Hysteria over international calls to respect rights

Kavi Chongkittavorn’s article had a hollow charm, reminding me of a famous headline from the London Times in 1957, “Heavy fog in channel. Continent cut off.” 

On Tuesday your esteemed correspondent Vint Chavala chimed in as well, with his letter “Washington delivering final blows to US-Thai friendship”. This is getting silly; sometimes I despair at the views expressed at times like these. I mean, just who do you think benefits from these concepts of “human rights” and “democracy”, so disdainfully placed in quotation marks by the writer? There is only one group that benefits from these, and that’s the Thai people, including you, Mr Chavala. It is the set of standards that, when followed, mean that you can sleep peacefully in your bed, safe in the knowledge that nobody is going to break down the door at 4am and cart you off to be “re-educated”, simply because you don’t agree with them. It would be a very sad day for Thailand if international calls to respect the rights of her people caused the government of the day to further downgrade bilateral relations. It is a dangerous route for Thailand to take, both for the welfare of its people and for the nature of trade and political deals that may follow with new “partners”. No doubt the US would rather it was not necessary to say anything, and avoid witnessing their Thailand friends turn away, but I strongly suggest that readers ask themselves honestly, who will be damaged more by such a response? Will there be more sleep lost in Washington, or in Bangkok?

 Alan Mehew