Thai Soldiers Accused Of Burning Alive Teenage Logger

[animatic]

And lets not completely disregard that this

COULD have taken place at their camp,

Than the kid or his friend could have swung something deadly at the Thais,

and got shot for his efforts to escape punishment,

and then fell while dieing into the campfire inadvertently.

Not saying this happened, nor excusing the shooting,

but based on the OP so far, this can't be ruled out either.

But surely the Cambodians would not hesitate to use that circumstance

for most propaganda value possible.

More must be learned and an investigation pursued.

[apetley]

I believe the 'investigation' will find that he was struck by lightning.

[apetley]

And lets not completely disregard that this

COULD have taken place at their camp,

Than the kid or his friend could have swung something deadly at the Thais,

and got shot for his efforts to escape punishment,

and then fell while dieing into the campfire inadvertently.

Not saying this happened, nor excusing the shooting,

but based on the OP so far, this can't be ruled out either.

But surely the Cambodians would not hesitate to use that circumstance

for most propaganda value possible.

More must be learned and an investigation pursued.

I think that are looking for excuses for behaviour that has no excuse.

There was another boy shot.

Was he shot in the camp too?

He managed to escape from the camp after being shot and guarded by Thailands elite forces?

[Lancelot]

I believe the 'investigation' will find that he was struck by lightning.

Ding ding ding, we got a winnah heearrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Mr A, your gonna do well in Thailand (Meaning that you understand how things work here...)

[Lancelot]

And lets not completely disregard that this

COULD have taken place at their camp,

Than the kid or his friend could have swung something deadly at the Thais,

and got shot for his efforts to escape punishment,

and then fell while dieing into the campfire inadvertently.

Not saying this happened, nor excusing the shooting,

but based on the OP so far, this can't be ruled out either.

But surely the Cambodians would not hesitate to use that circumstance

for most propaganda value possible.

More must be learned and an investigation pursued.

I have it on good authority that the Cambodian teenager was over come with remorse for his theft against the gentle folk of Thailand and set himself on fire before shooting three rounds in the temple area, then once in the heart for good measure. Or was it the other way around?!?

In any case, the Thai authorities have declared it a suicide, one of the most gruesome on record.

[harleyclarkey]

But i don't subscribe to any notion that any soldier fires their gun upon others because they think it is fun, but because they felt a genuine threat.

TAWP...I have re read the post. This underage child was brutally murdered and then burnt. Despicable act by murdering thugs. Nothing at all about him being armed.....refusing to surrender....running away. He was arrested and then murdered. But then the Thai military/Thai police are good at murder...even their own people.

Answer me....was he dead when arrested ??

The district governor of Samrong district in Oddar Meanchey province in western Cambodia said 16-year-old Yon Rith was arrested by Thai soldiers for illegally felling trees in Thai territory.

[harleyclarkey]

And lets not completely disregard that this

COULD have taken place at their camp,

Than the kid or his friend could have swung something deadly at the Thais,

and got shot for his efforts to escape punishment,

and then fell while dieing into the campfire inadvertently.

I haven't seen this cartoon yet....what's the name again???

[animatic]

And lets not completely disregard that this

COULD have taken place at their camp,

Than the kid or his friend could have swung something deadly at the Thais,

and got shot for his efforts to escape punishment,

and then fell while dieing into the campfire inadvertently.

Not saying this happened, nor excusing the shooting,

but based on the OP so far, this can't be ruled out either.

But surely the Cambodians would not hesitate to use that circumstance

for most propaganda value possible.

More must be learned and an investigation pursued.

I think that are looking for excuses for behaviour that has no excuse.

There was another boy shot.

Was he shot in the camp too?

He managed to escape from the camp after being shot and guarded by Thailands elite forces?

Hello, knock knock... you are assuming things not in evidence.

It was a hypothetical situation and a Cambodian response that fits THIS response.

Where you can imply I am 'looking for excuses for the inexcusable' I can't guess

when I ALREADY SAID THE OPPOSITE... I really should consider that a flame.

We don't know what happened. Until we do, no ONE scenario takes precedent.

[apetley]

And lets not completely disregard that this

COULD have taken place at their camp,

Than the kid or his friend could have swung something deadly at the Thais,

and got shot for his efforts to escape punishment,

and then fell while dieing into the campfire inadvertently.

Not saying this happened, nor excusing the shooting,

but based on the OP so far, this can't be ruled out either.

But surely the Cambodians would not hesitate to use that circumstance

for most propaganda value possible.

More must be learned and an investigation pursued.

I think that are looking for excuses for behaviour that has no excuse.

There was another boy shot.

Was he shot in the camp too?

He managed to escape from the camp after being shot and guarded by Thailands elite forces?

Hello, knock knock... you are assuming things not in evidence.

It was a hypothetical situation and a Cambodian response that fits THIS response.

Where you can imply I am 'looking for excuses for the inexcusable' I can't guess

when I ALREADY SAID THE OPPOSITE... I really should consider that a flame.

We don't know what happened. Until we do, no ONE scenario takes precedent.

Ok, 'excuse' is a little harsh and for that I apologise but I still think your scenario is a little contrived considering another teenager escaped whilst wounded or were they too busy taking care of the boy who fell into the fire to notice him crawling off?

[animatic]

Again we don't know much at all for facts, so rather than deal with only hyperbole,

I presented one alternative scenario, that could explain part of the very minimal

but quite sensational OP and news quote.

To add to the other person stating one boy escaped, well he could have escaped as the others was dieing,

they might have ebeen a distance apart to start, and one distracted inadvertently from the others plight.

In both possible directions.

My point is not to diffuse culpability, but to observe that; we don't know at ALL why it happened,

and that in this situation the Cambodians are likely to say ANYTHING that makes their side look better.

Or potentially an emotional outburst to the press, not having much for facts on their side either.

Shooting and burning alive even for war times is a pretty off the wall response, and seems improbably.

Not for a simple border skirmish over illegal logging. Seems it has some level of hyperbole for political gain.

[brahmburgers]

Nearly as sad as the boy being murdered and burned (was he burned alive as mentioned in the title of this post? if so, that's beyond barbaric!) - .....is that there will be no real investigation. At most, there'll be a little charade which will suffice to convince the thinking-challenged Thai populace that an investigation took place. Wolves investigating wolves. Even then, harsh repercussions for the murderers is impossible. This whole incident and the insipid response by Thai authorities will bode ill for the already crappy relations btwn Cambodia and Thailand.

[MyphuketLife]

Technically, they have a right to open fire...

Yeah, I don't seam to rember you talking about "technically" when police "attacked" PAD... Double standard much?

[Plus]

Some Cambodian politician accuses Thais of burning kids alive and every one here believes this is exactly what happened.

This version of the story doesn't make much sense - if they really burned him alive, why did they return his body for funeral?

The politician who made the accusation hasn't provided any details as to how that "burning alive" happened. Most posters here assume it was something like medieval witch burning.

[Lancelot]

Hey Plus, how you doin? For the record, I'm not replying to be rude, or pick a fight, OK?

First, not all the posters on this thread believe the story and yes, it could be Cambodian propaganda. A lot of the discussion was over what exactly in the original posts. Different posters read different things.

However, given Thai Khmer relations, the story is plausible. Thailand does not have a very compassionate record of dealing with Cambodians, both in and outside its borders. Any one wanting to read a little history can find many documented cases of mistreatment of Cambodian construction workers, seaman and refugees. Just read up on how some Cambodians fleeing the eveil Khmer Rouge regime were also fired on by Thais at the border. So the story, in my opinion is plausible.

If most of us thought that the Cambodian army was murdering Thai civilians, we would be outrages by that as well. If I were in Brazil and read stories of their army slaughtering illegal native Indian loggers, I would also be disgusted.

Not all TV posters hate Thais, but we sometimes feel repulsed by the conduct of a few Thais.

Anyway, my point here is that while yes, we may not have all the details, the story is believable. If some hack wrote that "Thai monks are arming and preparing to invade China" or "Flash-Thai kindergarten students have assembled a nuclear bomb" then I have no doubt that posters would call BS and flame the H-ell out of the OP.

Just my 2 satang. Cheers!

[Oberkommando]

The Thais have a long, long history of shooting Cambodian civilians, indeed they massacred thousands fleeing from the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese at Preah Vihear and were guilty of torture, thievery, rape and murder during the 70's and 80's, supplying Pol Pot and his KR Cadres with weapons, logistics, tactical support and even a special forces unit to guard Brother Number One himself. Unsurprising that Thai history books show none of these atrocities but rest assure the Cambodians remember them well.

Some posters saying we should be wary of Cambodian propaganda, I'd suggest we are more sceptical of the Thai military's version of events given their atrocious record of deceit and lies when it comes to their conduct, most recently of course the murder of the Rohigyna boat people and subsequent cover-up.

[animatic]

Be skeptical of BOTH.

[Plus]

I think the story of Thais burning a kid alive is not plausible at all. I can't even imagine how it could have happened.

Why don't you look at Khmer record of twisting the facts and going bonkers before you give any credit to whatever accusation they come up now?

[brahmburgers]

Thai soldiers accused of burning alive teenage logger

Phnom Penh - A senior provincial official in Cambodia accused Thai soldiers of shooting a teenager engaged in illegal logging and then burning him, local media reported Monday.

He said Yon Rith's family had recovered the teenager's body and taken it back to their village for the funeral.

Another official in the provincial government condemned the killing.

"Why did they burn a person alive?" asked Pich Ratana. "(The armed forces) should have arrested them if they did anything wrong in Thailand."

-- The Nation 2009/09/14

The first part of the excerpt above, is a provincial official "accused Thai soldiers of shooting a teenager engaged in illegal logging and then burning him"

Later, 'another official' asks,"Why did they burn a person alive?"

We, the public, don't know whether he was shot and killed before being burned or to what degree his body was burned. It couldn't have been totally burned, if villagers took the body back to be buried.

Even if the youngster was shot and killed initially, the soldiers committed a crime, regardless of how much or when the burning took place. So, unless it's all a fabrication, the incident should be independently investigated. The soldiers, if found guilty, should be disciplined to the full extent of the law.

I know, 'This is Thailand' and none of that will happen satisfactorily.

The only credible excuse would be if the soldiers were tangibly threatened with harm. 'Self defense' will probably be their defense, if the it goes that far. ...and their excuse for burning the body, might be they were doing a favor for he deceased by cremating him.

[Oberkommando]

Be skeptical of BOTH.

Yes, but more sceptical of the Thai Army, logical, given their past record as I clearly highlighted in my previous post.

Why don't you look at Khmer record of twisting the facts and going bonkers before you give any credit to whatever accusation they come up now?

I do, however the Thai Army simply cannot be trusted on this issue either.

[TPI]

If you want to state that you think the Thai military shoots unarmed 'kids' for fun, then why don't you do so instead of dancing around it?

I think the Thai military shoots unarmed kids for fun...what's the difference between an army private and an Issan "red shirt"??

The colour of his shirt! OK, it's said. G-D! you're pretentious

[RKASA]

I am still willing to bet it has nothing to do with the army but solders are involved and nothing to do with the border or ether country.  Just the price of teak.

[Lancelot]

I think the story of Thais burning a kid alive is not plausible at all. I can't even imagine how it could have happened.

I can.

I can also "imagine" them causing the death of scores of Bak Tai protestors by stacking them like cord wood on trucks.

I can also "imagine" them of shooting and hanging Thai students during periods of unrest.

I can also "imagine" them of towing Rohingya refugees back out to sea and setting them adrift.

You can't "imagine" these events but it does not mean that they do not occur.

Edited September 15, 2009 by Lancelot

[connel707]

People, again, read the OP.

They didn't fire at unarmed schoolkids out on a pick-nick.

Where in the OP does it say the teenagers were armed?

The reference to self defence was in relation to another shooting last month, not this case.

I think the kid who got away can consider himself very fortunate that he did not also end up on the BBQ in an attempt to get rid of the evidence.

come on ...come on...a soldier has to have some fun....

[TAWP]

But i don't subscribe to any notion that any soldier fires their gun upon others because they think it is fun, but because they felt a genuine threat.

TAWP...I have re read the post. This underage child was brutally murdered and then burnt. Despicable act by murdering thugs. Nothing at all about him being armed.....refusing to surrender....running away. He was arrested and then murdered. But then the Thai military/Thai police are good at murder...even their own people.

Answer me....was he dead when arrested ??

The district governor of Samrong district in Oddar Meanchey province in western Cambodia said 16-year-old Yon Rith was arrested by Thai soldiers for illegally felling trees in Thai territory.

If you have any evidence that the propaganda from one side is the truth, then please share it. Ofcourse of those soldiers, if true, should be arrested.

But the propaganda rarely is.

[TAWP]

Technically, they have a right to open fire...

Yeah, I don't seam to rember you talking about "technically" when police "attacked" PAD... Double standard much?

Smoking things again?

The police had the 'right' to deploy teargas, no-one doubt that. However, that would be 'non-military' teargas grenades and in reasonable amounts.

And, ding-ding-ding, the big difference is that the police does NOT have the right to shoot to injure people not being a threat to them, everything was captured on video cameras and intrusions into another country to steal natural resources can be counted as a act of war. Hence the 'technical'.

That doesn't mean it is right, but it would be good to wait for some more facts before slagging of the military too much.

[Plus]

I think the story of Thais burning a kid alive is not plausible at all. I can't even imagine how it could have happened.

I can.

I can also "imagine" them causing the death of scores of Bak Tai protestors by stacking them like cord wood on trucks.

I can also "imagine" them of shooting and hanging Thai students during periods of unrest.

I can also "imagine" them of towing Rohingya refugees back out to sea and setting them adrift.

You can't "imagine" these events but it does not mean that they do not occur.

Tak Bai - they had to put a thousand people on ten trucks. They didn't plan for them to suffocate. Burning kids alive is different.

Atrocities during "unrest" were committed not by the military but by militias, and it's a thirty year old story.

Boat people are not particularly welcome anywhere in the world, and since it's not Thailand's job to sort out Burmese on their way to Malaysia, they set them on their course.

As you might have noticed, none of the countries in the region blames Thailand for that - they know they wouldn't want to be in Thai shoes when hundreds of male muslims arrive on their shores.

This is again different from burning kids alive.

And since you have such a vivid imagination - why don't you describe your version of events? Did they tie him to a stake? Dozed him in gasoline? How could this burning alive happen? And how to Cambodians know the kid was alive when his body burned? Do they have forensic crime labs in that province?

I'm afraid this story has all the hallmarks of Cambodian hysteria of the kind that led them to burn Thai embassy a while ago.

[barky]

firstly, whilst I can believe that a Thai soldier or cop for that matter would shoot a Cambodian for crossing the boarder illegally, I do find it difficult to believe that they would then proceed to burn the young man while he was still alive. Having said that , almost nothing surprises me thesedays.

If these allegations are in fact true, I sincerely hope that the Cambodian government move heaven and earth to get their pound of flesh from the scum who did the deed and the Thai government as well, and do it all on the internationl stage.

[harleyclarkey]

If you have any evidence that the propaganda from one side is the truth, then please share it. Ofcourse of those soldiers, if true, should be arrested.

But the propaganda rarely is.

Well then we may as well not bother reading nor believing anything at all here..or in any other media. It could be all propaganda?

[JUDAS]

Technically, they have a right to open fire...

Yeah, I don't seam to rember you talking about "technically" when police "attacked" PAD... Double standard much?

Smoking things again?

The police had the 'right' to deploy teargas, no-one doubt that. However, that would be 'non-military' teargas grenades and in reasonable amounts.

And, ding-ding-ding, the big difference is that the police does NOT have the right to shoot to injure people not being a threat to them, everything was captured on video cameras and intrusions into another country to steal natural resources can be counted as a act of war. Hence the 'technical'.

That doesn't mean it is right, but it would be good to wait for some more facts before slagging of the military too much.

An act of war is aggression by one country committed against another country.

Edited September 16, 2009 by JUDAS

[TAWP]

If you have any evidence that the propaganda from one side is the truth, then please share it. Ofcourse of those soldiers, if true, should be arrested.

But the propaganda rarely is.

Well then we may as well not bother reading nor believing anything at all here..or in any other media. It could be all propaganda?

Read everything. Believe nothing.