Re: "Old guard can't halt the turning tide", (Opinion, April 6). Wasant Techawongtham argues succinctly that Thai elites won't be more successful than King Canute in turning back a potential and youthful democratic wave.
Except that the same predictions in nearby countries have totally failed expectations. Opposition in the Philippines and in Cambodia has been silenced by wannabe autocrats parading the fig leaf of winning a popular vote.
Madame Max Adolph, head of the Tontons Macoute in Papa Doc's Haiti, once said that "the army is always in charge no matter what names are on the ballot paper". And in 2019?
Barry Kenyon
Is this democracy?
Re: "Election 'risks rule of law'", (BP, April 6).
King Prachadhipok's Institute secretary-general Woothisarn Tanchai hit the nail on the head when he said, "What I'm worried about ... is a crisis of what is right according to the rules, but which is illegitimate."
The March 24 election will produce winners blessed by the Election Commission -- but will those "winners" be accepted as being those whom Thais want to really represent their interests?
If, in a given sport, the security guards took over the playing field by force, unilaterally re-wrote the rulebook, unilaterally appointed the referees -- and then entered the field as players themselves, would those results be accepted by any Olympic committee? Especially if the guard-backed team happened to win?
Legitimacy is crucial for our government to administer the country in the way that we collectively want it to: otherwise, citizens will constantly question its motives, and either disobey its orders or follow them half-heartedly.
Thammasat University vice-rector Prinya Thaewanarumitkul noted that according to the original formula for allocation of party-list MPs, the anti-Prayut camp won 253 MP seats while the Prayut camp won 123 seats.
However, the (junta-appointed) Constitution Drafting Committee proposed a second formula which would effectively turn the tables on the anti-Prayut camp.
In addition, a campaign against election winner and anti-junta Future Forward Party's leader and its secretary-general is under way, including dredging up a case where the leader's van was allegedly used to spirit protesters away from a peaceful demonstration.
Why it took four years to identify the van's owner or why any of this should matter now hasn't been credibly explained.
The government and all parties should seek to make the election results credible and legitimate in the eyes of Thais and the world.
Burin Kantabutra
Making a hash of it
Re: "Old guard can't halt the turning tide," (Opinion, April 6).
The military and their surrogates are making a real hash of the last election. If they haven't noticed, the international press regularly refers to election as "rigged".
The military and its mates seems unable to stop themselves from making it even worse by doing their best to try to intimidate the opposition practically on a daily basis.
Observer
Big pharma wins
In your excellent editorial "Has drug reform gone to pot?", April 7, the failures of military rule are once again brought under a spotlight of rational examination. Shine that light anywhere in Thailand these days, and nothing but incompetence to govern, brazen selfishness and corruption is revealed.
The crackdown on Decha Siripat's benevolent foundation only points to the egregious influence big pharma and agribusiness interests have paid pu yai to acquire, entirely at the expense of prosperity for farmers and the national health. Thailand is ready for a change.
Mr M
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