Wayne Hay

Passing the blame after Thai floods

The people of Thailand are being let down by their leaders during the ongoing flood disaster. Much criticism is being directed at Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for the government's handling of the crisis, but she cannot be held solely responsible.

Self-serving politicians around the flood-affected provinces must also stand up and shoulder their fair share of the blame for allowing politics to make an unwelcome entry into a human and economic tragedy.

Not only has the disaster been exacerbated by outrageous contradictory and often confusing statements by local and national elected officials, but the flow of water from north to south has been hindered by politics, as leaders try to protect their patch at the expense of national interest. Flood gates have remained closed when they should have been opened and vice versa.

Thaksin's homecoming a long way off

So here we go. The talking is over. Let the voters have their say. Thailand's much anticipated, and in some cases feared, general election is upon us.

It appears that negotiations between former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's people, the army and representatives of the palace about the result of the election and what seems a certain victory for Thaksin's opposition party, Pheu Thai, have been taking place for several months.

What many people are incorrectly assuming, however, is that a deal has been reached. From what I've been hearing, negotiations continue.

Anyway, history tells us that deals and promises in Thai politics mean little.

If a deal is struck, someone will lose face. If Thaksin's allowed to return to Thailand a free man, surely the army and those they represent will lose face, because they were the ones who removed him from office in the coup in 2006.

Safety of workers compromised at Fukushima

There have been a couple of twists to the ongoing story unfolding at the crippled power station at Fukushima in Japan which could heap greater anxiety on the public still trying to come to terms with the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear crisis.

The first was an acknowledgement from the operator of the stricken facility that it knowingly sent workers into a hazardous environment without the right information.

Tokyo Electric Power Company [TEPCO] officials knew there was radioactive water on the ground of a reactor building, but didn't tell workers who were being sent in there to lay cables.

The workers were wearing inadequate footwear and some of them were exposed to high levels of radiation and hospitalised.

Red shirts return

Thailand's anti-government protestors are back on the streets, and so are armed troops. Here we go again.

September 19 marks the fourth anniversary of the 2006 military coup which saw the prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra removed from power. To mark the occasion his supporters, the red shirts, are once again holding rallies around the country.

They're also trying to pressure the government into releasing more than 250 people who have been detained since the end of their protest in May which saw violent clashes with the military.

Some of the activities are taking place in Bangkok, which is still under a state of emergency, meaning that, among other things, political gatherings of five people or more are banned. Despite this, the government says it will allow the protestors to assemble, as long as they don't break the law. Aren't they doing that simply by gathering?