conflict ignored in letter

Re: "Sixty years of Palestinian suffering at Israel's hands", Letters, May 9.

In his letter to The Nation, Stuart Ward of the "Palestine Solidarity Campaign Thailand" makes a number of one-sided claims in favour of the Palestinian side of the conflict.

It is strange that no one in this group ever mentions the fact that the present leaders of Gaza fire rockets at civilian targets in Israel and state openly that their goal is not peace with Israel but to destroy it.

They also seem to forget that many Palestinians fled because their leaders told them they would soon drive Israel into the sea and then they could return.

They also seem to forget that Arab states regard Palestinians as the dogs of the Middle East but use them as leverage against Israel.

Inside Israel, Arab Israelis have the right to citizenship and the right to vote and the right to run for office, whereas Palestinians in such countries as Lebanon and Syria have often been harassed and discriminated against.

I wonder if members of this "Palestine Solidarity Campaign" were the same people who very rudely attempted to hijack the talk given by an Israeli at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand not long ago?

If so, I wonder if they expect better treatment when they have their panel discussions.

Dean Barrett

Bangkok