Thai Govt Must Now Deal With The Real Grievances

[webfact]

OPINION

Govt must now deal with the real grievances

By The Nation

While tackling the issues that divide, PM Abhisit has an opportunity to show that free handouts do not equal social and economic development

BANGKOK: -- Over the past two months, red leaders, one after another, went up on stage at Rajprasong intersection and asked their followers if they were willing to give up their lives to bring down this government. In reply, they received a big "yes".

This was dismissed as bravado, the kind of rhetoric that leaders use to get their followers psyched up. But little did they know that some in the crowd would actually believe it.

And so when it was time to call it quits, the diehard believers wouldn't. And that's what we have at this particular juncture - a group of hardcore reds torching buildings, shopping malls, banks, media outlets, and beating up journalists, locals and foreigners - because their leaders' failed to capture the essence of their grievances. Many felt dehumanised, and so it was payback time.

The notion that the red movement could take on a constructive life of its own didn't cross their minds. Why would it? The leaders had spent most of the past two months demonising the government, telling the reds that it was all or nothing and that they were going to fight to the death together. But on Wednesday, the leaders decided to change their strategy.

Nevertheless, their hardcore supporters have shown that they have the ability to inflict the kind of damage that we have seen over the past few days.

But what of the ordinary reds and their grievances? Shouldn't these past two months camping out at Rajprasong count for something?

In the final analysis, the grievances raised by the reds must be taken up if true national reconciliation is to take place. The division between the reds and the government may seem unbridgeable to some, especially when one takes into account the enormous violence inflicted in these past days. But these images should not be the only things that stay in our hearts and minds.

Compared to conflicts in other parts of the world, Thailand is better equipped to deal with reconciliation. For a start, we are all Thai, thus there is no dispute over our national identity. Moreover, the warring factions feel they have as much right to be here as their opponents. Furthermore, most people on both sides embrace Buddhism.

Unlike the fight against the communist insurgency three decades ago, there is no ideology involved this time around. Political oppression is not an issue either, and there is no Gestapo kicking down doors. In other words, there is common ground for all sides to come together and for us to move on as a nation.

After all, this uprising stemmed from the political conflict between an extremely corrupt former leader, Thaksin, who was ousted in a the 2006 coup, and the group that ousted him. And when the mandate was returned to the people, two back-to-back governments - dubbed Thaksin's proxies - came into power from the same Parliament that formed the current administration of Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Neither Thaksin nor his red leaders have any moral authority, but nevertheless his cronies succeeded in tapping into the grievances of the reds. The rest, of course, is history. Lives have been lost and great damage has been done. But now is not the time for revenge. All sides need to take one step back and do some serious soul searching and look for ways to move on as one nation.

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva has to quickly extend an olive branch to the red masses, and take up their concerns, but he must not give them false hope, or exploit their grievances, the same way Thaksin did.

Yes, Thaksin may have put money and consumer goods in their hands and made sppeeches that made them feel good about themselves. But he didn't create any sustainable wealth, nor did he enhance their capacity to produce.

Abhisit can outdo Thaksin by showing the red masses, and the rest of the country's people for that matter, that handouts do not mean empowerment. Any leader can give out cheap loans and call it development. But there will come a time when the money has to be paid back. From the look of it, it appears that Thaksin has fled the scene and left everybody in the country to pick up the tab for the damage.

-- The Nation 2010-05-21

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[misterjag]

If Abhisit wants to extend an olive branch, he can start by pledging again to hold November elections.

[dttk0009]

'We do not negotiate with terrorists'.

Sort out your own ranks and members first, then come back peacefully and democratically. Burning everything down if you don't get everything exactly how you planned it is not a fair, democratic way to go about running your political party.

[siampolee]

Wonderful article and totally on target as to the situation and how it was manipulated to try to benefit one group of people.

All factions and that means Thailand itself can and will be be losers if this fight carries on.

Now is the time for talking to establish a common goal by all factions, remember though it will not happen overnight it will take time.

Then Thailand and its people will be the winners.

Jaw, jaw, jaw is much more productive than war, war , war.

Edited May 21, 2010 by siampolee

[geovalin]

Abisith's model is... Thaksin.

He wants to be the Thai strong man. As he's not loved by the population, the only solution he has is to use strength.

He has no intention to discuss with anyone.

[givenall]

'We do not negotiate with terrorists'.

Sort out your own ranks and members first, then come back peacefully and democratically. Burning everything down if you don't get everything exactly how you planned it is not a fair, democratic way to go about running your political party.

To do it right he need to continue to refer to his road map that is not dead and still going forward.

But he needs to add to the map complete investigation of what exactly cause of riot and make sure follow the money and include terrorisms act by everyone including the people who funded , incited, and ordered all these destructions

[SomTumTiger]

My wife and others have been recently discussing another powerful backer of the red shirt movement. One person who cannot be named at all, but has lost as much, if not more, than Thaksin, with the defeat of the Reds. Will be interesting to see if this truth pans out of not.

[pedro01]

My wife and others have been recently discussing another powerful backer of the red shirt movement. One person who cannot be named at all, but has lost as much, if not more, than Thaksin, with the defeat of the Reds. Will be interesting to see if this truth pans out of not.

I know what you are talking about and it's all BS.

Just like every farang here claims to know someone connected and thinks they have a 'get out of jail free' card, so every Thai claims to know someone on the inside of a certain revered institution. These rumours naturally spread like wildfire as they are juicy.

I presume you heard stories of Prem being shot too, first the leg, then it escalated to his stomach. One person told me Prem was dead. This person claimed to know somoene that knew someone that worked on the inside. I told them it was just bullshit and propoganda but they insisted prem was dead. Prem looked awfully well a few days later on TV.

Take a huge pinch of salt with this because it is nothing but gossip & propoganda. You'd think half of Thailand worked with that family the way everyone has a mate there.

Edited May 21, 2010 by pedro01

[Robby nz]

The protesters in front of the stage have been told for weeks how the Govt and the Army are monsters and murders who will kill them on sight. You can see their fear as many were to scared to leave the temple, they had been told the troops were not Thai and wanted to kill Thai people.

They have also been told, as we see in many videos, to burn and kill and some of them have taken this to heart in the destruction we see.

However after the surender the Police, Army and Govt have treated the ordinary protesters kindly and with compassion giving them food, medical treatment and transport home, this I see as part of the reconsiliation process as it shows that things are not as they have been told by the red leaders.

When they get home they will start getting different stories from their friends and families who have had access to more information and news than those who have only been fed the red shirt leaders line and I hope they will start to wonder just what is the truth then I have no doubt many will realise they have been taken in and used.

There will be the hard liners and those who have just had so much fun burning and killing that they will want to continue but hopefully they can be identified and weeded out quickly.

[gardenubon]

of course the simple/rural people would believe all that hype and propaghanda, with thaksin fuling the fire from afar...if you live in the north east you will know that basically alot of people are of peasant stock and thats just a unfortunate fact, so they are actually a bit ignorant about the world...

so please dont label them all as reds and certainly not terrorists.

the real terrorists are thaksin and co not the poor they brainwashed with populist policies.

also its common knowledge they get free food and money, some are so poor they just have to follow the money like the poor sheep they are.

find the real trouble makers fast before they are brainwashed futher and commit more crimes against this wonderful nation.

smile thailand peace

[ETatBKK]

force never stop another force, violence is not the solution of stopping another violence. now this political violence is not over yet, it is just a semi-colon, and it just a start of another 'organised' political turmoil.

the government is right or is wrong, take a deep breath and leave it to the Thai, we cannot tell but the history does.

certainly the government's responsibility is far from over, again it is another start ! the government need to work in double speed, to restore the nation, to rebuild the trust with people and between people, not to mention all the tasks they need to clean up the aftermath asap !

it is not so encouraging since this government has a date to count down. what just said above it is not a month of work, but years. the political and governmental systems in Thailand are still on their learning curves, and they are unbelievably fragile. at the end it is going back to the Thai people, how they would like to be and how they would act to this.

look forward for the land of smile again !

[Deeral]

PM - Abhisit has just presided over the biggest massacre in Thailand for 2 decades.

Historically in Thailand, the military always reply to demonstrations/opposition with violence.

"Restoring" the nation is not what it is about - there is nothing to restore but a lopsided situation that will return to the same old cycle

The issues that concern the Redshirts are long-term and affect a majority of the Thai population who do not receive either a fair share in the nation's wealth or proper democratic representation.

Unless the elite establish a democratic system that not only includes a system of representational govt but also an independent legal system, a military that is answerable to the country and an uncorrupt police force, the country will continue on this cycle of dissent and repression.

Thailand is NOT a third world country - it is actually quite WEALTHY - it just doesn't distribute this wealth - which is a recipe for disaster.

Edited May 21, 2010 by Deeral

[gregb]

My wife and others have been recently discussing another powerful backer of the red shirt movement. One person who cannot be named at all, but has lost as much, if not more, than Thaksin, with the defeat of the Reds. Will be interesting to see if this truth pans out of not.

I have spoken with one person who used to live next door to someone near the Dusit area. He is convinced there is no truth to these rumours. I understand alot of people may not have a strong love for this individual, but continuing these kinds of conspiracy theories is not responsible behaviour. Could this person have had a better working relationship with Thaksin than some others? Possibly. Was this part of a grand scheme though by someone more important than the criminal fugitive? Extremely unlikely in my view.

[AGareth2]

The arson attacks and civil unrest gives the govt a great excuse not to hold early elections

[whybother]

PM - Abhisit has just presided over the biggest massacre in Thailand for 2 decades.

Historically in Thailand, the military always reply to demonstrations/opposition with violence.

"Restoring" the nation is not what it is about - there is nothing to restore but a lopsided situation that will return to the same old cycle

The issues that concern the Redshirts are long-term and affect a majority of the Thai population who do not receive either a fair share in the nation's wealth or proper democratic representation.

Unless the elite establish a democratic system that not only includes a system of representational govt but also an independent legal system, a military that is answerable to the country and an uncorrupt police force, the country will continue on this cycle of dissent and repression.

Thailand is NOT a third world country - it is actually quite WEALTHY - it just doesn't distribute this wealth - which is a recipe for disaster.

The concerns of the poor (not the red shirts, because that was just about power) are being addressed by this government. Free education. Free FUNDED health care. Managed loan schemes. These will give LONG TERM support to the poor. As opposed to cash handouts, easy credit and UNFUNDED health care provided by the Thaksin governments which did nothing for the poor in the long term, or in some cases made things worse with the poor further in debt. Thaksin's aims were for short term popular support, and he rode on the coat tails of a booming global economy.

Thailand already has democratic representation. Everyone is represented by an MP in parliament. Democratic representation doesn't mean that the MP that 'you' voted for is in government.

edit: How would you suggest a government deals with protestors with guns and grenades?

Edited May 21, 2010 by whybother

[gemini81]

Abisith's model is... Thaksin.

He wants to be the Thai strong man. As he's not loved by the population, the only solution he has is to use strength.

He has no intention to discuss with anyone.

quite the opposite. He doesn't play cunning demagogue hero and weasel.

[BLUEEYEDTHAI]

Wonderful article and totally on target as to the situation and how it was manipulated to try to benefit one group of people.

All factions and that means Thailand itself can and will be be losers if this fight carries on.

Now is the time for talking to establish a common goal by all factions, remember though it will not happen overnight it will take time.

Then Thailand and its people will be the winners.

Jaw, jaw, jaw is much more productive than war, war , war.

Ditto!

[DarwinK]

PM - Abhisit has just presided over the biggest massacre in Thailand for 2 decades.

Really? Then what was this:

The Tak Bai incident is an event that occurred on October 25, 2004 in Tak Bai, Thailand, which resulted in at least 85 deaths.

Six local men were arrested. A demonstration was organized to demand their release and the police called in army reinforcements. After some demonstrators threw rocks and attempted to storm the police station, security forces used tear gas and gunfire in response.

Hundreds of local people, mostly young men, were arrested. They had their shirts taken off, bound with their hands tied behind their backs, and made to lie face down on the ground. Video footage shows soldiers kicking and beating those already bound and helplessly lying on the ground.

Later that afternoon, those arrested were thrown by soldiers into trucks to be taken to an army camp in the next province of Pattani. The prisoners were stacked five or six deep in the trucks, and by the time the trucks reached their destination three hours later, many had suffocated to death.

Reports claim that 7 died as a result of gunshot wounds. The rest are believed to have died either from suffocation or beatings.

Shortly after the incident, PM Thaksin Shinawatra said the men died "because they were already weak from fasting during the month of Ramadan.

More here: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA39/014/2004

[BLUEEYEDTHAI]

Abisith's model is... Thaksin.

He wants to be the Thai strong man. As he's not loved by the population, the only solution he has is to use strength.

He has no intention to discuss with anyone.

Come on geovalin get with the program.We all need to pull together now to reunite this country.Lets at least give the PM a chance,and see what the next six months brings.Ok?

[sgtpeppers]

Abhisit has no support internationally at all.

This goverment is not qualified to deal with the real grievances, they havent made any progress with reconcilliation (actually they did the opposite) so what makes anyone think they can heal the country?

One thing is for sure, the governemtn propaganda machine sure has brainwashed a lot of people.

[ETatBKK]

just a thought !

if any one knows how we could drop a word or two to the PM Abhisit and confirm and support him on the coming 'long' journey ?

I am not a student from the south and I don't have his mobile phone number

[whybother]

Abhisit has no support internationally at all.

This goverment is not qualified to deal with the real grievances, they havent made any progress with reconcilliation (actually they did the opposite) so what makes anyone think they can heal the country?

One thing is for sure, the governemtn propaganda machine sure has brainwashed a lot of people.

Yes. It's amazing all the international condemnation that is being reported, isn't it.

[Deeral]

Erratum - Abhisit has presided over one of the biggest massacres in THailand for 2 decades.

[sgtpeppers]

Abhisit has no support internationally at all.

This goverment is not qualified to deal with the real grievances, they havent made any progress with reconcilliation (actually they did the opposite) so what makes anyone think they can heal the country?

One thing is for sure, the governemtn propaganda machine sure has brainwashed a lot of people.

Yes. It's amazing all the international condemnation that is being reported, isn't it.

They are not so much condemning Abhisit publicly, but they definitely not sympathising with his tactics. What decent humang being would ?

[Zolt]

My wife and others have been recently discussing another powerful backer of the red shirt movement. One person who cannot be named at all, but has lost as much, if not more, than Thaksin, with the defeat of the Reds. Will be interesting to see if this truth pans out of not.

Uh.... what? There ain't exactly a crowd of persons that can't be named - and last time I checked none of them seemed to be involved in any way - or share common interests with the Reds. Rather the opposite actually. Either clarify or shut up.

Edit: Oh... I got it at last! You were referring to Lord Voldemort!

Edited May 21, 2010 by Zolt

[DarwinK]

Erratum - Abhisit has presided over one of the biggest massacres in THailand for 2 decades.

Really? then what was this:

An estimated 2,500 people were killed during a three-month crackdown on drugs by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2003....one of a half-dozen panels belatedly investigating the killings has reported that as many as 1,400 of those victims were killed and labeled drug suspects despite having no link to drugs.

More here: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/512/th...ved_panel_finds

[Spee]

"Govt must now deal with the real grievances"

ถนนสองทาง .... two-way street

[Zolt]

Erratum - Abhisit has presided over one of the biggest massacres in THailand for 2 decades.

Really? then what was this:

An estimated 2,500 people were killed during a three-month crackdown on drugs by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2003....one of a half-dozen panels belatedly investigating the killings has reported that as many as 1,400 of those victims were killed and labeled drug suspects despite having no link to drugs.

More here: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/512/th...ved_panel_finds

There's no shortage of massacres in the last few decades in Thailand - Rohingyas anyone? So if you start playing the blame game there's no ending to it.

Edited May 21, 2010 by Zolt

[culicine]

PM - Abhisit has just presided over the biggest massacre in Thailand for 2 decades.

Historically in Thailand, the military always reply to demonstrations/opposition with violence.

"Restoring" the nation is not what it is about - there is nothing to restore but a lopsided situation that will return to the same old cycle

The issues that concern the Redshirts are long-term and affect a majority of the Thai population who do not receive either a fair share in the nation's wealth or proper democratic representation.

Unless the elite establish a democratic system that not only includes a system of representational govt but also an independent legal system, a military that is answerable to the country and an uncorrupt police force, the country will continue on this cycle of dissent and repression.

Thailand is NOT a third world country - it is actually quite WEALTHY - it just doesn't distribute this wealth - which is a recipe for disaster.

The concerns of the poor (not the red shirts, because that was just about power) are being addressed by this government. Free education. Free FUNDED health care. Managed loan schemes. These will give LONG TERM support to the poor. As opposed to cash handouts, easy credit and UNFUNDED health care provided by the Thaksin governments which did nothing for the poor in the long term, or in some cases made things worse with the poor further in debt. Thaksin's aims were for short term popular support, and he rode on the coat tails of a booming global economy.

Thailand already has democratic representation. Everyone is represented by an MP in parliament. Democratic representation doesn't mean that the MP that 'you' voted for is in government.

edit: How would you suggest a government deals with protestors with guns and grenades?

Lets hope the government makes this well known up north then! The Democrats are the worst marketers in the world. They are the "Ford" of the political world - They do poorly because they don't market themselves, even though the product is fundamentally good. Hopefully after a few months of reflection the peaceful reds will see how they were used...

[whybother]

Abhisit has no support internationally at all.

This goverment is not qualified to deal with the real grievances, they havent made any progress with reconcilliation (actually they did the opposite) so what makes anyone think they can heal the country?

One thing is for sure, the governemtn propaganda machine sure has brainwashed a lot of people.

Yes. It's amazing all the international condemnation that is being reported, isn't it.

They are not so much condemning Abhisit publicly, but they definitely not sympathising with his tactics. What decent humang being would ?

They are not saying anything except to find a peaceful resolution. No government will come out with support of any armed crackdown. It would be political suicide. The fact that they aren't condemning it says more, IMO.

Abhisit tried to find a peaceful solution with many compromises, but the red shirts weren't interested in peace. There is enough evidence of armed (M16s, grenades) resistence by the red shirts. Abhisit had no choice, unless he was to submit to the unreasonable demands of an armed mob.

Edited May 21, 2010 by whybother