Getting to the root of human rights abuses in Thailand

Writing in the Bangkok Post, Thai scholar Pavin Chatchavalpongpun surveys Thailand's growing litany of serious human rights abuses -- from Thaksin's war on drugs, to the mistreatment of Muslims in the Southern Provinces, to the murder of Rohinya refugees at sea -- and challenges his countrymen to get to the root of the problem:

. . . when the current government is looking for a solution to the current human rights crisis, it needs to delve deeply into the Thai social system, social values, pattern of human interaction, as well as the political construct that has long been behind the absence of people's rights.

The fist step toward solving a problem is acknowledging it exists. Let's hope Pavin's wake up call does not fall on deaf ears.