A death sentence and the prolongation of misery

At the Asean security ministers' forum (Singapore, June 1) Burma's deputy defence minister, Major-General Aye Myint blandly explained that his country "warmly welcomed any assistance and aid which are provided with genuine goodwill from any country or organisation" [so far so good] with the proviso that "no strings were attached". Did he bother to elaborate in any way what he meant? There were no reports of it, nor were there any reports of questions from delegates to ascertain his meaning.

There were, however, reports of strongly worded comments from a French MP, Pierre Lellouche, calling for a system of sanctions to stop regimes such as the one ruling Burma from allowing hundreds of thousands to die, and a promise to see to it that his government proposed a UN resolution to bring the junta before the International Criminal Court.

Not surprisingly there were no such harsh words from the Asean delegates - just calls "to respect the sovereignty of Burma" from the Malaysian deputy prime minister, Najib Razak.

So I ask: should the world have respected the sovereignty of the Third Reich when it was busily 'disposing' of millions of Europe's Jews? Or the  "erasure" of between one and two million people in Cambodia as part of the Khmer Rouge's "social engineering programme"? Or Rwanda's,when a section of the population were happily hacking and bludgeoning to death a million of its population? The answer of course is an emphatic no!

So why does Asean continue with this supine and spineless tack? Doesn't it realise that it is increasingly culpable in what are demonstrably crimes against humanity? What on earth is Asean for if it cannot apply a measure of ethics, morality and resolve in its dealings with the Burmese regime?

Julian Pieniazek

Korat

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Jakrapob should be jailed for abuse of language

Apropos Jakrapob Penkair's lese majeste case, I think it is important that his case quietly disappear on the way to the court, as in other similar cases. I also feel that the young man who is being prosecuted for not standing up in the cinema for the royal anthem should have his case similarly shelved.

However, in Jakrapob's case, he deserves to be jailed for his bad English. By that I do not mean that one has to speak the Queen's English every time, but that any good language has to come from an unmuddled state of mind which, I am afraid, is not the case in point.

Sumet Jumsai

Bangkok

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Women demand a non-sexually defining title

So now Thai women will be allowed to choose the title which best reflects the state of their sexual availability - for that is exactly what this new "right" is about.

Is a married woman, "Mrs", perceived as no longer sexually available? Or is she an unmarried "Miss," a virgin even, which is of bizarre, extreme importance to many?

Where is the Thai equivalent to "Ms", a title in use for decades now in the West, where a woman's marital status has a chance of finally being seen as no business of anyone else's?

It angers me that there is no specific title referring to male marital status. May I suggest  "Mrc" or "Mru". You can have the choice. "Ms" is about equality - not this "Mrs/Miss"  labelling of the labia, which only serves to further the still very ingrained notion that a woman's value is that of sexuality.

Christy K Sweet

Phuket

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Turn off the lights, stop the noise, let us sleep

While many responsible organisations such as Kasikorn Bank comply with the government's regulations and turn off their main building lights after 10pm each day to conserve energy, why is it that the Bangkok Municipal Authority's Bangrak Office allows building sites to leave their main floodlights on all night?

Where is the "Green Bangkok" that the Bangkok Governor so recently proclaimed?

A good example of irresponsible behaviour and lack of concern for the environment, as well as for neighbours who are kept awake needlessly by the floodlighting, is the Bangkok Christian College's new extension being built in Thanon Pramuan by Power Line Engineering PLC. The builders even work through the night sometimes, against the conditions set by the BMA - but no one at the BMA stops them.

So, this is a "wake-up call" for the BMA's Bangrak District Office, and Bangkok Christian College - so the rest of us can get some sleep at night!

Bangkok Green Supporter

Bangkok