Shirts of all colours bring shame on Thailand

Over the past few days the world has seen red shirts beating up government officials, vigilantes roaming the streets with swords and clubs to punish the reds, thugs blowing up buses and lobbing Molotov cocktails at soldiers, and people of all ages seeking to hurt and kill in the name of the pathetic colour of the shirt they wear. For years Thailand has branded itself as the "Land of Smiles", a peace-loving and compassionate society based on the fundamental principles of Buddhism. Hats off to the promoters of this false image, you had everyone fooled.

WHITE MIKE

BANGKOK

Misinformation in the media and society

Re: "Thai media's bias is nothing but hypocrisy", Letters, April 15.

You deserve credit for printing letters from pro-Thaksin readers, even those accusing you of bias. It helps us to see how misinformed they are! Julian Wang says Abhisit seized power through the airport closures. In fact he became prime minister after the PPP was found guilty of electoral fraud, dissolved, and a large number of its coalition partners and its own MPs left to join the Democrat coalition - normal democratic change.

Per from Ayutthaya tells us the world media do not honour Abhisit. What does he read? The Times in London talks of a "triumph" for "reasonable, patient and articulate" Abhisit and a "blow" for "shrill" Thaksin. Even the B(iased) B(oostThaksin) Corporation failed to provide any reliable proof of Thaksin's claims of dead protesters

MARTIN SEARLE

BANGKOK

Don't compare reds' violence to PAD protests

I am fed up by those writers opining that the UDD protests are similar to the PAD's and therefore should be tolerated as were the PAD protests. Nothing is further from the truth. The basis for the PAD protests was fundamentally different from the UDD's, as being against a corrupt, criminal dictator, while the red-shirt protests, caused by ignorance and lack of information, are against a legitimate government working for the country. The so-called grievances and the resulting rage of the mob is nothing but incitement by irresponsible leaders and a lying Thaksin.

It is quite clear that these protesters are being paid (the press has mentioned an amount of Bt50 million). They are hooligans, attacking people and property and blocking roads with gas tankers and threatening to explode them. I never saw this with the PAD protests. Last but not least, stop the nonsense of comparing the PAD and Democrats with the elite and the rich. This is a lack of appreciation for the more than 25 per cent of the population voting for the democrats out of principle.

EGON WOUT

BANGKOK

World media now sees Thaksin as he really is

Re: "Thai media's bias is nothing but hypocrisy", Letters, April 15.

Julian Wang's observation of Abhisit as inferior to Thaksin in the world press was somewhat outdated. According to The Times of London of April 14, "Mr Abhisit won the media battle … he seemed reasonable, patient and articulate while Thaksin Shinawatra ... was shrill and unconvincing". Despite Thaksin's hired PR machine, he is no longer viewed as credible.

SONGDEJ PRADITSMANONT

BANGKOK