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Royal Thai Embassy
1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 401
Washington DC 20007
Tel. (202) 944-3600
Fax (202) 944-3611

No. 1692/2538

November 15, 1995

Mr. Andrew Vachss
Parade Publications
711 Third Ave.,
New York, NY 10017

Dear Mr. Vachss,

I am writing to express our utmost concern about Jane Ciabattari's "Parade Special, Intelligence Report" column in the October 22, 1995 issue of Parade, which previews the novel "Batman, The Ultimate Evil" by Andrew Vachss and which conveys Vachss' suggestion of boycott of Thai goods. The column and the novel unfairly portray Thailand in a bad light and Mr. Vachss' suggestion is unwarranted.

The Royal Thai Government and Mr. Vachss definitely share common detestation—the abhorrence of child prostitution, and we both have firm determination to uproot this social ill. However, we do differ on the ways and means to accomplish our jointly shared objective. Mr. Vachss would prefer the boycott of Thai goods, while the Royal Thai Government considers such an approach not only futile but also detrimental to our common cause.

The root cause of prostitution, including child prostitution, is poverty. The Royal Thai Government has been doing its best to create employment opportunities, particularly for the impoverished and less fortunate who are now at the lower rungs of social ladders. Boycott of Thai goods would deprive the poor in Thailand of income, thus impoverishing them further still and unjustly punishing them for the crime they have never participated in its perpetration. Mr. Vachss' suggested measure would, in pith and substance, be a gesture of kindness that kills.

The Royal Thai Government has undertaken numerous combined measures to alleviate the poverty, and many of them have increasingly become effective. The extension of the number of years of compulsory education, from 6 to 9 and then 12 years, as well as projects to rehabilitate victims of child prostitution, and projects to fund education for rural female students after their compulsory education are just some of the positive examples of the strategies used, but left unmentioned in David Hechler's article "Child Sex Tourism" annexed to the novel. Moreover, by unfairly singling out Thailand, Mr. Hechler is also reinforcing very offensive, damaging, and untrue stereotypes about Thai women and girls whose status and role have always been recognized and honored in Thai history and culture.

On deterrence, severe criminal punishments of those who patronize child prostitutes are warranted. We are much heartened by the decision of the criminal court in Turnhout, Belgium, which punished a Mr. John Stamford, a British national accused by a Swedish-based NGO of indecent assault on Thai children. We are also impressed by the criminal sanctions imposed by Scandinavian countries on their nationals who venture abroad to partake in sex tourism, or to molest and sexually exploit children. The Royal Thai Government, for its part, has been seriously pursuing ways and means to emulate these deterrent sanctions. As reported to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, Thai laws in this respect are comprehensive in scope and their substance is consistent with international standards. Far from condoning child prostitution, the Government has sought to eradicate it altogether. We do enforce our laws strenuously. Thai prisons are currently populated by plenty of foreign prisoners, especially those Westerners who have come to commit immoral acts and heinous crimes on Thai soil. Yet, we are by no means complacent as a horrendous problem of this magnitude must take time to solve. The countries of nationality of patrons of child prostitution must also exert their maximum efforts to see to it that their nationals refrain from exploiting child prostitutes, be it at home or abroad, and to severely punish exploiters.

It must be admitted, however, that no country, not even the U.S.A., is impervious to the evil of child prostitution. Thailand is thus not alone in confronting this deplorable issue. The Thai Government has not turned a blind eye to it but has instead tackled the problem with vigorous resolve. The Thais therefore demand an explanation why Thailand has been unjustly singled out by Mr. Vachss to suffer the dubious honor of being the country whose goods are to be boycotted.

We Thais demand fairness, that the matter be put in its proper context. Your readers should be enlightened accordingly.

I sincerely hope that Mr. Vachss would also understand our position, and that the Thais will choose to continue to enjoy reading the Batman novels once all of Mr. Vachss' misconceptions about Thailand have been dispelled.

Yours sincerely,

Akrasid Amatayakul
Charge d' Affaires

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