No peace until Thaksin is out of the game for good

Anand pointed to the deep polarisation between the PAD-led anti-Thaksin movement and the PPP-led pro-Thaksin camp.

Thai political history has not seen a personality as nationally divisive as Thaksin. When he was in power, Thaksin wrote a new chapter on plutocracy by pacifying the grass-roots in the North and Northeast through massive handouts. With unparalleled wealth he bought the hearts and minds in the populous regions. Now his wealth and personal freedom are on the line, his defence is to install a regime under his direction.

With many serious charges - civil, criminal and constitutional - against him, it is not enough that his PPP controls the parliament. He needs to work on the legal process and the bureaucracy while keeping watchful eyes on the military.

With respect, I feel that both Anand and Dr Prawes have missed the true picture of our  problem. What we have here is an unfinished coup d'etat. On September 19, 2006 General Sondhi and General Sarayud were not up to the task. They set low goals and went ahead to under-perform miserably. The election of December 23, 2007  was for all practical purposes Thaksin's counter-offensive in an ongoing power struggle.

Now Thaksin's classmate is the Army chief, but he cannot control all the generals. If there is to be another coup, we need a group that can finalise open judicial proceedings against Thaksin for all the world to see. We cannot move forward until we can leave Thaksin behind.

Netirat Intira

Bangkok

Thailand: a banana

republic in all but name

Re: "Civil servant has no say over his fate", June 4.

I read this article with depressed resignation. It clearly showed how dysfunctional this country is. It has no chance of ever being a democracy or meritocracy, as corrupt politicians will continue to reward their favourites and punish independent thinkers who will not kow-tow and carry out their masters' personal whims as if they were policy.

It matters not a jot whether the constitution is or isn't amended, whether Thaksin is  let of the hook, how long or how often the PAD protest, or whether there is or isn't another coup. The country is simply rotten to the core with corruption and cronyism at every level and in every form. If this continues, the country will continue to function, and be generally understood by the real world, as barely above a banana republic.

Jack Stein

Bangkok

Obama must be wary

of the world's tyrants

Barack Obama's proposed willingness to "talk" with US adversaries has taken on many preconditions and conditions in his updated statements of recent weeks, as he and his advisors recognise the serious danger in legitimising unacceptable behaviour. The politics of inclusion are fruitless with military juntas, dictators and the like. One need look no further than the impotence of the UN's recent humanitarian efforts in Burma. Kindness and open debate should not be extended to leaders who deprive their own people of the very same things.

Former President Clinton was correct when he asserted Americans prefer a president who is "strong but wrong" rather than one who is "right but weak". I fear Obama will not heed this ironclad rule of US politics. It would be easy to swing to the other diplomatic extreme once George W Bush leaves office; the cowboy-weary world would probably support Barack in this. However, it is unclear what exactly would come of discussions with regimes that have never kept their word and prevent any sort of reform within their own borders.

Rocco Costa

Monterey, CA

Asean kow-tows to Burma as the world grimaces

Not surprisingly there have been no harsh words of criticism against the Burmese dictatorship from Asean officials - just calls "to respect the sovereignty of Burma" from the Malaysian deputy prime minister, Najib Razak. So why does Asean continue with this supine and spineless tack?

Is it because all the Asean governments have more in common with the Burmese dictators than they do with the Burmese, or their own, people?

John Francis Lee

Chiang Rai

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