Sir, 

           Your editorial on Thai protests ("Red shirts rally, 16 March 2010) regrettably missed a number of key facts about Thailand's political situation.

            First, the present Thai government came to power through normal. parliamentary means under a democratic system modeled after your country's own Westminster system. Indeed.Mr, Abhisit Vejjajiva was voted prime minister by a majority in the House of Representatives in exactly the same manner and by exactly the same House as his two predecessorst hat the opposition party and several groups of demonstrators supported. And the latest change of government came about not because of the military intervention, but because the main coalition party was dissolved for electoral fraud in accordance with the Constitution, and the coalition parties and members of the Parliament then turned around and voted for the Democrat Party to form a new government. Thus, contrary to what your editorial suggests, the issue is not about legitimacy.

            Second, while the present government's tenure is due to expire by the end of 2011, Prime Minister Abhisit has never dismissed the dissolution of the House as an option to resolve Thailand's present political woes. Calling early elections, though, must be in the interest of the country as a whole. With hostile feelings in need of reconciling, election rules yet to be settled and the economy just entering a recovery mode, now is hardly the time for a peaceful election. It may even lead to certain disruption if the election was to be held today. Be that as it may, the Government's stance is clear: it respects the protestors' constitutional right to protest peacefully, it stands ready to listen to their demands, and it welcomes discussions to obtain broad-based views on how to move the country forward.

            Third, the Abhisit Government has come up with new, and built upon existing policies aimed at helping the rural poor. Since day one, the Government has been committedto doing its best to help the most disadvantaged in Thailand- be they in rural or urban areas ofthe country - through such policies as 15 years of free education mandated by the Constitution since 1997 but fully realised only under this Government, income support for the elderly for the first time, an income guarantee scheme for fanners for millions of households compared to under a few hundred thousand families in the past, and housing for low income families. And this is not being done on an ad-hoc basis for political gain, but by systematically moving Thailand towards a modem welfare system.

            I therefore hope you will print this letter to help your readers better understand what is happening in Thailand.

                                                                                                                   Yours sincerely,

                                                                                                Assoc. Prof. Dr.Panitan Wattanayagorn 
                                                                                        Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister 
                                                                                                    and Acting Government Spokesman