"The one thing worse than an incompetent central bank is an incompetent central bank that flip-flops," said some financial genius somewhere in the area.

Please consider another instance of a huge mistake: the neo-con invasion of Iraq by the United States of America and its king, George XLIII. It was recognised as a disaster in no time at all, yet instead of "flip-flopping" and remedying the mistake, our boy emperor cannot admit he's made a mistake at all. Instead it's "stay the course". Three years and 3,000 American and 100,000 Iraqi deaths later, it's "double down" time.

Thank you for the exemplary good sense shown by the Thai government. A mistake made is to be reversed at the first opportunity. We all make mistakes; it's the recovery that counts.

Perhaps you could invite our American ambassador in for tea and break the news to him gently. Yes, we Americans have much to learn from the Thais about politics.

John Francis Lee

Chiang Rai

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SET gamblers know the risks of playing in a casino

My sympathy goes all the way from freezing Cambridge to Bangkok and those stock players in Thailand who jumped onto the bandwagon of the foreign funds that took flight from the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The phrase "stock players" can only be found in the Thai lexicon in which "players" describe themselves according to their stakeholding mentality; ie, to hold stakes in the stocks with no real intention of investing in the stocks they buy and sell at the speed of "soundbytes", thanks to the state-of-the-art, online stock-analysis services.

Stock "investment", as the name of the game suggests, is for investment. Yet investment takes a considerably long term to realise losses or gains. There's no such thing as a fast-track, easy-go-lucky, make-or-break deal in capital investment, but rather in gambling. Hence, a stock exchange can be either a capital marketplace or a gambling den; it is solely up to all the actors involved.

Sean Esagtawski

Cambridge, Massachusetts

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No surprise that investors  ran for the door in panic

Thank goodness the reserve requirements on stock-market inflows were rescinded as soon as it was clear what damage had been inflicted on the Stock exchange of Thailand (SET) in only one day. What is worrying, though, is Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula's admission that he had underestimated the reaction of investors to the new measures. The measures effectively closed the Thai market to new investment from the majority of foreign institutions that could not possibly justify investing their clients' funds on such severely disadvantageous terms. With no hope of new investment by the foreign institutions that represent a large proportion of SET turnover and often lead the market, it should have been obvious that Thai and foreign investors alike would head for the door.

Unfortunately many foreign-fund managers had gone out on a limb to justify "politically incorrect" investments in a country that many of their clients view as ruled by a military junta like Burma. Despite the policy reversal, it will be some time before they go out on a limb again. Wednesday's rebound in the market was not totally convincing, because it was led by Thai institutions who are rarely market leaders, but are susceptible to urgent calls for concerted action to salvage the market. Local retail investors and foreign institutions were net sellers. It could be a while before confidence returns.

George Morgan

Bangkok

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Thailand must protect its good record with refugees

Thailand should be proud it has provided sanctuary for refugees for decades due to the atrocious acts of its neighbours. It should also own up to its role in this refugee problem.

Thailand has kept these refugee camps open for years, due to large sums of money from the US government and the international community. Without this, I am not sure Thailand would have been so tolerant for so long, because the government was never that keen on having the camps open.

This human-trafficking network that has lured economic refugees involves an elaborate web, including Thai officials, Thai police, Thai immigration, Lao, Lao Hmong, Thai Hmong and Hmong Americans.

Perhaps it is some American Hmong political groups that have caused the most trouble over the years, including lying to and manipulating the remaining Hmong in resistance, so that they would stay in the mountains to keep their refugee business flourishing, among other things. The Hmong hiding in the jungle have been used in the extreme sense of the word. They have been coerced to stay in the jungle against all hope by small political groups of Hmong Americans who care little about their well-being.

Thailand needs to crack down on these groups and individuals. And Washington needs to do the same with these trouble-making Hmong groups operating out of the US.

Further, Thais should have more sympathy for the Hmong. General Vang Pao and the Hmong were defending their Lao homeland from the invading North Vietnamese communists. Thailand sent up to 24,000 troops over many years - financed by the US - to assist the Hmong and Lao in defending their country against the Vietnamese. More than 2,000 Thai police and military were killed fighting alongside Hmong and Lao soldiers. Thailand probably has more than 100,000 veterans from this secret war, which remains largely a secret to the Thais. These Thai veterans deserve recognition, because they were not only defending Laos from communism, but also defending Thailand. You only need to look at what happened to the Lao royal family to see what might have happened in Thailand if the communists had taken control here.

Laos needs to treat the Hmong and all its citizens humanely, which it has grossly neglected to do. The revolution has only helped a small, connected elite of families and military men get rich on massive corruption. The international community, including diplomats, non-governmental organisations, gold-mines and dam builders should all band together to make these Lao kleptocrats responsible to their own people. Perhaps then there will not be a massive influx of economic refugees to Thailand.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees must have full access to the persecuted jungle groups that are surrendering, as well as to all areas of Laos, to end the human-rights violations. All Hmong from Laos with legitimate refugee claims should be granted asylum in third countries.

Only when there is full, open and honest cooperation from all will this matter be set right.

Thailand should also be meeting with Hanoi on this matter - the Lao government remains mostly a puppet regime of the Vietnamese, something the Thai, Lao and Hmong fought to prevent.

Concerned Observer

Bangkok

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Most political parties are simply personality cults

One problem facing the constitution-writers is whether to keep the 90-day rule for MPs, which prevents them from hopping to another party just before an election, much like political prostitutes.

The question we should ask is: should candidates be free to join any party they wish at any time they wish?

It certainly is an infringement on their mobility. So, what do We the People gain by imposing such a restriction?

With the main exception being the Democrat Party, most Thai parties seem to be personal cults, bound together not by a common philosophy, but by short-term interests. Thus, once the leader departs, the party all but vanishes. Thai Rak Thai lost 90 per cent of its members with its first major defeat. This focus on the short-term is detrimental to Thailand's political development.

Having the 90-day rule seems to have worked fairly well at preventing party-hopping. Yes, ex-PM Thaksin allegedly used this rule to gag Thai Rak Thai MPs from disagreeing with him - but then, shouldn't the MPs have looked more carefully before leaping into the Thai Rak Thai's bed? Tough luck, guys, but it seems to me that you're getting your just desserts. Next time, choose a party that has a philosophical underpinning you are willing to stick with through thick and thin, one that's not a cult following.

Keep the 90-day rule or find something that will more effectively bind candidates to parties for the long run.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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Spelling of the airport's name causes confusion

Much vitriol has been printed in your Letters column concerning the functionality of the new airport. What has received no attention, however, is the name as it appears in English: Suvarnabhumi. As written, it suggests it should be pronounced

"Soo-var-na-boo-mee". However, when a hapless foreigner attempts this not unreasonable pronunciation (given the way it is spelled), they are met with quizzical looks and a repronunciation of "Soo-waan-naa-poom". So why did whatever government department that is responsible for deciding on the spelling of Thai words in English (to achieve correct pronunciation) choose this spelling? This spelling does not achieve its aim, since the "v", "r", "b" and "i" will all be pronounced by native speakers, as these are not seen as being silent.

It does not stop there. There are other misspellings languishing in current use: Phetchaburi, for instance. "Ph" in English is pronounced as "f", and therefore hapless foreigners say "Fet-cha-boori".

I am sure there are many others, as well. Who are these bureaucrats, and who do they consult to reach a spelling such as this? As it stands, the spelling of the new airport's name does not equate to the sound of the Thai for the name.

John de Laurent

Bangkok