OPINION

Censure theatrics

Re: "Political experts split on censure outcome", (BP, March 26).

In fact, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Anyone in their right mind could not have thought and hoped that PM Paetongtarn's premiership would be short-lived by this censure.

However, the experiences of that two-day censure debate brought out many distasteful scenes but also encouraging signs of political maturity, especially from youngsters. But the fawning sycophancy of many circling our PM was somewhat nauseating to watch, and I hope their grandchildren can see those scenes one day.

Uyghur betrayal

Re: "Govt frets over Uyghur fallout with EU", (BP, March 28), "PR trip to Xinjiang?", (Editorial, March 21) and "Govt defends guards for Uighurs on jet", (Editorial, July 13, 2015).

Thank you, Bangkok Post, for consistently reporting on the Uyghur deportation issue.

At present, there are five more Uyghurs detained in Klongprem prison, where they have been since 2015, according to Amnesty International. No mainstream media have reported on the five men waiting to be deported to China.

We Thais must speak up en masse and stage a protest in front of parliament or in front of the prime minister's residence to stop further deportations of the remaining Uyghurs to China by the current Thai government.

Now, the big question mark is whether the de facto leader and ex-convict, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, played a role in the Thai government's decision to carry out the deportations.

His public statements, such as the one published in the Post on March 18, downplayed the US visa sanctions on Thai officials and policymakers responsible for making the repatriation decision. He said the US and EU are making decisions based on "outdated information" and also labelled the visa sanction policy as "temporary".

Unbelievable!

Indeed, Thaksin should be investigated over whether he had a role in convincing the prime minister and the justice minister to hand 40 Uyghurs back to China. Thaksin was often seen in China-ruled Hong Kong when he was wanted under a "Red notice" by Interpol during his self-exile after 2014.

Hopefully, the US, the United Nations, the European Union and the International Court of Justice will take note.

Today, national security expert Panitan Wattanayagorn was spot-on when he insisted that Thai ministers who are visiting Kashgar today to inspect the deported Uyghurs must see all 40 of them and not just five or six.

I think they should arrange live video streams of all 40 Uyghurs during their visit to the actual location.

A few further serious questions can be raised for the Thai government and mainstream media.

1) What official authority does Thaksin have that he is free to bat publicly for the Chinese government, the Thai government and the Thai prime minister?

2) Why are mainstream printed media and other television media assigning importance to what Thaksin says?

Last but not least, this letter would be incomplete without referring to Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong's statement on how the Thai government will monitor the 40 deported Uyghurs in Chinese prison as a perfect recipe for a "stand-up comedy show".

Our reputation as Thais is going down the drain. Before it harms our pride further, mainstream media must not dance along with Thaksin's rhetorical statements.

Fishing for facts

Re: "Fish crisis needs action", (Editorial, March 26) and "CP Foods faces lawsuit over blackchin tilapia invasion", (BP, March 5).

There is no fish crisis. No varieties of tilapia are native to Thailand; the various species that are here have all been imported by fish breeders and have escaped due to flooding and poor management practices. The first tilapia species were introduced in the 1950s. Local fishery businesses must face facts -- they have been destroying native fisheries for more than 70 years. The recently introduced blackchin tilapia competes primarily with the common, commercially popular Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), which has already done most of the damage relative to native fisheries that blackchin tilapia can do. Practically speaking, stopping the blackchin invasion is now a futile endeavour. Farmers should simply contain their breeding ponds more effectively, and the fisheries department should continue with their biological control and genetic modification efforts.

Your opinion statements that the blackchin tilapia "will eat away all local species and plankton" and "it could replace local species" lack an established scientific foundation.

The Department of Fisheries and politicians alike should try to develop a forward-looking, factual approach to the problem of invasive species. Thailand is one of the largest exporters of ornamental fish in the world. The same risks associated primarily with flooding and the illegal private fish release continue to plague breeders, large and small. There is no documented case of Thailand completely eradicating an invasive fish species from its natural waterways.

Thailand simply lacks the wherewithal to eliminate an aggressive, invasive fish species once it is widely established. The government has instituted a programme which cost 450 million baht to harvest blackchin tilapia and is scheduled for an additional 98 million. What is the measure of success? Less than 100 fish per 100 square metre of water, hardly a permanent solution. Half a billion baht could be better spent on a comprehensive regulatory, biological, and genetic approach to this problem rather than a costly yet ineffectual remedial handout to fishermen.

Common good

Re: "Idealism delusions" (Postbag, March 25) and "The US surrounded by enemies … that we created", (Opinion, March 26).

Michael Setter, in his rebuttal to my letter, demonstrates how he creates facts: the use of the collective "we" can be understood, Michael establishes, as an unconscious confession of his (my) cult affiliations.

I was simply referring to the small group of environmental and international law experts, human rights and peace advocates, and social innovators like myself who are exploring Earth trusteeship. As David Brooks sharply states: "For years, The World Values survey has shown that Western Europe and the blue parts of American are drifting towards a hyper-individualistic, postmodern culture that is farther and farther away from the more traditional communal cultures in other parts of the globe." He also comments that the US is now at the "extreme end of cynicism" as opposed to "idealism".

Our small group explores how we can co-create a contemporary and future-focused foundation for a world driven by "common good" rather than " self-interest" justified by (absolute) sovereignty with immunity claimed by nation states and corporations. Earlier, I argued that independence is realistically only possible if fully embedded in interdependence.

Noisy nightmare

Re: "City Hall expands project to renovate walkways", (BP, March 21).

Some time ago, Governor Chadchart Sittipunt outlined his vision of making Bangkok a liveable city. It is a worthy vision, but he did not address the one thing that absolutely prevents, and will forever prevent, Bangkok from achieving this worthy status -- noise.

Noise pollution is as real and insidious as any other type of pollution, and it affects everyone.

In Bangkok there are three major sources of noise pollution: motorcycles, howling dogs and security guards with whistles who think they can have an effect on traffic flow.

The BMA, under the leadership of Mr Chadchart, could easily address all of these points.

By my estimate, around 10% of motorcycles have been modified to make excessive noise or, worse, were designed to. They seem to be most popular with the limp-wristed fraternity. There is absolutely no reason for these machines, especially the so-called "big bikes". We also see the return of two-stroke motorcycles, despite these not even being street-legal. These seem to be favoured by local drug dealers.

The BMA could take the lead here and restrict access to all BMA sites and operations to electric motorcycles only. The BMA could also mandate that all motorcycle taxis and delivery services be electric only by the end of next year, for example.

Furthermore, the BMA could coordinate with Thailand Post (a wonderful organisation BTW) to replace all their current very noisy motorcycles with electric ones.

They could also coordinate with the police to facilitate an ongoing, if necessary, brutal crackdown on the remaining offenders. These individuals have forfeited their right to exist in society!

Dogs are a problem everywhere in the world where they exist. It is no surprise that they are one of the most hated domestic animals on the planet and the source of more police and civil complaints than anything else.

The BMA must completely ban dogs in all apartments, condos, townhouses and built-up areas. The sooner, the better.

Whistles are probably the easiest thing to deal with; simply take them away from these security guards.

It would be interesting to hear the good governor's thoughts on these points and, considering an election is due soon, perhaps the opinions of the other contenders.

Blind to brutality

Re: "Bimstec to put regional ties to the test", (Opinion, March 25).

I am writing to express my shock and dismay at the Thai government extending an invitation to a wanted criminal to Thailand for the Bimstec Summit on April 3-4. He sees the red carpet you laid out for him as a path soaked with the blood of the innocent people he has slaughtered since unlawfully seizing power on Feb 1, 2021.

It is deeply troubling to see a leader responsible for egregious war crimes and genocide being welcomed to this land. Have you forgotten the atrocities he has committed? By extending hospitality to this tyrant, you are turning a blind eye to the suffering of the people in Myanmar that he has caused.

Please remember that this man has not only brutalized his own people but has also contributed to the influx of refugees into Thailand, leading to issues such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, cyber scams, and illegal immigration. His family and associates are known to be involved in various illicit activities.

I urge you to reconsider your decision to host this bloodthirsty ruler. He does not deserve a place among dignitaries; his rightful place is alongside other criminals, like Rodrigo Duterte, facing justice at the International Criminal Court for his role in the Rohingya genocide and other human rights violations.

Let us not forget the victims of his tyranny, and as a democratically elected leader, you stand against the normalisation of such atrocities. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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