Tourism minister's remarks about rape victim are woeful

It is so unbecoming of Thailand’s tourism minister to come out and declare that the incident in Krabi – in which a 19-year-old Dutch tourist was assaulted and raped, which took local police a full month to arrest the suspect, who was afterward granted bail almost immediately – may not be considered rape.
Tourism Minister Chumpol Silapa-archa should be reminded of another case in Chiang Mai in 2000, in which British tourist Kirsty Jones was raped and murdered in a guesthouse. The murderer is still at large. What the Thai police said concerning the victim was along the same line – consensual guilt.
Or better yet, take the example of what just happened in Chiang Mai, in which a Chinese tourist had her camera snatched from her shoulder in broad daylight at a crowded marketplace. Should the tourist be blamed for inducing the robber?
If the tourism situation in our country is what it is today, what do we have a tourism minister for?
Vint Chavala
Lamphun