From the Thai-language press: Thai media and the different truth - the unreported riot - editorial translated from Prachachat, September 27, 2005 The cruel event when two marines were killed in Ban Tanyonglimor, Amphur Rangae, Narathiwat was a sad event that happened again in Thai society. This was the same as an event that happened a few hours earlier when unknown thieves shot villagers at a tea shop in Ban Tan Yonglimor causing three innocent people to die. Whatever the complex knot is, we want to condemn those who conduct both events and we ask the justice process to work accurately and not to discriminate whether people are in in uniform, part of the government or a normal villager. We ask all media to revise the role of presentation of news to question and find the cause of why Ban Tanyonglimor villagers do not trust. This should be without prejudice or try to explain for the hypothesis of the that villagers tie the event to be an international issue. The villagers are afraid of threats from officers especially Ban Tanyonglimor and they assume that the officers are part of the shooting event at the tea shop. This caused a riot, but this was not mentioned in mass media--especially television. Although villagers are afraid of threats, the threat may be a rumor or it may be true. We see that the Thai media loses the villagers’ trust because media avoids the true presentation of the villagers’ view. So it is not surprising that some villagers give interviews that say that the Thai mass media friend of the military and may participate in the events of shooting in the village or join to hector the village for a long time. This is in line with the base ways of Thai security unit that called this village a “red village.” [Reference to a plan proposed by Thaksin earlier this year to color code villages depending on how they are cooperating with the authorities and deny state aid based on the rating. Although public criticism made the government officially drop the plan, many believe--including Southerners--it was secretly implemented anyway.] "This truth” which is different will be gone if every side reveals the truth and proves it. Do not conceal the truth or give importance to only one view. Otherwise, both events (shooting people in the tea shop and the siege that killed two marines) is just the beginning again of the long violence. From the Thai-language press: The constitution is dead? - editorial of Thairath, September 28, 2005 Is it a coincidence that two days ago there was one academic (Mr. Somkiet Pongpaiboon, Rajabhat of Rachasima University) and one politician (Abishit Vejjachiva, Democrat Party leader) who gave the same opinion of the present political situation? Ajarn Somkiet said at the seminar of “The Senate listens to the people” that this senate came from political reform and had independence to oversee the law for the first two years. However by the third year, we can see that it was interfered with by the government so it can be controlled and direct lots of votes. This interferes with its independence and standards. Mr. Abisit gave a special lecture to Master Degree students in the Political Science Faculty that independent organizations are not really independent because no organization that can resist the power of the big party. The mass media group is also covered and newspapers were bought. Other media concealed the news that was different from the government and recently the “The Weekly Thailand “ program which criticized government was withdrawn. It is accepted that not only the senate, but also the Election Commission, Constitutional Court and the Auditor-General cannot operate in their work independently. The first Auditor-General after the office began, Khunying Jaruwan Maintaka, had done well checking the strange details of big projects such as Suwanabhumi construction and long distance local call through satellite, etc. This becomes a big obstacle for government officials and politicians who are corrupt and face their fate as we have seen. The independent organizations' work was independent and accepted by people at first because it was not interfered. But when the powers realized that the independent organizations had the power to penalize or put politicians in jail or obstruct political power, the situation changed. At present, independent organizations have problems such as the Election Commission of Thailand and the State Audit Commission, etc. The most important is the peoples' trust because this is not the peoples‘ hope. For the solution, even the former constitution drafter, Mr. Kanin Boonsuwan, may have to write a book called “The Constitution is Dead." Is the Constitution now only letters on paper? More: Unlocking the Thai world: Thai-language newspaper headlines