Thais Give New Meaning To 'reconciliation'

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Thais give new meaning to 'reconciliation'
Tulsathit Taptim



BANGKOK: -- When people want to reconcile, they talk. That is not happening in Thailand, despite all the fuss about forgiving, forgetting and bringing back political peace. Nobody is opening up or reaching out. Dirt is dug up everywhere, although it should be the least of our concerns.

Here, "amnesty" has become a potentially explosive word greeted with contempt or fear of violence. Every announcement of an "amnesty" plan is never associated with genuine readiness to forgive or craving for truce. Whenever Thais hear about "amnesty" or "reconciliation", the nation's fragile peace looks threatened.

It was speculated that the amnesty issue would return to haunt Thailand after the Bangkok gubernatorial election if Pheu Thai won the poll convincingly. Yet although Pheu Thai suffered a stunning defeat, "amnesty" is trying to make its way back on the government's agenda anyway. Certainly, someone somewhere is getting increasingly restless.

Why is "amnesty" such a troublesome, potentially dangerous issue in Thailand? The answer is that it is always a one-sided advocacy. There has never been any mutual talk. Everyone has his own idea of how it should be done, and all the ideas clash with one another.

Without real dialogue, nothing can go forward. Every stumbling block on the road toward peace is highly tricky, and can never be overcome unilaterally - namely the issues of Thaksin Shinawatra, the Ratchaprasong crackdown and terrorism charges against red-shirt leaders. When intertwined issues are handled single-handedly, there can be only one end result - an inflation of mistrust, growing hatred and a burning sense of injustice.

Both sides of the national divide have been debating amnesty and reconciliation plans through the media. (Perhaps "scolding each other" sounds more accurate than "debating".) They have held separate public forums, sent articles to separate newspapers, and carried out separate surveys and studies. Everyone is shouting "reconciliation" from within his walls, never listening to what anybody else has to say about it.

Should we temporarily forget the lofty goal of everlasting peace and aim a bit lower? What about first trying to put the enemies in the same room? Certainly they will go for each other's throat, but at least the battleground will be smaller and the chance of forging something progressive may go from zero to slim.

Of course, an all-engaging reconciliation effort is much easier said than done. But it was the formula for resolving national strife elsewhere. No matter how complex the Thai crisis is, it comes down to the simple problem of two camps wanting different things. And it requires the simple first step of locating common ground. Even mutually, that will be hard to find, but it can never be found separately.

It beggars belief that talks with leaders of the southern insurgency have always been mooted, while our political rivals use their own TV stations to attack each other around the clock. And it's stranger still that one side of the national divide is bypassing the other in attempting to tackle the deep South issue, considering the former's lack of political support in southern Thailand, a region long dominated by the latter.

Maybe it's time someone picked up the phone and offered an olive branch. Every major national problem or lack of solution can be traced back to political polarity - sluggish telecom development, decreasing competitiveness, the southern insurgency. We can't wait for a mediator to show up, simply because there is no neutral figure who commands enough respect to do the job.

And we can't trust Parliament with the assignment, either. There are good reasons why amnesty should not be affected by a lopsided Parliament, the biggest being that "reconciliation" is not something that should be forged through numerical superiority.

Recently, opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was accused by Thaksin's son, Panthongtae, of blocking peace efforts. That typified the Thai impasse. Reconciliation means different things to different people and, worse still, one usually considers "the other side's" reconciliation idea as destructive. In Thailand, political mistrust is a black hole around which many things have to revolve precariously. Mistrust leads to fear, and fear leads to hatred. This process is feeding on itself. To stand any chance of moving forward as one, we need to smash it. But first, it's probably best to put the people who matter in one room, lock the door and throw away the key.

It's up to the enemies to find common ground, to avoid reopening old wounds and to rehabilitate the real casualties of war - the Thai people. Reconciliation or amnesty is supposed to bring healing. Any scheme that leaves hatred to fester, fears to grow, or mistrust to spread is just malice all dressed up.


-- The Nation 2013-03-13

[Bobobirdiebuddy]

Everyday, I ride the bus by the burned out shell of the Klongtoey MEA office, the disued hulk of the Bangkok Bank near the Rama 4 Big C and look at the imposing fencing around ESSO and Channel 3 a bit farther down the road. All caused by the Red Shirts and, by extention, all to be given a free pass by their masters, Pheu Thai and the wraith in Dubai. Truth falls away and the myths of Thai Rak Thai arrogance is all that remains. Shameful.

[chainarong]

Honestly, its sad to say ,but I'd say in three to five generations time it will be a thing of the past , not much before.

[h90]

Honestly, its sad to say ,but I'd say in three to five generations time it will be a thing of the past , not much before.

don't think so, if one person in Dubai dies today and his family decide to better enjoy the money and not mess in politics it will be forgotten at the next election or at least 2-3 years after it.

People remember only for a short time.

The reds will shrink down to a few academics who discuss if Trotzky, Mao, Lenin or Stalin had the better ideology and no one will care anymore.

[chainarong]

Honestly, its sad to say ,but I'd say in three to five generations time it will be a thing of the past , not much before.

don't think so, if one person in Dubai dies today and his family decide to better enjoy the money and not mess in politics it will be forgotten at the next election or at least 2-3 years after it.

People remember only for a short time.

The reds will shrink down to a few academics who discuss if Trotzky, Mao, Lenin or Stalin had the better ideology and no one will care anymore.

Glad you think so , the family wont go away, Thaskins son on the side lines, the hatred in the country is very deep and very real

[phantomfiddler]

The present government preached reconciliation, but practiced just the opposite, and the threat of redshirt violence is as present now as it ever was. There is only one way forward, and any intelligent person must know that. However, most likely we will see the country plundered by the politicians and degenerate into another P.I., which was once the shining star of S.E. Asia.

[Docno]

Everyday, I ride the bus by the burned out shell of the Klongtoey MEA office, the disued hulk of the Bangkok Bank near the Rama 4 Big C and look at the imposing fencing around ESSO and Channel 3 a bit farther down the road. All caused by the Red Shirts and, by extention, all to be given a free pass by their masters, Pheu Thai and the wraith in Dubai. Truth falls away and the myths of Thai Rak Thai arrogance is all that remains. Shameful.

Look, as much as the actions of this minority of Red Shirt protesters were wrong, you need to see it in the context. There's a lot of symbolism to the buildings targetted: government offices, upscale malls, corporate outlets. This was a wrong-headed expression of frustration over the neglect and disdain shown by the Bangkok elite toward the masses of poor in the provinces.Years earlier, a government that finally recognised their interests had been turfed out in a military coup (sure, you can say Thaksin was manipulating them, but that's not the point here). Later they converged on Bangkok to demand that recognition again (along with immediate elections)--and yes, there were rogue elements among them as with most large protest movements--but eventually their protest was broken up with deadly force. Criminal acts though they were, they were also an expression of the frustration those people keenly felt. This sort of thing has been seen over and over across the world, and it's never a simple matter of one-side-good-one-side-evil as it's sometimes presented here....

[Pi Sek]

Everyday, I ride the bus by the burned out shell of the Klongtoey MEA office, the disued hulk of the Bangkok Bank near the Rama 4 Big C and look at the imposing fencing around ESSO and Channel 3 a bit farther down the road. All caused by the Red Shirts and, by extention, all to be given a free pass by their masters, Pheu Thai and the wraith in Dubai. Truth falls away and the myths of Thai Rak Thai arrogance is all that remains. Shameful.

Look, as much as the actions of this minority of Red Shirt protesters were wrong, you need to see it in the context. There's a lot of symbolism to the buildings targetted: government offices, upscale malls, corporate outlets. This was a wrong-headed expression of frustration over the neglect and disdain shown by the Bangkok elite toward the masses of poor in the provinces.Years earlier, a government that finally recognised their interests had been turfed out in a military coup (sure, you can say Thaksin was manipulating them, but that's not the point here). Later they converged on Bangkok to demand that recognition again (along with immediate elections)--and yes, there were rogue elements among them as with most large protest movements--but eventually their protest was broken up with deadly force. Criminal acts though they were, they were also an expression of the frustration those people keenly felt. This sort of thing has been seen over and over across the world, and it's never a simple matter of one-side-good-one-side-evil as it's sometimes presented here....

I agree wholeheartedly with you.

However, I think it's important to point out that these feelings of frustration you describe were possibly not warranted and came about through propaganda suggesting that Thaksin did nothing wrong when actually he did... as you say, it's not really the point, but I think it's very much worth noting. After all, as Chalerm pointed out in this morning's news, "People have to respect the rules".

If the Red Shirts weren't funded by Thaksin, I strongly doubt the violence would have grown much further than thrown stones.

[waza]

There never will be reconcilliation as long as Thaksin is around, because he wont allow it. After all, the disunity in Thailand is his doing, his polisies in the south caused hundreds of deaths and radicalised the separatists, his paid red army violently protested in Bangkok and he is the cataslyst of all the present disunity in THai society. It either has to be his way or no way, there is no compromise. Abihist reconises this and refuses to play Thaksin games. Thakisn has chopsen this time to raise his ugly head and publicly proclaim his control of the government, but why now? Has his consolidation of power now reached a stage where he is so omnipresent that he has no fear of any opposition. Has he gained control of the Military as well as the RTP, has he placed his acolytes and supporters in key position within the judiciary? Or is his supporter base eroding, are the red threatening revolt unless they have their amnesty? Has the recent election looses clearly displayed he is loosing public support? Does the fact that members of his own party dont wish him to return and are failing to achieve his objectives. It his return to the spotlight an act of confidence or an act of fear, time will tell.

Edited March 14, 2013 by waza

[MaxLee]

The meaning of RECONCILIATION in Thailand, well let me see....

1. Rich, powerful and abusive

2. corrupt, criminal

3. under-the-table-paying-to-get-what-you-want-over-dead-bodies

4. bail-your-children-out-even-when-they-committed-the-worst-crimes-because-they-didn't-know-or-are-just-mentally-ill

5. Lie over your a$$$$

6. Abuse the law in your favor, because the justice system is a milking cow-b********tch for the rich anyway, getting away with crime.

7. Hire snipers to shoot rebellious environmentalist or any other nature group dead

8. Vouch for government feudal control at the cost of taxpayers money

9. Brainwash society until their last drenches of common sense is erased and are beyond repair of thinking for themselves....

There you have it folks, Thai-Chinese RECONCILIATION,... you in???