I subsequently found out that temple staff had apparently imported the monkeys from another region so that they could be used as bait for fee-paying tourists. In turn, locals had set up numerous stalls outside the temple to make a profit from the sale of peanuts and bananas to uninformed visitors.

This may sound a rather benign bit of marketing. In fact, it is highly dangerous to tourists and hardly friendly to these supplanted animals. I actually witnessed a monkey suddenly bite an unsuspecting tourist, causing a terrible open wound that could easily have caused infection and the transfer of some terrible primate disease.

Children are particularly susceptible to being aggressively attacked by the monkeys, which were marauding in packs searching for food from the visitors. I thoroughly condemn such tourist "attractions" in Thailand, particularly as no warning of the dangers of feeding or touching the animals was given either by the temple staff or the tour operator but, in fact, this was encouraged. Isn't it time that the Tourism Authority of Thailand and police monitored such sites and banned their activities? It may save lives.

Peter Moseley

Bangkok

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'Tough talk' policies will not effect lasting change in South

Re: "Thamarak assailed over South remarks", News, August 7.

Caretaker Defence Minister Thamarak Isarangura has been talking tough these days. "It is like boxing - you have to hit back sometimes. If you only defend yourself, you might be knocked out," he said in reference to the unrest in the deep South.

His comments immediately drew flak from those who do not subscribe to this view, and who feel that violence only begets violence. Thamarak's solution seems to have finally sealed the fate of the recommendations of the National Reconciliation Commission, which arrived more than a year after a painstaking collection of facts and first-hand accounts.

While offence is at times the best defence, the responsible authorities have not been able to retaliate in a manner expected by General Thamarak - so far at least. The only available and successful evidence was when the authorities were able to kill two rebels and capture four more after an attack on a police station. This was accomplished because of good intelligence work that allowed the government to properly prepare for retaliation. As for the rest, we do not know for sure. While the responsible authorities, both civilian and military, always claim that they know in advance what will happen, where and when, they are not always able to prevent it. The latest attacks in four provinces in the deep South clearly illustrated this. Is the current administration really serious about a permanent solution? When General Sonthi Boonyaratglin was ready to go South to review his options, he was ordered to accompany the prime minister on a surprise visit to Burma, which made it appear as if he did not have a much higher priority at hand.

Taking the fight to the rebels will not be as easy as Thamarak thinks. This would be playing into the hands of the rebels, who prove much more adept at this sort of strategy. But in the end, firepower is not the answer for all sides as victories gained thereby will be temporary at best.

The permanent solution, as far as anyone can see, is to remove the root cause of the problem. In the deep South, as in national politics where there exists a great national divide, removing the caretaker prime minister, by whatever means that are peaceful, seems to be the last viable option that would really work. Only when this happens, can His Majesty the King's philosophy of "Understand, Reach Out, Develop" be implemented, which would allow the healing process to begin.

Prachyadavi Tavedikul

Bangkok

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Asean needs to make its voice heard to benefit from trade

Re: "Interests of a select few triumphed over benefits for many in failed trade talks", Opinion, August 9.

I appreciate the fact that The Nation publishes relevant articles such as this one about the suspension of the Doha Round of World Trade Organisation negotiations. Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz is right in realistically warning that the entire world loses if the multilateral trade system is weakened.

It is, indeed, a distant ideal to reach a genuinely open, equitable, rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading and financial system, able to ensure win-win scenarios for 192 countries. However, the present temporary impasse in multilateral commercial diplomacy must be overcome. Intensive and meaningful consultations must be energetically conducted with all states in order to resume good-faith negotiations under better political auspices. The practical requirements of effective multilateralism must not be sacrificed.

The voice of Asean, representing over 550 million people, must not be ignored. Unfortunately, it is not sufficiently audible in diplomatic and academic communities. Collectively, Asean's members do not limit themselves in expressing legitimate regret on the failure to agree in Geneva on the negotiating modalities on agriculture and non-agriculture market access. They called on all WTO members, especially the major ones, to redouble their efforts in line with their commitment to the objectives of the Doha Development Agenda and to ensure that the negotiations come to a successful conclusion by the end of 2006. From Asean's perspective, the Doha Round must achieve an ambitious and balanced outcome that is development-oriented, with particular emphasis on ensuring real, effective and operational development benefits to developing countries.

Ioan Voicu

Bangkok

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The media should expose Singapore with boycott

Re: "Media: don't mess with Singapore", Editorial, August 9.

The declared policy of Singapore, which doesn't want any foreign media to comment (negatively) on its domestic politics, is highly irrational. If every country were to do the same there couldn't be any political news or comments in any international newspapers because somebody somewhere would certainly be offended. The Singaporean prime minister's mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, who is still the power behind the throne, is respected as a politician and an intellectual. How can he believe that the Singaporean road to self-censorship of newspapers is an enlightened policy?

It would be best if all English-language international newspapers and magazines would stop distribution in Singapore. This would fully expose the desires of its politicians who want to be godfathers of an international financial, trading and manufacturing centre without allowing free news to be dispersed. It would show the bankruptcy of Singapore's empty aspirations.

A final note: I bet the Singapore embassy in Bangkok is already in overdrive to draft letters saying "it ain't so", but we all know the true nature of the island state.

Frank Lordi

Bangkok

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Enforcing elephant ban in cities key to ending cruelty

Re: "Elephants should stay here only if they are better cared for", Letters, August 4.

I have been living in Thailand for several years and I find nothing more repulsive than seeing elephants, both big and small, being forced to walk on the polluted, sun-baked streets of Bangkok and other major cities in Thailand. These majestic mammals deserve better. No one, I repeat no one, has the right to bring these animals to cities and make them beg for money. The mahouts who do this should be put behind bars and severely punished.

I believe there are laws in Thailand that clearly state elephants and other animals are not allowed into cities. In fact Ronnakit Ekkasingh, the deputy mayor of Pattaya, recently announced that elephants found in Pattaya will be seized and sent to Khao Khiew Open Zoo and their mahouts fined Bt10,000.

I applaud Ronnakit for taking this step and sincerely hope he will enforce it strictly. I would also request concerned authorities in Bangkok and other major cities to follow Ronnakit's example. Only the fear of losing their elephants will force mahouts to stop bringing them to cities.

Seized elephants can be sent to elephant farms in Chiang Mai and other places. The Thai government should provide funds to arrange the transfer of these elephants to safety and fund the care of these gentle giants. There is no more heart-rending sight than seeing elephants walking on the hot concrete roads under a blazing sun being bullied by mahouts and poked with steel hooks.

Rakesh Sodhia

Bangkok

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Those familiar with alcohol abuse know it's a disease

Re: "Alcoholics choose to drink, so why should others pay?", Letters, August 7.

For the record, alcoholism is recognised as a disease by certain countries' medical establishments. It is, in point of fact, a combination of a psychological obsession with alcohol and a physical reaction once alcohol is ingested that creates the sensation of craving. It is also what is known as a progressive disease in as much as the aforementioned conditions will only ever become more serious as the sufferer becomes older.

 Debate persists as to the cause of alcoholism, although there is increasing evidence to suggest that it is predominantly a genetically inherited disease. Ignorance of the true nature of addiction and the power it can wield over otherwise seemingly normal human beings persists and is widespread. To anyone who has experience of alcoholism, first or second hand, the truly devastating power it yields does not need to be explained as it courses through peoples' lives destroying everything in its path. To suggest that active alcoholics have a "choice" as to whether they drink or not can only emanate from an individual fortunate enough not to have been touched by the disease.

Recovering Alcoholic

London