Punitive measures

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and former deputy prime minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh were charged with negligence.

Thai Rath said that abuse of power or negligence of duty is deemed a violation of the Criminal Law's Clause 157. Violators are subject to a term of imprisonment from one to 10 years. The punitive clause is harsh because the law aims to remind officials to perform their duty with responsibility.

Accountability is a principle of good governance, an essential part of the democratic system. Thai Rath said that officials must perform their duty by considering the possible damage to others. They cannot claim that they were forced to act according to the orders of their supervisors.

Thai Rath said that the police must act responsibly because they have the law and weapons on their side. They must not become the tools of politicians who wish to use the police to attack opponents to maintain power. Otherwise, the country would become a police state instead of a democratic nation.

The October 7 crackdown is a lesson to be remembered because there were deaths and injuries, even though the police claimed they used only tear gas.

The police chief has called for a law to control mass protests, as other countries have. Thai Rath said Thailand might need a law to control such crowds. Nonetheless, the law should not diminish the freedom and rights that protesters are entitled to under the Constitution.

Khao Sod ran an editorial about Map Ta Phut entitled "The beginning of a new era". The paper welcomed the decision by the National Environment Board not to appeal against the Administrative Court's decision to declare Map Ta Phut a pollution-control area. This is despite pressure from the industrial sector. The government decided to stick by the ruling, bringing a new era of investment in Thai society.

Khao Sod said that factories and industrial plants would have an additional burden in limiting the adverse effects that their businesses caused to local communities. The cost that the public has to bear is deteriorating health and a polluted environment.

Khao Sod said that the government's agreement with the court's decision is a welcome move, and the basic rights of the public will be protected. The government will from now on make the private sector understand the benefits of environmental protection and that industry might attract more investment as a result.

If the government decides to stick with the principle of protecting the environment, then this was a turning point for Thai industry, said Khao Sod.