Thais divided and marking this historic month in their own ways

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EDITORIAL
Thais divided and marking this historic month in their own ways
The Nation

Country's peculiar political evolution has seen former allies take different sides in recent bloody skirmishes

BANGKOK: -- One has to be at a certain age to know what "October" used to be all about. And those people must be wishing things were as simple today as they were in the 1970s. There was unspeakable cruelty back then, but at least things were clearly "black" or "white".

With red shirts and yellow shirts both growing out of the pro-democracy uprising of that historic decade, it has been an intriguing evolution. This year, we again mark October with a wavering knowledge of "dictatorship" and "democracy".

One of the telltale news headlines this week has it that Thaksin Shinawatra is going for broke while his political camp has superior parliamentary power.

That this invokes extremely different emotions and interpretation among Thais, shows how divisive the country's politics has become. The lines have been blurred between heroes and villains, and right and wrong.

October activists of the 70s have parted ways. Some joined the People's Alliance for Democracy, or simply became independent anti-Thaksin crusaders.

Others have been backing him to the hilt, or even giving him strategic advice. Studies have been conducted on why people who fought and shed so much blood and tears together in the old days, have gone in opposite ideological directions and become instrumental in the country's seemingly irreconcilable situation.

Is the parting of ways a part of growing politically old? This is a tricky question.

If the nation has become "older" now, does that mean the October dramas of the 1970s are the result of being young? And yet, if the 70s represent a politically young Thailand, the current political impasse must be indisputable evidence that we haven't aged well.

If the Octobers of the '70s taught us about black and white, perhaps these are the times to learn about grey, which has become the real colour of Thai politics. And while grey is a much harder colour to learn, we can take some concrete lessons acquired from the "black and white" classroom. One of these lessons is that freedom of opinion, or freedom of expression, is the only thing that can keep the truth - or the hope of it - alive.

Another lesson is that stereotyping is a very dangerous thing, because it can divide people who are supposed to be friends, or reinforce the belief of politicians - or anyone pulling the strings - that the only way to win power is to fan hatred.

If we can't learn these key lessons, the Octobers of the 70s will mean little in the long-term. The same political tricks will continue to be applied, albeit in more advanced ways. Politics will remain the battleground of propagandists, but what's different today is that the "casualties of war" will be more numerous.

Politics was more limited in the 1970s, so the "Thammasat massacre", or the exodus to the jungles of student activists, did not threaten to tear the country apart. Today, if things go wrong, the consequences will be far more terrible.

Thais are marking the month of October differently now. That is perhaps the best we can hope for. That every Thai, whether they are yellow, red or multi-coloured, can share history - albeit from a different perspective - is better than having no history to share. That may be the simplest and most valuable lesson we can draw from this extraordinary political evolution.


-- The Nation 2013-10-21

[noitom]

From massacres to indifference.

[indyuk]

My view is that everything has changed.

I am not Thai and beg the readers forgiveness of my frankness.

It is no longer possible for the CIA and elements of the Thai police and army forces to wander around the I-san for the purpose of carrying out extrajudicial executions of Thai people that were suspected of being communists.

It is n longer possible for troops to be instructed to fire at will upon students rallying for change.

Thailand still seeks a footing of a knew normality after her prime minister led four negotiations with the Red shirts to a stalemate for reasons best known to himself.

Thus the Thai government put all of Thailand on tenterhooks of dread as as their government savored the rigour of its power that was pointing them toward another massacre in pursuit of the domination and subjugation of all Thai that should or must remain poor and without representation so that Thailand may prosper once more in the old way of exploitation.

The breath of Buddha saved Thailand this time although ninety-one souls perished as the governments steel fist crashed down as it tried to subjugate the protesters one more time.

It must never happen again. There must be an amnesty followed by a formal truth and reconciliation program. This is the only way that all of the people can come to understand what they have done to each other.

The only alternative is to put the former Democratic Government on trial for all of the damage that they inflicted on Thailand.

Further it will be essential to declare a mistrial of PM Thaksin in recognition of the lack of real evidence and the questionable nature of the charges against him. This of course would require him to be made whole again.

Edited October 21, 2013 by indyuk

[bigbamboo]

My view is that everything has changed.

I am not Thai and beg the readers forgiveness of my frankness.

It is no longer possible for the CIA and elements of the Thai police and army forces to wander around the I-san for the purpose of carrying out extrajudicial executions of Thai people that were suspected of being communists.

It is n longer possible for troops to be instructed to fire at will upon students rallying for change.

Thailand still seeks a footing of a knew normality after her prime minister led four negotiations with the Red shirts to a stalemate for reasons best known to himself.

Thus the Thai government put all of Thailand on tenterhooks of dread as as their government savored the rigour of its power that was pointing them toward another massacre in pursuit of the domination and subjugation of all Thai that should or must remain poor and without representation so that Thailand may prosper once more in the old way of exploitation.

The breath of Buddha saved Thailand this time although ninety-one souls perished as the governments steel fist crashed down as it tried to subjugate the protesters one more time.

It must never happen again. There must be an amnesty followed by a formal truth and reconciliation program. This is the only way that all of the people can come to understand what they have done to each other.

The only alternative is to put the former Democratic Government on trial for all of the damage that they inflicted on Thailand.

Further it will be essential to declare a mistrial of PM Thaksin in recognition of the lack of real evidence and the questionable nature of the charges against him. This of course would require him to be made whole again.

And yet it was possible for elements of the Thai police to wander around for the purpose of carrying out extra judicial executions in order to fulfill their 'quotas' in the war on drugs and the breath of Buddha didn't save the souls at Tak Bai or Kru Se from that government's cruel fist either.

And exploitation of Thais by the rich and powerful still goes on.

So perhaps nothing has changed.

[Robby nz]

My view is that everything has changed.

I am not Thai and beg the readers forgiveness of my frankness.

It is no longer possible for the CIA and elements of the Thai police and army forces to wander around the I-san for the purpose of carrying out extrajudicial executions of Thai people that were suspected of being communists.

It is n longer possible for troops to be instructed to fire at will upon students rallying for change.

Thailand still seeks a footing of a knew normality after her prime minister led four negotiations with the Red shirts to a stalemate for reasons best known to himself.

Thus the Thai government put all of Thailand on tenterhooks of dread as as their government savored the rigour of its power that was pointing them toward another massacre in pursuit of the domination and subjugation of all Thai that should or must remain poor and without representation so that Thailand may prosper once more in the old way of exploitation.

The breath of Buddha saved Thailand this time although ninety-one souls perished as the governments steel fist crashed down as it tried to subjugate the protesters one more time.

It must never happen again. There must be an amnesty followed by a formal truth and reconciliation program. This is the only way that all of the people can come to understand what they have done to each other.

The only alternative is to put the former Democratic Government on trial for all of the damage that they inflicted on Thailand.

Further it will be essential to declare a mistrial of PM Thaksin in recognition of the lack of real evidence and the questionable nature of the charges against him. This of course would require him to be made whole again.

What a complete and utter load of BS that red shirt re-write of history is.

Reads like a prepared statement from the Shin publicity machine and maybe it is.

Not worth answering each stupid statement.

The only one who should be on trial is the instigator and funder of the red riots your hero Thaksin who is ultimately responsible for all the death, injuries and destruction those riots caused.

If you really believe what you wrote you don't need forgiveness you need de-brainwashing.

[RWA]

My view is that everything has changed.

I am not Thai and beg the readers forgiveness of my frankness.

It is no longer possible for the CIA and elements of the Thai police and army forces to wander around the I-san for the purpose of carrying out extrajudicial executions of Thai people that were suspected of being communists.

It is n longer possible for troops to be instructed to fire at will upon students rallying for change.

Thailand still seeks a footing of a knew normality after her prime minister led four negotiations with the Red shirts to a stalemate for reasons best known to himself.

Thus the Thai government put all of Thailand on tenterhooks of dread as as their government savored the rigour of its power that was pointing them toward another massacre in pursuit of the domination and subjugation of all Thai that should or must remain poor and without representation so that Thailand may prosper once more in the old way of exploitation.

The breath of Buddha saved Thailand this time although ninety-one souls perished as the governments steel fist crashed down as it tried to subjugate the protesters one more time.

It must never happen again. There must be an amnesty followed by a formal truth and reconciliation program. This is the only way that all of the people can come to understand what they have done to each other.

The only alternative is to put the former Democratic Government on trial for all of the damage that they inflicted on Thailand.

Further it will be essential to declare a mistrial of PM Thaksin in recognition of the lack of real evidence and the questionable nature of the charges against him. This of course would require him to be made whole again.

Thanks Goodness, you aren't Thai !!!

(even though you pretty much sound like ...)