PostBag
As a proud Arab and Muslim, may I take a somewhat dissident view of the news item, "Israelis get bodies of troops in swap" (BP, July 17)? Samir Kuntar received a hero's welcome and enjoyed VIP treatment at the hands of Lebanon's establishment, including the president and prime minister. Surely we Arabs can do much better than glorify a man who has admitted to murdering a four-year-old child?
We must have better role models to look up to. It is an abomination of the Islamic faith. Fighting the enemy is totally justified, but killing the innocent is against the teachings of the Koran.
We should not be surprised if the West brandishes us as terrorists and murderers of civilians. The cultural gap must be bridged.
The same is true when there are celebrations all over Gaza and the West Bank when civilians are killed _ whatever the cause. We must show the true, humane face of Islam.
IBRAHIM DARAUSHE
-----
The Argentine debate
Like every Argentine expatriate living in Bangkok, I have been glued to the internet lately, following the tumultuous debate on the new taxes proposed on agricultural produce in Argentina. Like the recent political divisions in Thailand that have placed the existence of the Samak government in doubt, the division on these taxes has threatened the economic and political stability of my country.
On the one hand, farmers, the great majority of the Argentine population, consider these proposed taxes confiscatory and unfair. On the other hand, the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has been bent on forcing the countryside to pay for its wealth redistribution plan.
The tensions between these two visions came out in the recent debate in the Senate. And what a debate it was! For us, this has become much more than a "tax" issue. Suddenly, every single aspect of Argentina's social, moral, historical and economic life came under the microscope. And whether you were for or against (and I am definitely against the taxes) something new and curious happened in our country. People started participating in the debate without fear, expressing themselves in an unusually democratic way.
Of course, not everyone gave ground and not everyone wanted this to be a democratic process. Some of the more radical supporters of President Kirchner accused the rural leaders, who despite ideological differences had put up a united front, of trying to promote a coup d'etat.
After 17 hours of debate, the Senate voted and it was a tie! The president of the Senate (who is also the vice president of the country) was the tie-breaker and he voted against the law. This was something unseen before in Argentine politics and a real wake-up call for politicians who think debates can be decided behind closed doors.
I can't help comparing it to one of our tangos, full of passion and drama. I also can't help thinking that even if Argentina is so far away from Thailand, the political similarities are much more than a coincidence.
LUJAN GARAY CARLSON
-----
Military takes charge
The Thai military has effectively hijacked Thai foreign policy and snatched the ball from the civilian government by entering the disputed border area between Thailand and Cambodia, as well as laying out the rules of engagement and conditions for a withdrawal.
Recent decisions and statements made by high-ranking officers on the Preah Vihear issue are clearly political rather than operational in nature _ leaving one to wonder where Defence and Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is in all of this. If the military leadership were under executive orders from the government, one would expect to see evidence of such orders in media reports, but there is none.
Once again, it would seem that the military has taken charge of what could have remained a political situation.
NERVOUS NELLY
-----
Opportunity for crisis
According to an article in the Bangkok Post, the high price of crude oil is actually a blessing in disguise because it has encouraged the development and use of alternative sources of energy such as hydrogen, ethanol and biodiesel ("The energy crunch: crisis or opportunity?"BP, July 17).
It should be noted in this context that hydrogen is not an alternative source of energy but only a method _ and a very inefficient method _ of delivering energy from fossil fuels. The hydrogen that you use in your hydrogen-fuelled car is made from natural gas.
It should also be mentioned that ethanol and biodiesel have been made profitable not by rising oil prices but by subsidies.
As well, the rapid increase in their production, though once pushed as a panacea by hysterical environmentalists, are now being derided by the very same environmentalists as an environmental disaster. See: "Asia's growing oil palm farms seen as climate change threat," (BP, October 2007), "Orangutans may be first great apes to die out," (BP, April 6, 2008) and "Crime against humanity: biofuels are harming developing countries" (BP, July 12, 2008).
CHA-AM JAMAL
-----
Playing fair
I have no problem with PM Samak asking the Election Commission to remove 28 Democrat MPs and 33 senators from office, for allegedly breaking the rule forbidding owning shares in firms with government concessions. As Theodore Roosevelt noted, "No man is above the law, and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man's permission when we require him to obey it."
Thus, I laud Democrat leader Abhisit for noting that all of his party's MPs would be held accountable if they broke the law.
Khun Abhisit's actions are the direct opposite of the PPP's, which is seeking strenuously and brazenly to amend the constitution just when it might be the chief beneficiary of the change.
PM Samak told the press, "I told my people to go on the attack after several of our members were 'executed'." To me, such an attitude is that of kindergarteners singing, "Tit for tat, you kill my dog, I kill your cat."
PM Samak must not imply that if the Democrats let the government MPs' illegal share ownerships go, he'd do likewise for the opposition, for as Roosevelt well understood, rule of law demands that all follow the rules, especially the lawmakers.
PM Samak, work with Khun Abhisit and give us a clean parliament for once.
BURIN KANTABUTRA
-----
What people remember
John Shepherd (Postbag, July 15) asks: do we not remember how Chuan Leekpai and the Democrats "delivered Thailand from the mire of the crash of 1997"?
Actually, I don't remember any such thing. I remember that Mr Chuan's government saved the bankers, the businessmen and the seriously rich in Bangkok _ whose stupidity and greed caused the crash in the first place.I also remember that he didn't lift a finger to help the rural poor, who had no part in causing the meltdown, didn't profit from the boom and had the least resources to weather the storm.
More importantly, the ordinary people remember, and that is why they refused to vote for the Democrats.
DOM DUNN
-----
CONTACT: BANGKOK POST BUILDING, 136 NA RANONG ROAD, KLONG TOEY, BANGKOK 0110
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
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Next
