OPINION

Scales of justice

Re: "Official's absence under review", (BP, Oct 30) & "No justice for Tak Bai", (Editorial, Oct 30).

Thailand should have a justice system where justice is not only done but seen to be done. The "good" system is showcased daily in the iCon fraud case, where suspects have been quickly identified and charged in an all-hands-on-deck operation.

The more frequent bad and ugly instances would include the Tak Bai massacre, where 78 protesters suffocated to death while being transported hog-tied hand and foot by the Royal Thai Army. Starting with then-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, probes dragged out for 20 long years -- until the statute of limitations expired -- despite defendants being readily available. For example, key defendant Gen Paisal Wattanawongkiri, at that time a list MP, was given leave for "medical treatment" until the statute of limitations had expired, even though the court had agreed to take up his case.

Another bad/ugly instance of justice not being done would be that of Vorayuth Yoovidhya, known as "Boss", a scion of the ultra-wealthy Red Bull clan who remains at large after allegedly killing a police officer in a hit-and-run 2012 accident.

The Royal Thai Police claimed inability to track the fugitive down, but the foreign media, notably the Associated Press (AP), easily took Boss's photo in front of his swanky London flat in 2015. Then-PM Prayut asked ex-graftbuster Vicha Mahakun to report on why tracking Boss down has been so difficult. Khun Vicha submitted his report on July 27, 2020, recommending police and public prosecutor reforms that Gen Prayut and his successors stonewalled and never mentioned -- and the chase evidently isn't on.

Give us justice for all.

Compassion for all

Re: "No justice for Tak Bai", (Editorial, Oct 30).

I acknowledge every country has their own laws and statute of limitations dependent upon the alleged breach. However, if the prosecutor satisfies that the elements of the offence are prima facie established, and accepted by the appropriate court, and the case against the accused proceeds, time should be irrelevant. In the event this article is published, I simply mean justice and compassion for all.

Subject to addiction

Re: "NSB vows to crush drug trade", (BP, July 17) and "Drug war deja vu", (PostBag, July 20).

In July, your reporter Wassayos Ngamkham wrote a story in which NSB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Khirisak Tantinvachai vowed to eradicate drugs and trafficking in 25 of Thailand's worst-affected provinces within three months.

Since then, we have not heard of any significant drug busts or other initiatives to curb the drug trade in Thailand, and in particular, steps to stop cross-border drug trafficking. All the empirical evidence points to the situation being unchanged.

So, Khun Wassayos, as I said in my PostBag letter of July 20, it is now open to you to interview Pol Lt Gen Khirisak again and report on what he thinks he has achieved in the past three months.

Naughty Nato

Re: "Missing the mark", (PostBag, Oct 29) & "Don't mess with Russia", (PostBag, Oct 27).

Tarquin Chufflebottom makes several erroneous points about the strategic successes of Nato.

Yes, Finland and Sweden joined Nato in 2023, but they had been de facto members for nearly 30 years with the alignment of doctrine, training, and equipment. Of note is that both countries came unstuck when they, like the West, tried to invade Mother Russia. Don't do it.

Another point of interest concerns Nato's April 2008 Bucharest Declaration stating both the Ukraine and Georgia would become members. How did that work out?

Russia's 16-day intervention into Georgia in August of that year ended the Georgian elite's aspirations. After half a million fatalities in the Donbas, the Ukrainian bid is now dead in the water, too.

Finally, could Tarquin explain how Nato has been "strengthened" by a down-sized UK military that cannot even put a brigade strength force into the field? For now, Russia has ignored British bombast and bluster. For how much longer?

Climate fraud

Re: "Hungry seas", (PostBag, Oct 29).

Sea levels have been rising for 20,000 years -- and rates have slowed considerably, beginning 8,000 years ago. The US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has 240 tide gauges scattered around the world, and the average calculated from all of those shows that sea levels are rising at a rate of 1.14 mm/year. Curiously, NOAA has switched to using satellite data, which is highly inaccurate but can be conformed to the climate change narrative by adding a spurious constant called the "global isostatic adjustment". I and many other scientists call this climate fraud.

Colin Roth uses comments from an unnamed and unqualified Pacific islander and claims "the sea level is now nearly 6 inches higher than 30 years ago". Reliable scientific data shows that in 30 years, the average rise is about 31mm or 1.2 inches. Local variations in average sea level rises can be due to changes in the sea floor, not uncommon near volcanic atolls. And Mr Roth's understanding of the situation in Samut Songkhram does not take into account significant coastal erosion, sea floor height change, or tidal gauge measurements.

Repugnant racism

Re: "MAGA unchained in Madison Square Garden", (Opinion, Oct 30).

Since when has racism been funny -- never!

The racist statements, not jokes, from Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden set a standard so low that no politician could recover from it, you would think, but the Trump campaign is trying to.

Mr Trump's running mate, Sen JD Vance, has said "stop getting so offended". But racism is offensive. Would he say the same about violence at schools?

"I'm just -- I'm so over it," Mr Vance stated, but hopefully, so are the undecided middle ground who don't support racism and realise that a positive path is the best option.

Look for the best and most positive leader for your country, not for themselves.

Trafficking horror

Re: "'Smugglers' nabbed after bodies found", (BP, Oct 19) & "ATDP targets 110 victims in Myanmar for rescue", (BP, Oct 30).

Imagine waking up every morning to relentless abuse and manipulation which leads to immense suffering, well sadly this is the life of millions of individuals who are hidden among your ordinary communities.

We often group human trafficking and ignore that there are many types of human trafficking: child, labour, sex, and organ trafficking. Each carries its horrors.

According to the ILO (International Labour Organisation), as of 2022, 28 million people are trafficked per year. With these statistics around every one second, a person is tragically taken. Despite laws and harsh punishments, fear is not enough to stop companies fuelled by greed, corruption, and profit. But what does it mean? Well, the term "human trafficking" refers to the unlawful act of transporting people to use as a form of service. In this article, we will uncover the mechanism behind the biggest human trafficking gangs in the world and delve into ways to combat it.

Child trafficking includes the exploitation of minors (below the age of 18) to use them for forced labour, underaged marriage, or forced beginning because the vulnerability of a child makes them easily manipulated. Labour exploitation involves both children and adults with the intent to use them without any cost and using extremely harsh working conditions while sex trafficking again both minors and adults are at risk, sex trafficking has the motive of prostitution or some sort of pornography.

Lastly, the most disturbing form of trafficking is organ trafficking through the black market. Body parts such as hearts and lungs are sold as sellers can get a high price within this market. But what drives individuals to enter this gruesome network? Firstly, the high profit and low-risk idea usually incentivises people since human traffickers mostly go undetected, but also corruption or weak authorities could be an important factor as well. When the government doesn't have the resources to combat trafficking, it causes more people to enter the market and work freely. While traffickers may profit greatly, the most grim cost falls on the victims who suffer psychologically and physically.

Which organisations deserve our praise for their humanitarian efforts in protecting the vulnerable?

For starters, the Red Cross has made tremendous efforts by providing humanitarian aid in the form of long-term protection, recovery, and integration measures so they have less difficulty building their lives. From 2018-2020, the EU Red Cross founded a "pathway" project that has the motive to improve the lives of identified survivors and this project helps to prioritise the individual's wants and needs during activities. We mustn't forget how traumatised these individuals are, making it essential for them to feel heard in a comfortable environment.

This ingenious programme allows survivors to have assistance while regaining back their lives. Meanwhile, in Thailand, we have an NGO (non-government organisation) called "Hug Project", which aims to prevent, protect, and heal children from sexual abuse and human trafficking.

Their first aim, prevention, is met when they partner with local schools or education services to protect themselves in person and on social media. With the empowerment of law enforcement, they protect children and, lastly, motivate survivors towards a healthy adulthood to heal them of their past traumas. In Thailand, "Whoever commits an offence of trafficking in persons shall be liable to the punishment of imprisonment for four years to ten years and a fine of 80,000 to 200,000 baht" (Section 52 of the criminal code). This differs with the age of the victim.

Within your typical neighbourhood, a crime beyond human comprehension untangles itself as an innocent being gets pulled into the darkness where silent cries often go unheard.

Although human trafficking is gruesome, it must be talked about and engaged by society to raise awareness and sympathy for these survivors so they feel empowered and cared for. With the help of individuals, the government, and legal authorities, we can lift the veil that hides the victims from hope and dignity, all while exposing one of the most disturbing markets in history.

With collective action, we can confront human trafficking and ensure a safe society where every victim feels heard and protected.

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