Wanted: Ideas that help Thailand - foreigners welcome to contribute

The letter-writer is the same Satish Sehgal who stood on People’s Democratic Reform Committee stages before the coup. He is also the same man threatened by the authorities with deportation, in a case that prompted me to write a letter in his defence (“Govt is persecuting Satish Sehgal”, The Nation, February 13, 2014).

Mr Sehgal wrote that foreigners have no business in judging whether the 2014 coup was justified or not, asserting, “Let Thais decide that.” Yet in the same letter he wrote that military intervention was “necessary at the time”. Oh dear, I am afraid you lost me there, Mr Sehgal. 

As a foreigner, you took the time and trouble to go onstage and tell us what was wrong with our country and the necessity for reform. The PDRC, on whose stage you appeared, wanted the military to intervene. How do your actions gel with what you wrote, Mr Sehgal?

As a Thai I appreciate any and all contributions made by anyone, Thai or foreigner, that aid my country. Their ideas are what matter and everything else is secondary. In a nutshell, Mr Sehgal, I appreciate all that you have done for Thailand, and whether I agree with you or not is another matter. But please do let other foreigners have their say too. 

Kemadist Chiaracharuwat