Fake news promises

re: "Who decides on fake news?" (Editorial, June 28)

Dear editor,

As seen over the past fortnight, the most apparent example of material uploaded to online systems intent on stirring up divisive national hatred being the  unsubstantiated accusations made by the anti-monarchist witch hunters, it will be interesting to see exactly what steps the military groups charged to do so by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon will take to counter such acts harmful to national unity.

And civil people respectful of honesty as the foundation of informed opinion on national affairs must wonder whether all those amazing promises made then and subsequently by the politicians who insisted, prior to May 22, 2014, that they were not planning to overthrow Thailand's constitution and form of democracy with a constitutional monarchy count as fake news or not when duly uploaded to online computer systems.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 29, 2019, under the title "Fake news promises" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1704048/fake-news-promises
  

Open your eyes

re: "FFP must clarify" (PostBag, June 25)

Dear editor,

Does Vint Chavala seriously believe, or believe that anyone else believes, that Thailand needs the amazing excess of army generals living high off the nation? For what, exactly? The most conspicuous achievement of that extraordinary number of army generals has for many decades been to protect the existence of an extraordinary number of army generals busily plotting political careers allied to unusual wealth, which many suspect to be the primary reason Thailand has been so afflicted by military coups against its form of democratic government with a constitutional monarchy.

One reason Future Forward is so deservedly popular is that it has publicly stated exactly what many Thais, especially the better educated youth, know to be true: that major reform is needed to bring Thai society and its politics into line with good morals. Given Thailand's long history of endemic corruption and other abuses systematically founded on bad law, a history that long precedes the emergence of Thaksin and other useful bogeymen, does Mr. Chavala doubt the need for substantial reform?

If he is indeed unclear about the party's well-known policies, Mr. Chavala need only open his eyes and ears. Thanatorn and the other good people of Future Forward have been refreshingly transparent.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 27, 2019, under the title "Open your eyes" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1702648/open-your-eyes
  

Attack on Buddhism

re: "Southeast Asian authorities accused of ‘trading’ dissidents" (BP, June 22)

Dear editor,

It is indeed an unholy alliance if true as alleged that Thailand is cooperating with  governments in ASEAN to suppress the practice of the wise teachings of the Buddha.

Buddhism, as genuine Buddhists know, emphasizes the central role of seeking right understanding through critical thinking allied to awareness, the exact opposite of laws that criminalize such good actions as questioning customs, attitudes, tradition and myth that seem too fantastic, however nationalistic. Such state-sanctioned cooperation against healthy examination of official accounts would, were they true, make a mockery of the claim to be a Buddhist nation. Even worse from the Buddhist point of view would be for such acts to be committed in strict accord with the law.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 24, 2019, under the title "Attack on Buddhism" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1700564/attack-on-buddhism
  

Doubleplusgood?

re: "Orwellian Thailand" (PostBag, June 20)

Dear editor,

In reply to Felix Qui's "Orwellian Thailand" (PostBag, June 20), one must also wonder whether the PM general, faithfully backed by his ever dutiful Ministry of Truth, will next have the honest Squealer explain that they really hate the apples and milk which they grudgingly award themselves out of a purely selfless desire to better serve the slightly less equally equal?

After all, if he won the post of PM by an overwhelming majority following an election, everything must be as authoritatively democratic as it is incorruptibly legal, so all entirely doubleplusgood, right?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 22, 2019, under the title "Doubleplusgood?" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1699744/doubleplusgood-
  

Orwellian Thailand

re: "Climate of fear must end" (Editorial, June 19)

Dear editor,

His zealously loyal fans, having perhaps taken too much to heart the PM general's recent endorsement of Animal Farm, have apparently also been studying Orwell's even more famous 1984. How else to explain their efforts to refashion Thailand's traditional institutions into the awesome tools of their very own Ministry of Love?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 20, 2019, under the title "Orwellian Thailand" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1698368/orwellian-thailand
  

Not fake — it's true

re: "Justice is approaching" (PostBag, June 16)

Dear editor,

Was it purely accidental that  David B. Hamilton offered not a shred of evidence or reason to support any of his incredible fake claims in "Justice Is Approaching" (PostBag, June 16)? Calling a solidly supported argument "audacity" is merely a personal attack, not a rebuttal. Mr Hamilton's failure to present anything in the way of rebuttal can only confirm that the Washington Post, and the other reliable international media listed, were correct in their reports and assessments. But then, like Thailand's foreign minister, we already knew that. 

In making their solid case that the election and shenanigans since March 24 are a sham of democratic principle and process, the international media reports cited relevant facts that are well-known : the overthrew of the supreme legal institution of the Thai nation in May 2014, the self-appointment of Prayuth Chan-O-Cha as prime minister, complete with a full amnesty, the bespoke constitution written to enable his return following elections after numerous broken promises, the creation of the Palang Pracharat Party to facilitate the return of those responsible for orchestrating the overthrow of Thailand's former democratic form of government under a constitutional monarchy, the petty-minded harassment under rule of law made up for that purpose of the truly reform minded Future Forward Party, and last but not least, the scandalous farce of the appointment of 250 senators who, as expected, loyally voted as dictated.

No, Mr. Hamilton's lame personal attack but confirms that the internationally respected media organizations he cited, The New York Times, and others, angered not because they report fake news or make unsubstantiated assessments; on the contrary, they upset zealous dogmatists precisely because their reporting is irrefutably accurate, informed, and substantive.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 17, 2019, under the title "Not fake — it's true" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1696428/not-fake-its-true
  

Healthy debate

re: "Future Forward forges ahead with charter changes" (BP, June 8)

Dear editor,

In the face of the ruling traditionalists who abhor just law, Future Forward's proposed charter reforms to move their nation forward as the Thai people want will fail, but at least they are getting important issues into public debate; that in itself is good.

It might yet turn out for the best that Thailand has a chance to hit rock bottom under the rule of law of the self-serving politicians who hold the nation and its institutions, especially its highest institution of law, in contempt: that contempt for Thailand's institutions is, after all, what it means to stage a coup.

More Thais are waking up to the ugly reality of much traditional Thainess, and Future Forward is helping that process with its savvy moves to highlight the bad old traditions of the bad old men serving only themselves.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 10, 2019, under the title "Healthy debate" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1692340/healthy-debate
  

When pigs take over

re: "Activists face chilling threat" (Editorial, June 5)

Dear editor,

The latest violence against human rights workers is but another symptom of the "peace" and "reconciliation" promised by the Orwell-loving Napoleon when he overthrew democracy to save it. The dictator has since exemplified the same use of intolerant force to "solve" his problems, which example from on high is what violence against human rights activists follows.

But after five years, could anything else be expected from such incredibly "good" selfless pigs as Napoleon and his growing horde backed up by his loyal dogs rewarded with milk and apples stolen from the hardworking Benjamin, Boxer, Clover, hens and other actual producers of the nation downtrodden by the pigs who make up the law to selflessly serve themselves as they collaterally grow ever fatter?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 6, 2019, under the title "When pigs take over" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1690136/defence-off-limits-
  

Beware what looms

re: "Minority government idea floated" (BP, June 1)

Dear editor,

Perhaps Seree Suwannapanont, freshly minted senator and former loyal member of the  National Legislative Assembly (NLA), doesn't have it quite right when he asserts that "If the government is not corrupt and works efficiently, there is no need for it to have more than half of the MPs to protect it."

The more accurate statement might be that if the government is truly corrupt and works not all efficiently, there is no need for it to have more than half of the MPs to protect it, since it will be able to force itself on the unwilling Thai nation under the bespoke charter make up to enable such abuses in collusion with a senate duly stuffed with loyal men.

And this is the end product of five years of dictatorship? It all sounds too expected as a harbinger of what looms.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 3, 2019, under the title "Beware what looms" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1688288/the-power-of-one
  

Cobras and coups

re: "Respect for Prem" (PostBag, May 30)

Dear editor,

In his letter "Respect for Prem" (PostBag, May 30),  HHB asks us to imagine a possibility that might have been. He then misses the actuality that has been made real.

The legacy of influential political players is the nation that they leave in their wake. Thailand today could have been a healthy, functioning democracy that dealt vigilantly with the usual problems of corruption, nepotism, legalized injustice, and other abuses that are a permanent threat to every democracy, and which abuses are far worse under undemocratic systems, as both local and foreign history attests. That wonderful possibility unrealized would have greatly benefited the Thai nation.

The legacy of Thailand's decades long lines of unelected political players is recorded in the headlines yesterday, today and likely tomorrow: coups, division, cobras,  corruption, injustice, inequality and all the rest. The actuality on the street seems not quite so wonderfully gilt as the imagined.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 1, 2019, under the title "Cobras and coups" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1687516/raise-palm-prices