OPINION

'We belong on HRC'

Re: "Thai Human Rights Council aspirations", (BP, May 17) & "Amnesty panel to mull inclusion of S112 cases", (BP, May 16).

Thailand's chances of winning a prestigious UN Human Rights Council slot this October are good -- but could be made a lot better by a few steps:

(a) A flood of Myanmar citizens is fleeing the Tatmadaw'. Rather than confining the Myanmar citizens to a refugee camp, we should offer them an acculturation programme, rural jobs at market rates and a merit-based path to citizenship.

(b) Our application of Section 112, known as lese majeste law, should be brought in line with His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great's advice. As HM noted in his 2005 birthday broadcast, he would have dropped charges against those accused of the lese majeste and released those jailed for LM.

Let's show that we belong on the HRC.

Re: "Push to sell old rice raises questions", (BP, May 19).

Regarding the questionable quality of this contentious commodity, despite the recent government stunt, did they really consume this aged rice, disguised with a pinch of saffron or something to make it look more palatable, or was it pre-prepared 2024 stock? I stare into a glass darkly.

I asked my wife, who is an ardent Yingluck supporter about this issue, and she rapidly barked "it must be OK, the government officer ate it". I pushed and inquired if she would buy 10-year-old rice at our local supermarket if it was being flogged as a bargain despite being well past its sell-by date.

She sniffed, and said of "course not..." and then fled the scene with ruffled feathers. Semi-composure did not return until the next day.

Re: "Senators ask charter court to impeach PM, new minister Pichit", (BP, May 17).

The laugh of the year came from reading this news in which senators ask the charter court to impeach the PM and new minister Pichit "based on Section 170 (4) and (5) of the charter which deal with moral and ethical standards of a cabinet minister".

What could possibly not meet that established standard?

How about the blatant "moral and ethical standards" of the senate itself?

How about using the lese majeste law as the pretext to deny the clear outcome of the May 14 election last year?

Re: "Clean air comes before animal feed", (Editorial, May 12).

The news report says: "Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has directed the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation to use knowledge and technology to enhance animal feed quality, safety and their cost-effectiveness".

This is a perfect example of why government needs to be removed from the equation. Innovation and technology brought us glyphosate, GMOs, and multinational agritech business control over Thailand's farms. The simple act of requiring natural biodynamic farming methods, which include replacing burning with composting, would solve the air pollution problem in one stroke.

Instead of using climate change to con small farmers and destroy the meat industry, we should remove poisonous chemicals from our food supply and cease burning agriculture altogether.

The aqua-feed industry has an aggressive and successful movement to replace the use of trash fish in feed formulations for raising carnivorous fish.

It simply needs to be encouraged by policy initiatives such as an environmental tax on fishmeal and more extensive moratoriums on harvesting areas in local waters.