Thailand's democracy one of Asia's most vibrant

Re: "Thailand not qualified to comment on democracy elsewhere", letters, August 28.

Because of our imperfect democracy, Julian Wang opined that Thailand should be the last Asian country to comment on other Asian countries' democracy.

First, besides India, Japan and South Korea, one cannot name a single Asian country that is at par with Thailand's degree of democratic development. The unsightly tanks and mobs have resulted out of a frustration with social and political injustice. They are checking forces and would likely have been approved by Aristotle himself as necessary.

Second, because I take freedom of speech for granted as a Thai citizen, I have no qualms about criticising other nations, such as China, Burma and other Asian countries when the human rights of our fellow man are being suppressed. I would also express myself if the Thai people, with their relatively high degree of freedom, went to an extreme in overextending these freedoms.

I like to believe that since 1932 we have matured to a certain degree in terms of our democratic achievement and I view the present setbacks as part of our development to achieve the right balance for our future society.

Songdej Praditsmanont
Bangkok

Bangkok's Independent Newspaper

Tell you what mate. Photocopy a shitload of copies of a certain book and stand on a street corner and hand them out. Use your for taken granted freedom of speech and see how long you last. Alternatively don't bother standing up before a movie starts at the local cineplex.