PM shames diplomats

Written by Writer on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Re: ”Somchai declines to comment on Thaksin’s diplomatic passport,” (Postbag, Nov 9). With PM Somchai’s failure to act decisively to defend the integrity of Thailand’s diplomatic missions, Thailand now has the distinction of favouring a convicted crook with a diplomatic passport, the bearer of which is accorded the same diplomatic privileges, protocols and recognition as the honourable and respected members of the Thai diplomatic corps _ men and women of integrity.

How must holders of Thai diplomatic passports feel, in such company as the convicted Thaksin, a fugitive now evading capture with the aid of his Thai diplomatic passport? How must foreign diplomats, for whom integrity is an uncompromising code of behaviour, now view the highest elected officials in the Kingdom?

DISGUSTED

—–

For better or worse

The dissertation by ”A proud Thai” prompts me to answer his/her charges. Stating that Thailand has become the sex destination of the world and is causing an influx of undesirables from all over the world instead of the right kind of visitors, is pure nonsense.

Bangkok Post published statistics that 450,000 Thai males visit prostitutes every day, that doesn’t leave many left for the undesirables!

Note: at one time Taipei had 5,000 barber shops but you couldn’t get a haircut.

Then his/her tirade about corruption: check US statistics about CEOs going to prison or look at the countries around Thailand, including China and South Korea, for corruption. Stop being impressed with your skills in the English language and enjoy the country as it is, for better or worse. Money and power breed corruption throughout the world.

LOONG SAM

—–

Undesirable aliens

In your headline news of Nov 9, per Thaksin’s supporters, the revocation of visas will pose no problems for Thaksin and his wife, who can choose to go to many countries that would welcome them.

On the record, there are five committed countries readily welcoming them: Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central African Republic, Chad and Togo. With the UK’s declaration, there will not be many enthusiastic countries left. The UK, being viewed by most as the mother country of democracy, has put a stamp on them as undesirable aliens. Any Asian countries wishing to offer asylum to the couple would have to think hard regarding relations with Thailand.

It is a sad state for any man to face. However, it is of his own doing. If he had sought asylum after the coup, his request would have been readily granted because of the undemocratic way in which he had been unseated. While in the UK, he has not been quiet like other political fugitives but played Thai politics.

If he had an adviser experienced in UK affairs, he would have been told that Britons respect the human right of a man to live irrespective of his political beliefs, like Karl Marx and Gen Pinochet, but never use British land to promote his cause. The last straw was the phone-in asking for clemency while damning Thailand’s judiciary system.

One wonders why he did what he did. After deep thought, one realises that it is the man’s ego. He is simply a victim of his past success.

SONGDEJ PRADITSMANONT

—–

Why Obama won

After ”the most important election of our lifetime,” US television analysts and conservative print media pundits could hardly wait to cloud Senator Obama’s historic accomplishment _ ”America remains more conservative than it has ever been; Bush’s narrow 2004 election was a mandate, Obama’s huge 2008 election victory is not” _ and then jump into the ”post postmortem” causes for the reasons why John McCain lost the election.

Eric Bahrt, (”Palin sunk McCain,” Postbag, Nov like so many others, draws attention to the Sarah Palin theory. However, it is just one of many contributing factors one might emphasise: the poor planning and serious miscalculation of the party’s master tactician regarding a campaign based on negativity, character smears of the opponent and the ”real America and Americans” notion, are weighty others.

Our cynical, human curiosity is always drawn towards examination of the reasons for defeat but seldom why the victor won. Could it be that, in this case, the better candidate won? For those who saw the film clips of his speeches, the tens of thousands that gathered to witness them and the voters who finally elected him, I would think so!

Orlando Patterson, a professor of sociology at Harvard in his New York Times article expressed it this way:

”Mr Obama owes his victory, first, to his gift of leadership and personality: the hybrid cool of his charisma, his cathartic power to mine unity from difference and most of all to the electorate who recognised his election as something that actually could (and would) only happen here.”

I, for one, couldn’t agree more.

MR BILL

—–

UK does the right thing

Finally, the United Kingdom has acted as a true democracy. ”Thaksin is clean! Look, he stays in democratic UK. They don’t kick him out.” That was one of the main arguments for many supporters when Thaksin was accused of all kinds of undemocratic wrongdoing.

So, what will the next step be? Thaksin flees to one of the British tax havens, where his untaxed monies are hidden and stored?

He has already been invited there.

It would be fantastic if the Thaksin case could trigger the first action to clean up tax havens! Tax havens are said to contribute to the global economic crisis we are all now struggling with.

What a wonderful, heavenly thought: the UK starts cleaning up in their many overseas territories and Thailand starts cleaning up in its ”business-cracy”, turning it into a clean, honest and fair democracy.

A JOHNSEN

—–

CONTACT: BANGKOK POST BUILDING, 136 NA RANONG ROAD, KLONG TOEY, BANGKOK

10110

Fax: +02 2403666, email: postbag@bangkokpost.co.th

All letter writers must provide full name and address.

All published correspondence is subject to editing at our discretion.

Bangkok Post
Tuesday November 11, 2008