The prime minister and deputy PM cite a threat to national security (TNS) as the reason for repurchasing Thaicom satellite. Would they also put the following on their TNS list?
Poorly educated teachers teaching at our schools; systemic and endemic corruption from the highest to lowest echelons; ineffectual and unscrupulous police; low civil service pay and incentives; outdated rules and regulations impeding social, economic and environmental development; visas on arrival, making Thailand a top criminal haven; acquisition of blimps, satellites, side arms, munitions from overseas (aren't there cheaper home-grown versions to promote?); poor urban planning and traffic management; and reliance on imported energy.
The Democrats have always underestimated their constituents. We are not all a buffalo's behind. Quit the tit-for-tat with Thaksin and just get to work! The "threats" above can't be fixed in your term or ten terms for that matter. But do something and get the public to offer solutions! I hope you wake up tomorrow and not be concerned about your job and the status quo. Then, you'd be making much better and practical decisions. Look at the laws passed by the unelected Anand government. Improve them, learn from them to make them more relevant.
Sukit Bejrsuwana
Bangkok
Impossible to jail all red shirts
Those who oppose amnesty for any red shirt who might have broken the law need to think their position through. Do they really want to spend the resources necessary to prosecute possibly thousands of people? If convicted and jailed, where are you going to put them all? Would you be willing to let rapists and murderers out of jail to make room for the red shirts? In America, violent criminals are sometimes let out of jail to make room for non-violent drug offenders. That's why, generally speaking, I'm lukeworm about sending non-violent criminals to prison.
Common sense dictates that the government must focus on those who engaged in violence or promoted it, and not to waste a fantastic amount of court time prosecuting thousands of people.
Eric Bahrt
Pattaya
Red leaders don't represent the poor
Before bringing the country into the road map of his design, PM Abhisit Vejjajiva must separate alleged terrorists from the misguided rural poor - and treat them accordingly. Those who appeared on the red-shirt stage to embolden the mobs to set fire to Bangkok must be tried for inciting unrest and arson. These may include Thaksin Shinawatra and some of the Pheu Thai Party members, if what they said during the gatherings prior to the unrest indicated such wrongdoing. The larger group is the rural poor who have been used. They are easy to trace. They are poor, gullible farmers. They welcome handouts from anybody - especially the government.
It is also noteworthy that the three top red-shirt leaders - Veera Musigapong, Jatuporn Phrompan and Nattawuth Saigua all hail from the South, a region noted for its political hardliners. The three spoke passionately for the majority poor in the North and Northeast despite the fact that they are not welcome, even for a visit, in their home villages in the South.
Chavalit Van
Chiang Mai
US must solve its own trafficking problem
The United States has put allies Singapore and Thailand, as well as Vietnam, on a human-trafficking watch list, accusing them of failing to prevent women from being forced into prostitution.
Is this not like the kettle calling the pot black? There are hundreds of thousands of people being illegally trafficked across the US border with Mexico monthly. The United States government preaches to the whole world about stopping the trafficking, but it has the largest volume of illegal human trafficking.
Arizona has taken steps to stop the movement of people and drugs across the border, and now the administration is saying the steps taken by Arizona are wrong and racist.
Tom
Bangkok