How could Thailand end up this way? The answer lies with the incident on August 26, 2008 when we unwittingly acquiesced to the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD - yellow shirts) crossing the line of civil disobedience to illegally seize Government House and thereafter put Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports under siege.
To date, the "criminals" have not been prosecuted and now they have the audacity to call for full enforcement of the law against others.
In a similar vein, in April 2009 the opposite force, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD - red shirts) caused mayhem in Bangkok and stormed the Fourth East Asia Summit in Pattaya, forcing its cancellation. The culprits have been prosecuted but released on bail and have now been involved in the current mayhem since April.
Our prime shopping and tourist centre, hailed by some as the best in Asia, has been under siege for weeks, while the culprit red shirts have been playing footsie with us, with our men responsible for keeping peace blipping their eyes.
With my little knowledge of public administration, I fully blame our soldiers and police for not supporting each government at times of need to quell these illegal deeds, and the justice system for not showing its teeth fast enough when called to do so. Some now call for the use of martial law and the introduction of a new law to control mobs. I'd like to scream to these folks that it is called 'moral hazard' in a first-year study of government. If a person can escape punishment for crimes committed, then he and others will commit the same without fear of prison - "if you can do it, I can do it too". Without proper accountability since August 26, 2008, our society has gone down the road of a cowboy town. And one day each community will need its own soldiers and police to protect its lives and property. Rajprasong businessmen may one day have their own army.
So, to untie this Gordian knot, an example has to be made that the current situation is not tolerable in a civilised society. Equal treatment for all wrongdoers should be shown as an order of the day by arresting and prosecuting the yellow shirts first and then reporting and jailing those red-shirt leaders without bail.
It has now gone beyond a soft approach and like Alexander, the knot has to be cut in half to find a solution now. Unfortunately, there will be unpleasantness but also a better foundation for our society with correct accountability. Remember this is not a popularity contest for those due to retire. There is a job to be done!
SONGDEJ PRADITSMANONT
BANGKOK
Reds' backers started this whole mess The red shirts are continuing to delay their decision "because they want to sort out the reconciliation process". They could start by condemning the attacks that took place on Saturday.
The terrorists strike again and the red shirts say, "It was not us!" If so, they have an opportunity to prove it, by accepting the road map and leaving straight away. If not, it would be reasonable to suppose that the recent acts of violence were an attack aimed at getting a little more out of the deal
Red-shirt demands were for dissolution NOW. They have the dissolution plus amnesties now. They should accept it NOW or PM Abhisit should start to roll down the goodies, starting with the amnesty for the 111. They do not deserve it anyway. They were the start of this whole mess.
RICHARD BOWLER
BANGKOK
Three elections, three pro-rural governments
In their letters, Mr Bowler and Mr Jumsai complain about the BBC, particularly on contesting the legitimacy of the Abhisit government.
The 2006 coup threw out the pro-rural Thai Rak Thai government after it had won two elections in a row - the second in a landslide in 2005.
In December 2007 another election was held. No party won a majority but the pro-rural People Power Party formed a coalition government. Two prime ministers who led that coalition government were eventually banned from politics, and in December 2008 Mr Abhisit cobbled together a new coalition government with the Democrats as the major party.
The concept of a governmental mandate is seen as central to democracy. It refers to the concept of a government having a legitimate right to govern via the fair winning of a democratic election.
Many, including some Western observers and red-shirt demonstrators, take the view that because the last three elections led to pro-rural governments, the Democrat-led coalition does not have a mandate and is therefore illegitimate. This argument is strong given the instability in the wake of the coup, with two prime ministers - and political parties - being banned, and massive, violent and prolonged protests by yellow and red shirts in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
It is a shame this important message has been lost in the last two months, as it goes a long way towards explaining why the UDD has been willing to go to such extreme measures.
SIMON WOOD
CHIANG MAI
Comparing red shirts to Burmese sieges Khun Pongsak Siripaisarn's "Wait until the rain flushes them out" (Letters, May 6), in reference to flushing the red shirts from their street barricades, reminds me of the classic Thai way of doing nothing in order to win a war. I quote an early 17th Century account of how the Siamese broke several Burmese sieges at Ayudhya.
The King of Siam "seeking political delays, made semblance still to deliver, until in the third month after the river overflowed the country six score miles about, after his yearly custom, and partly drowned, partly committed to the Siamites (attending in boats for this booty) to be slaughtered, that huge army; of which, scarce three score and ten thousand returned to Martovan (Burma)."
SUMET JUMSAI
BANGKOK
Creating riots to get government power What would happen to Thailand if people who abused poor people and used extreme violence succeeded in gaining state power?
It is sad that people have died, but if we do not do the right thing, we are leaving much more serious problems for our children to solve. And if these people succeed in getting government power, control military power and have all the money to kill their opponents, what will Thailand look like? They already have cash to spend, and are starting to be successful in getting military power. They are creeping towards their goal each time they create enough riots.
Do not accuse me of painting too horrid a picture. We have passed through many crises in the past because we have our great father to shake sense into the military power. When we do not have that, and when these people have power, do you think it will be only tens of people who die? We have witnessed thousands who died during the 'War on Drugs' in 2003.
Do not repeat the mistake the government did. The serious mistake the government made was not following up on the crime these people did many years ago, and until they staged riots last April. The law somehow allowed them to walk free during a very long trial and create another riot.
If they can keep trying this way, one day they could succeed, since they can fine-tune their strategy every time.
And as I said, they are gaining more military power by the year.
If we try to avoid the pain today in getting this right, our children will pay much more dearly from the culture of "creating enough riots to get government power", or if it fails, at least "creating enough riots to get a legal pardon".
Is that what you want?
PISIT JUATIRAK
BANGKOK