Nothing more than a traitor and a terrorist

In his latest megalomaniac outburst, Thaksin has showed he is no different from the organisers of the aforementioned attacks. By relentlessly pursuing his selfish goals, Thaksin has terrorised two cities, our country and the leaders of the region. It is time to brand him with the label he deserves. He is not the democratic visionary he tells the foreign media. Nor is he the business savvy tycoon he once was. Thaksin fits and exemplifies the definition of a modern day terrorist. And we must treat him as such.

H GURBANI

BANGKOK

PM is responsible for Asean Summit debacle

Full credit to Abhisit, and I think mainly Abhisit, for handling the situation in Bangkok so superbly with a minimum loss of life and limb. All this was achieved, despite initially not having the unequivocal support of some of the top brass, who should have been there for him.

On another note: the debacle and ignominy at Pattaya must be the responsibility of the PM. The buck stops there and there alone. Why was the summit not held in Phuket where there is already an international airport, and only one set of bridges on which to block the red-shirt traffic? Having personally suffered an attack in Pattaya only a few days before this summit, why did he not realise the gravity of the situation? The government totally misjudged and subsequently mismanaged, thereby bringing disgrace to our country.

In any reasonable society there would be an enquiry. Sure, the red shirts are guilty. The government did nothing wrong, but in the case of Pattaya it seems, they did nothing right. After an enquiry, one would expect someone to take responsibility and resign and spare both the government and party from resigning. Guess who that should be?

Pity, because this is Thailand and no one will resign willingly. There is no moral responsibility or political etiquette. Samak did not want to resign, neither did Somchai, and neither will Abhisit; it is the norm. Pity, because, for me, Abhisit is the best we have right now. Pity, because the King commanded him to pursue peace and stability. The first involves reconciliation, the second requires compromise. Being sanctimonious is counter productive and antagonistic; acting like a Renaissance man is not a priority.

It is not a conundrum. I hope that if he stays on he will personally apologise to the country for what happened in Pattaya.

TIRRAPONGSE

BANGKOK

Endless repetition of a word he doesn't know

It was nauseating to watch Thaksin's interview on CNN. How many times did he say that all his supporters wanted was a return to democracy? He knows the meaning of democracy but his rampaging supporters have no idea of its meaning and he made little attempt to practice democratic principles during his autocratic rule. He merely uses the word to further his own ends.

He said his supporters came unarmed to the protests with no intention of being violent. I'm sure he has the same access to newspapers and TV as other Thais. Perhaps he needs a pair of glasses.

CHRIS KAYE

CHONBURI

Congratulations to the government

For those people still supporting Thaksin, which I once did, just consider what kind of a man he is for bringing carnage to Bangkok's streets and putting residents' lives at stake. He didn't mind using the red shirts as his front line while he flew his family out of the country to safety.

I would like to congratulate the government with the help of the military for bringing the Bangkok riots under control. The citizens who stood up for their rights should also be commended. It's also time to follow China's example and ignore the international media and rights groups who are claiming murder without evidence to back it up. The government did the best it could. I wonder what a country like the US, the champion of democracy, would do to protesters who closed off the White House, tried to attack the president and his bodyguards, and lay siege to Washington DC with gas trucks?

A final message to all Thais. Rather than being mired in years of protests and political uncertainty, it's time for all Thais to focus on getting back to work and earning a living like normal citizens of the world. Stop believing in people who crave nothing but power and money. Trust me, that's all they want. The majority of us are Buddhists, and power and money are not the path to take.

TONY V

BANGKOK