Crimes of the state

re: "Go softly, softly: 4th Army head" (BP, November 2, 2022) 

Dear editor,

To hear his perfectly fantastic statements promising so much in Thailand's long troubled southern regions from the newly appointed commander of the 4th Army Region, Lt Gen Santi Sakuntanark is to be reminded of Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha's equally fantastic promises after he had staged a well-plotted plan to initiate a not at all fantastic, being all too real, road map that began with making himself prime minister: healing social divides, ending corruption, reforming such revered institutions as the Royal Thai Police, bringing true democracy to Thailand after almost a century of it being denied, ensuring transparency and accountability in all things, respecting human rights, and of course restoring happiness to the Thai people. It's all too incredible.

I would suggest that as soon as soon as the 4th Army Region's new commander starts to bring justice and accountability for such horrors as the Tak Bai and Krue Se killings, his promises might move from being purely fantastic to being credible.

In the meantime, those "urged to surrender and prove their innocence in court" might well have some glimmer of miraculously trusting faith that they will indeed "be given the right to a fair trial." But until those responsible for Tak Bai and like horrors committed by the Thai state are held to just account by similar proceedings in open court, those invited to enter that process might also have justified worries about suffocation or other untoward incidents occurring as they are packed for delivery to that trial.  

 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 November 4, 2022, under the title "Crimes of the state" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2429535/fix-the-basics-first