Hi, I want to write a major editorial concerning the Thai Prime Minister (and SHSU alumni) Thaksin Shinawatra, who was givin the humanitarian award by SHSU last year. I want to discuss how this was completely inappropriate as he has suppressed his own people, and is now threatening the deportation of Burmese democrat refugees back to Burma (Myanmar) where they face torture and death. The Burmese regime’s actions is compared to that of Saddam Hussein, if not worse. The US Congress has bipartisan agreement on this and an executive order is being prepared by President Bush to freeze the assets of the regime’s leaders and tighten sanctions. Our President, GWBush has called on Shinawatra to support the democratic movement in its neighbor, Burma. Instead, Shinawatra condemns those democrats who have escaped Burma with their life. They are rounded up and arrested all the time, most recently for planning non-violent demonstrations at the Burmese embassy in Bangkok. He is a tyrant, NOT a humanitarian, and this makes SHSU an embarrassment in Southeast Asia. I will also like to argue in my editorial why SHSU should care about Burma, namely because most of the heroin on the streets of America come from there and the regime condones its production, AND also why students at SHSU should try to put pressure on Shinawatra and demand the university to stop supporting him. I am also going to solicit the Huntsville Item, but I wanted to check with you first because I don’t want to waste my breath if it will not be published. (do not publish this letter, please)

I have studied Burma for a long time, & make frequent trips to Thailand and Burma, so this is a subject I know well. I’m also a SHSU grad and have my masters from Harvard University.

Thanks,

Charlotte