OPINION

Graft central

Re: "Chada says crackdown gathers pace", (BP, Oct 10).

Just as an astrophysicist knows black holes are to be found at the centre of every galaxy, all Thais know that the centre of corruption lies with the government. The majority of criminals who are private citizens operate with the complicity of police and government officials.

The new group labelled as dark figures will fail to include those shining beacons of moral rectitude at the top of government. Why? Because, as every Thai well knows, the government never cleans up after itself. The latest efforts by Deputy Interior Minister Chada Thaiset are guaranteed to be more of the same. His list of "dark figures" is so secret that even he has not seen it. Others have claimed that his own name might be included.

Hasty or prudent?

Re: "Two killed in Israel", (BP, Oct 9).

Unlike former PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, who is chatty, Thai PM Srettha Thavisin is bumptious and straight to the point. But this time, he acted carelessly in immediately condemning the Hamas attack on Israel.

Thailand has half a million Muslims, and two of our Asean neighbours, Malaysia and Indonesia, are prominent Islamic States. Mr Srettha should be more prudent and consult his foreign affairs specialist before he makes his stance. Hamas is a representative of Palestine, recognised by the United Nations. As prime minister, he speaks for Thailand, not himself; any slip of the tongue could be detrimental to the country and to the Thai people, especially those who are working in the Middle East.

Bridging divides

Re: "Israel's worst day at war leaves the world in peril", (Opinion, Oct 10).

In the early 1980s, I was a senior army officer at the headquarters of the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai, which was charged with monitoring the Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt.

I was befriended by an Israeli family, comprising a Russian Jew, Jacov, and his Polish-Jewish wife, Shoshanna, who had migrated to Israel after World War II, and their son, who was a captain in the Israeli Defence Force.

Shoshanna would lay out the dinner table groaning with olives, pickled vegetables, fish and meat dishes, and cakes and dessert and all but force-feed me, insisting that the MFO was not feeding me properly. Their genuine friendship and hospitality meant a great deal to me, as my own wife and young family were back in Sydney while I served in the desert.

When it was time for me to return to Australia, they invited me to their home one last time. But, when I arrived, they drove me down to Gaza to the humble mud brick home of Palestinian friends of theirs. We sat on mats on the sand outside the house while the women cooked flatbread in a brick oven, which we ate with grilled chicken and olives.

It was obvious that there was a genuine and warm friendship and respect between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and I realised that Jacov had planned this outing to demonstrate to me that amid all the political turmoil, it was possible for ordinary people to live side-by-side in peace and harmony.

Their son was later killed, and Jacov and Shoshanna have since passed on, which is one way a blessing because it would break their hearts to see the events of the last few days.