Educators in the South are national heroes

Recognising each and every educator in the restive deep South as brave national heroes, who daily put their lives at risk and endure constant threats, let us pay tribute to the resilient spirit and un-wavering commitment to making a difference in the lives of their beloved students by rewarding them with much-deserved risk-pay allowances and salary adjustments.

With 300 schools torched or razed and 113 teachers slain over the past five years, military solutions and martial law must be replaced by bringing advanced socio-economic development to the troubled region and introducing a respectful tri-lingual approach to help overhaul the educational system. A solid commitment to human rights, democratic rights and multiversity rights needs to be at the forefront of an effective counter-terrorism strategy to strengthen mutual trust and ensure a more secure, safer and saner future for |the next generation of civic-minded citizens.

DR CHANCHAI PRASERTSON

BANGKOK

Some indulgent monks are setting a bad example

I went for a visit to Wat Sothon this weekend to visit this famous temple.

There were many thousands gathered there in order to make merit.

I noticed two groups of monks standing outside the temple. One group of about six monks were aged between 40 and 50 and another group of four monks looked to be in the 25-to-35 age group.

They were all smoking and talking non-stop on the latest model of mobile phones.

Some were spitting and their general demeanour was absolutely disgusting.

What an example for my children and others?

Some discipline needs to be instilled in them.

NOPPADON

BANGKOK

Foreigners targeted by police, bureaucrats

As a long-term resident of Thailand, I am increasingly concerned at the poor treatment of farangs in the Kingdom. Recently there were the unhelpful comments of the director-general of the Land Department indicating that property purchased by a Thai spouse using "farang money" would be confiscated. Of course, he will say I'm only enforcing the letter of the law. Just like those policemen who regularly stop farangs and demand proof of identity - not because they are interested in anyone's safety but because they want to pocket the fines they impose when they find (as you would expect) that the tourists concerned have left their passports back at their hotel.

Then there have been the recent raids on restaurants (mainly farang) in the Sathon area where music systems have been inspected to make sure that no copy or pirated CDs are being used. When owners point out that they often use discs compiled from different (legal) CDs they are told that this is against the law. Really? One French restaurateur in Soi Ngam Duplee was recently arrested and fined Bt200,000. Then there are the absurd immigration regulations relating to all manner of visas and the time-wasting reporting requirements, for example, with retirement visas. It's all about bureaucrats throwing their weight around while ripping off and otherwise inconveniencing good people who simply want to spend more time and money here. Some crime that is!

People talk endlessly about corruption in the Kingdom. We see instances of it all around us - almost daily. For example, there is a well-known police colonel in the Sathon area who is little more than a Mafia boss. He drives a Porsche and has business interests in the area, which his police salary couldn't possibly sustain. Money laundering is his real occupation. Everyone knows this but who is brave enough to speak out or do anything about it. Is The Nation newspaper courageous enough to print this letter and/or investigate some of the allegations made in it. I very much doubt it. I am certainly not brave enough to give my name and address here because I have seen what happens to those who believe in Justice and in the Rule of law and who foolishly identify themselves by speaking out publically. And so the whole tawdry anti-democratic, anti-foreigner circus continues to oil the rich wheel of the local power elite whose only interest is self-interest - at the expense of Thailand's future and the benefit of the vast majority of its citizens.

FRUSTRATED FARANG

Bangkok