Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - May 22, 2007
"Eight months after the military coup, despite promises by the military leaders to the contrary, Thailand still has not drafted a permanent constitution, held a referendum, or called elections," Mr Kirk said in the proposal which he tabled on May 17.
The US President should "terminate Thailand's status as a major non-Nato ally until he can certify to the Congress that democracy has been restored to the country," Mr Kirk said in further remarks to the speaker.
He said he was "introducing the Thailand Democracy Act of 2007 to push Thailand's military government to hold democratic elections".
Thailand was designated a major non-Nato ally on Dec 30, 2003.
The status makes the country eligible for several benefits related to the purchase and maintenance of arms from the US, training, and participation in counter-terrorism activities.
Meanwhile, James V. deLong, special counsel to law firm Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert, deplored what he called " a campaign of intellectual property theft" by the government of Thailand.
In a letter to four US government figures, he called on them to look into the matter and to "act swiftly using any and all available political and policy tools at your disposal".
The letters were addressed to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt, and US Trade Representative Susan Schwab.
In a separate move, the Washington-based Hudson Institute has sent a letter to the World Health Organisation's director-general, Margaret Chan, demanding the WHO "investigate important quality and safety issues pertaining to HIV/Aids treatment in Thailand".
Institute director Jeremiah Norris wrote: "Thai patients deserve to be informed of the health consequences inherent in current treatment regimens, especially through the use of an anti-retroviral drug, GPO-VIR."
He urged the WHO chief to sponsor an independent evaluation of GPO-VIR to prove that it is as safe and efficient as the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, the drug's manufacturer, claims.
The letter was also addressed to the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Thai Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla, and Suwit Wibulpolprasert, the Thai representative to the WHO.
This follows a recent move by American lobby group USA for Innovation, which published full-page advertisements in Thai newspapers claiming the locally-made GPO-VIR had an unusually high resistance rate among patients using it.
The advertisements prompted the GPO to file a libel charge against the lobbyist on May 15.
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