OPINION

Grim path to peace

Re: "Can Jakarta push peace in Myanmar?" (Opinion, May 9).

Veteran regional affairs analyst Kavi Chongkittavorn tries, and fails, to establish a false equivalency between Thailand and Indonesia's efforts to find a solution to the Myanmar civil war crisis, a crisis challenging Asean's founding principles of consensus and non-interference, and the region's much-vaunted claim to centrality.

Thailand's so-called Track 1.5 negotiations are neither parallel nor complementary to Indonesia's approach; they are contradictory, and we should be ashamed.

Under cover of a motley mixture of state and non-state stakeholders largely favourable to the Myanmar junta, Thailand is promoting the Myanmar State Administration Council (SAC) as a reasonable actor willing to negotiate on topics such as reducing violence, creating a space for dialogue and increasing humanitarian assistance, the very topics embraced by the Asean Five-Point Consensus (5PC) plan which the SAC itself has torn to shreds with its on-going and accelerating campaign of malevolent violence against its own people.

On the other hand, Indonesia, as this year's Asean chair, has been working quietly and industriously, with more than 60 engagements encompassing all stakeholders, including, of course, the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) and ethnic armed organisations. But confronted with the SAC's obduracy and bound by the founding principles, even Indonesia is finding it impossible to find a path to peace.

In fact, it is more than likely there is no negotiated path. As more than one observer has noted, Myanmar's future will be written on the battlefield, with the people eventually victorious. Indonesia should recognise this reality, recognise the NUG as Myanmar's legitimate government and call upon the international community to do the same.

The way of water

Re: "Storm forecast spurs action", (BP, May 11).

The governor of Bangkok, Chadchart Sittipunt, should take some guidance from my year one science students who, luckily for Thailand, have learnt already that water flows to the lowest possible place.

So, unless Khun Chadchart's brand new pumps come with a massive long hose, perhaps a 300km long one fixed at one end in the middle of Sukhumvit Road and heading to a completely different water basin, the same flood water will be rolling about here in Bangkok until evaporation takes over and does what nature has been doing since science was invented. If you choose to build a major capital city at 3mm above sea level, then, short of something Biblical or maybe even an ice age, there is not much that anyone can do.

Thankfully the future intelligent children here at my school have learnt this piece of basic science from a very young age.

Just thank the Brits

Re: "Charles III finally wears the crown", (BP, May 7).

The Coronation of Charles III was very impressive, which reminds me of another very impressive British event with a 400-year duration.

I and Canadian Frank Proud co-authored a 1987 published book here in Bangkok. It was titled Liberty or Lenin and compared both systems across the entire human condition. The point: One day, Frank says to me, "Al, found something interesting", all the colonial powers ie the Dutch, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, Belgium, etc, at one time or another had some of their colonies fall to communism prior to 1987. Except the Brits.

That is why freedom, capitalism, choice of religion and free enterprise exist worldwide democratically today. Communism could not "crack" the over 100 worldwide British colonies. And primarily because the fundamental 400 years of the British event were based on five principles: Roads and vast infrastructure construction, an all-encompassing judiciary, multi-religious tolerance and most of all, a common language.

Those visibly quite confident and happy people attending the coronation, in some cases, are the direct descendants of the sailing ship captains and crews, colonial judges, wives and children of soldiers and administrators, educators and traders of the 400-year event. Proud they should be.

To conclude, many Americans say that the US military, especially our Strategic Air Command (SAC) and collective European Nato defeated/fractured the worker's paradise; I agree… But we especially owe the Brits big time.

It's what patriots do

Re: "Court to rule on detention of Samran Rat rioters on Friday", (BP, May 11).

Pol Maj Gen Nakharin Sukhonthawit, commander of the Metropolitan Police Division 6, is perfectly correct to point out when speaking of the acts resulting from their extreme frustration of a group who "caused significant damage by breaking a glass door and splashing and spraying paint on walls, passages and stairs at the [Samran Rat Police] Station," that "such an incident should not have happened". He is completely wrong as to why it should not have happened.

It was reckless to have smashed a glass door and spilt some paint, but it won't send Thailand bankrupt. The incident should not have happened because a 15-year-old patriot should never have been arrested. No one is disputing that, as the chief apologists of such abuses in full accord with it love to insist, the law is the law. It is, indeed. That legality is the problem.

Yes, young Thanalop "Yok" Phalanchai may well have broken a law or two when she was 14 years old. She is accused of violating the lèse majesté law, Section 112 of the Criminal Code. It is likely that she did so knowingly. Like many charged and prosecuted under this law, Thanalop followed the courageous example of other protesting young Thais. Opposing law that defiles justice and democracy is what patriots do.

But perhaps I am mistaken. If anyone can suggest a sound reason to justify such laws, please present it for discussion. If we hope to deepen our understanding and correct inherited errors, including our own, open discussion is a necessary condition, which of course, requires respect for free speech, thereby proving that Thanalop "Yok" Phalanchai and her friends in patriotism have already won the debate.

Coronation dissent

Re: "Monarchies today", (PostBag, May 9).

While I agree with most of Felix Qui's letter, I am compelled to comment on his final paragraph in which he says: "The recent example of the coronation of my own nation's new king, Charles III, amply attests to the reality that a central symbolic role for traditional monarchies can fit perfectly comfortably in a liberal democracy whose laws respect the fundamental tenets of democracy and voters' will, including the rights of each and every citizen to peacefully speak their mind".

This statement ignores the fact that many people in the UK were denied the right to peacefully speak their mind during this coronation.

First, police erected a large, high barrier in front of protesters gathered near Trafalgar Square, effectively silencing them. Next, they proceeded to arrest 52 protesters, including the leader of the protesters. From all the video clips I have watched, I believe these people were protesting peacefully but were denied their right to do so by the heavy-handed reaction of the police.

Human Rights Watch called the arrests "incredibly alarming", and Amnesty UK pointed out that the right to protest is protected by international law. But not anymore in the UK, which seems to be adopting the tactics used in Thailand to smother legitimate debate.

Make wages real

Re: "Workers march to demand higher pay", (BP, May 2).

Every time there is a call to raise the minimum wage, we hear the response that Thai workers are already paid more than in other manufacturing countries and that factories will be moving away. That sounds very simple, as does the other constant refrain that workers need to increase their productivity.

What never seems to get mentioned is the price of basic commodities in Thailand compared to these unnamed nations. Take just one person living and working in Chiang Mai as my nephew once did. With rent at 3,000 baht, food and drink at 5,000 baht, motorbike and petrol payments at 2,000 baht, clothing, laundry and personal hygiene at 2,000 baht, we already have 12,000 baht without mention of computers, phones, and various other necessities the average citizen needs.

Is 7-11 your average everyday store for basic items? If so, then why do their employees not buy their meals from their shelves? A simple bowl of noodles is now 60 baht, a cold drink 30 baht, and let's not even discuss having a beer at 62 baht a bottle or a cup of decent coffee at 40 baht. With 26 working days a month, you need at least 500 baht daily to exist. Forbes lists 28 billionaires in Thailand, an awful lot of money in a few hands. Perhaps it's time to look at why life here is expensive, and who is raking the money in but still won't pay a living wage.

Only time will tell

Re: "Zero chance of a coup", (BP, May 12).

That promise of no coup is wonderful, indicating our votes on May 14 should matter. Unfortunately, the promise is dampened by past records of Thailand having experienced 20 constitutions since 1932. They were written and overruled. That is an average of one constitution per 4.5 years.

No one has come out with a no-coup constitution. It is the spirit of democracy that counts and not the written paper or expertise of a constitutional lawyer. Will the current army chief, due to retire on Sept 30, help in ensuring there's no coup, should the event turn out to be a coalition government of parties otherwise than junta-led?

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