Why a national strategy bill is necessary
I write in support of the national strategy bill the government has submitted to the Constitution Drafting Committee for consideration. I am sure the majority of Thais share my view that the bill is necessary if we want to ensure peace and order after the next general election.
The drafting committee should turn a deaf ear to the ill-intentioned voices of some self-interested politicians, activists and academics who say the bill should be dropped. Their claim is that the military government wants to hold on to power and exert control over a new government.
The reality is that these critics have no love for the country, but instead have an insatiable hunger for the money they can make by betraying it. They also disgrace us by urging international bodies and Western powers to pressure our government to give up control and hold an election. Some of the money they stole from us was paid to overseas lobbyists and selected media outlets to persuade them to support their perverted cause.
The draft charter contains several measures designed to deal effectively with any future political crisis and empowers independent bodies and the Constitutional Court to help resolve conflicts. But what if a crisis turns into turmoil – will these entities be able to quell the unrest?
A crooked government will downsize the military and seize control of it. The police force will then be back in the hands of the politicians. This will create a recipe – once again – for division and conflict. We will then travel backwards towards chaos.
Dusit Thammaraks
Beware ‘What Other’s Say’
Re: “Letting Mr Putin call the shots in Syria”, What Others Say, February 28.
Originally published by the Washington Post, this editorial could have been written by a mentally ill person. Everything is turned upside down. There is no mention of the Islamic State or the UN Security Council resolution on Syria, while the word terrorist is placed in inverted commas. Or was this another attempt to fool readers where the truth is evident?
The truth is as clear as could be. Today the terrorist movement called Islamic State is a major threat to international peace and security since it is challenging the basic norms of civilisation and killing people everywhere. Thus the primary role of the international community is to join hands and defeat it – in Syria, other Middle East countries, Europe, Russia, the US, Southeast Asia, etc.
In Syria, IS tried to seize power using the civil-war chaos. It is crucial to help the government and other patriotic forces in Syria to kick terrorists out of their country, to preserve the unity of the Syrian nation and to build a new Syria through political reconciliation. To achieve this goal, Russia and the US-led coalition, on the one hand, are executing a successful military operation against IS and Jabhat al-Nusra, and on the other have reached a groundbreaking agreement on a truce between the warring factions, effective from last Saturday. The truce was supported by the majority of Syrian groups and confirmed by the UNSC Resolution of February 26 that is a legally binding document for all. At the same it was agreed that the fight against IS, Jabhat al-Nusra and other organisations listed by the Security Council as terrorist will continue.
It is as simple as that. My only request to The Nation is to be careful with publications of this kind. Otherwise the “What Others Say” section will have to be re-branded “What Lunatics Say”.
Kirill Barsky
Russian Ambassador
