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Published on November 6, 2007

Campaign for Popular Democracy secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila hit the nail on the head when he said our next general election will only serve as a referendum on whether Thai voters want the Thaksin Shinawatra regime back or not. The coming election is set to deepen rather than ease the tensions between those who agree with Thaksin and those who oppose him and his extreme politics.

First, the Council for National Security and the Surayud Chulanont government have been unable to nail the former prime minister for the crimes they allege he committed during his rule. Now one wonders what in heaven's name did we have the September 19, 2006 coup for or why we should continue to waste our time with the Surayud government at the helm if nothing of substance has been achieved at all. Last year's coup also cancelled out one of the best constitutions we have ever had.

Second, money politics seems set to make a comeback in a big way, instead of dying down as promised by the coup leaders. Thaksin is likely to take revenge against those who chased him out but failed to finish him off. Now, Thaksin seems to have opened his war chest and promised it's time for these people to pay off.

Third, the Thai political scene is, as usual, akin to that at a prostitution house, where ladies of the night sashay around to attract a papa san with the deepest pockets hoping that he will welcome them into his den - this regardless of ethics or laws.

Fourth, political parties are mushrooming like houses of ill fame hurriedly opened to welcome the coming festive season. The expected scenario where ideology and democratic principles would be priorities seems to be completely missing.

To sum up, the coup leaders and the Surayud government have, through their inaction, done a great disservice to our country in general and our democratic aspirations in particular. They deserve the thumbs down.

Chavalit Van

Chiang Mai

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Postpone Asean charter due to Burmese situation

Over 200 participants from civil society organisations and trade unions from across Southeast Asia and beyond have called upon the leaders of Asean to postpone the signing of the Asean charter due to the Burmese junta's recent violent crackdown on peaceful protests.

At the conclusion of the third Asean + Civil Society Conference (ACSC III) held this past weekend in Singapore, all participants agreed that the current political crisis in Burma must first be resolved in accordance with basic human-rights standards before Asean's leaders can sign a charter for a "caring, sharing community".

Participants urged Asean countries, particularly Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, to do more than issue strong statements and to take concrete action, including the imposition of an arms embargo and the stemming of the flow of resources to the military junta. There was also a call on the Indonesian government, as current chair of the UN Security Council, to advocate the imposition of sanctions and other targeted measures, and for Asean to place more pressure on China and India to take concrete measures to bring the Burmese military generals to engage in a democratic process of reform.

Apart from the focus on events in Burma, participants also agreed that Asean's approach to drafting a "people's charter" had been far from people-centred, with no release of a draft version of the charter for civil-society groups to consider and provide feedback on prior to its signing at the upcoming Asean Summit in Singapore on November 18-22. Any engagement that had taken place with civil society had been little more than a public-relations exercise. Therefore, participants demanded that Asean go through a process of "meaningful public consultation and discussion" before signing a charter on behalf of the people of Southeast Asia and, furthermore, that a referendum on the charter be held in each member state.

In response to dissatisfaction over the entire charter-drafting process, the decision was taken to launch the drafting of an alternative Asean people's charter by national and regional civil-society groups "that will embody the shared values and collective aspirations of the peoples of the region", and which will be completed prior to the 2008 Asean Summit in Thailand

Pokpong Lawansiri

Bangkok

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Transsexuals' preferences hard-wired from birth

The current Thai debate on the legal sex status of transsexuals is welcome indeed. For too long, outed by ID cards showing the sex they were allocated at birth, Thai transsexuals have been deprived of the right to marry and start a family and effectively barred from countless employment opportunities. Pushed out onto the margins of society, living with stigma, they make their living however they can. This is not the kind of tolerance for which most Thais would want their country known.

Research over the last few years has convinced many scientists that there is such a thing as "brain sex" - ie, babies are born with brains that are already "sexed" (the determination made as to whether they are masculine or feminine) in the womb, and that children grow up as a result feeling "male" or "female" because they are hard-wired to do so. And they believe that, just as there are people whose chromosomes, hormones and internal sex organs do not match what is between their legs, so too are there people who grow up feeling uncomfortable living as a member of the sex into which they were allocated at birth. These people become transsexuals.

So, the question is not whether we should ever change the legal sex status of transsexuals. The question is whether their current legal sex status has ever been correct, and what justification is there for denying them the right to have the error corrected, and to become fully participating members of society.

Sam Winter

Director, TransgenderASIA Research Centre

Hong Kong

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What if the dreams of idealists came true?

What if the knowledge passed on to common people were not only understood and remembered but also practised first for the benefit of our community and second for the benefit of our own state of well-being?

What if all Aids and HIV treatment medications were free to use by everyone suffering from this atrocious disease?

What if democracy and corruption were not "so intertwined"?

What if our worries were limited to our state of being healthy and "free from suffering" and not the political or economical situation of our/any country(s)?

What if people were able to take control of their own lives and learn to subdue their mischievous temptations?

What if a person's success were only defined in terms of their contribution to society and to their own intellectual well-being and not erroneously in terms of how much they are worth financially?

What if everyone were able to distinguish between positive and negative contributors to society?

What if fame were not such a great deal for anybody?

What if formal education were free to all who are willing to learn?

What if we shared what we earned among those who are in immense need for survival?

What if we put our troubles and worries behind and started aspiring for a better future?

Petros Rigas

Bangkok

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