Thai politics: Bloody May memories and lessons still not learned

[webfact]

BURNING ISSUE
Bloody May memories and lessons still not learned
PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK

BANGKOK: -- THE month of May is a politically loaded month for modern Thai political history. Our society as a whole, however, seems to have failed to learn and consolidate crucial lessons from its past.

The bloody uprising in May 1992 (from the 17th to 20th), which ousted then-military dictator General Suchinda Kraprayoon, took place this week 23 years ago. At least 40 were killed and 600 injured.

A major newspaper's photo-caption on Monday summarised the situation well. The caption on page A5 of this Thai-language paper described the remembrance of those who lost their loved ones in May 1992 - but nowhere did the caption mention who the struggle was against.

There was no telling that 23 years ago this month, hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets to demand an elected prime minister from General Suchinda, a leader of the 1991 coup who appointed himself as prime minister. Suchinda later opted to send troops on to the streets of Bangkok to mow people down.

Then there was the May 2010 crackdown on red shirts, which ended with a combined loss of at least 99 lives from all sides. Five years have passed and Thailand has yet to learn a lesson that never-again should live ammunition be used against civilians.

This Friday, meanwhile, is the first anniversary of the May 22, 2014 military coup, which has led to Thailand still being under military rule today, by junta-leader cum Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha.

It's unclear for many as to what they can or should learn from the May 2014 coup - the virtue of keeping the military inside its barracks is not a concern for some.

Meanwhile, the May 1992 uprising certainly seems a distant memory, particularly among young Thais. Today, the history of May 1992 is mostly mentioned only in passing in history textbooks and unless you are a Thai history major or political science student at university, it's unlikely you would be formally taught about it in depth.

Most young Thais don't get to learn about the evil and excess of military dictators like Suchinda who granted himself a self-amnesty after the street killings to absolve himself of any crime. Or that of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat who wielded absolute power. Sarit's motto was "I am solely responsible" in exercising authoritarian power, only to later have his massive ill-gotten wealth confiscated by the state after his death.

It's thus not surprising that some defend the current junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), on the grounds that its leaders need not be as corrupt or abusive as military dictators of the past.

Prayut and the NCPO have to some extent demonstrated that Thai |military dictatorship can evolve |and become somewhat more 'sophisticated'. Despite Prayut's absolute power under Article 44 of the junta's provisional charter no one has |been sentenced to be executed and my hunch is Prayut will not order anyone to death, unlike Sarit.

Yet only through reaping lessons from the past can Thai society progress beyond the cycle of coup and absolute military rule.

There are numerous past lessons on the negative repercussions of absolute power, particularly under military dictators. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of the Thai population seems oblivious to this and optimistically embraces one coup after another.

It was as if the past is the past, disconnected or irrelevant to the present, as society keeps on stumbling back to the same old route that has kept Thailand from becoming a democracy.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Bloody-May-memories-and-lessons-still-not-learned-30260503.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-20

[catterwell]

The lesson is: Don't do things that make people upset, especially now when all is abuzz with social media.

[trogers]

May 1992 was the era of the mobile phones.

2013 was the era of the social media.

[catterwell]

May 1992 was the era of the mobile phones.

2013 was the era of the social media.

Only just! My Oki mobile phone as I was doing the rounds in May 1992 was about the size of an English house brick, and then I had to tote a small sack of spare batteries to keep it going. (I also had a pager - remember those?). At around Bt120,000 each, not many in the front line had a mobile phone.

These days everyone and his dog (except me, although I'm not actually a dog) has a smartphone of some ilk, connected to everything and anything.

I'd describe May 1992 as the beginning of the era of mobile phones.

[trogers]

May 1992 was the era of the mobile phones.

2013 was the era of the social media.

Only just! My Oki mobile phone as I was doing the rounds in May 1992 was about the size of an English house brick, and then I had to tote a small sack of spare batteries to keep it going. (I also had a pager - remember those?). At around Bt120,000 each, not many in the front line had a mobile phone.

These days everyone and his dog (except me, although I'm not actually a dog) has a smartphone of some ilk, connected to everything and anything.

I'd describe May 1992 as the beginning of the era of mobile phones.

Those mobile phones you mentioned were outdated since 1990. My company issued the staff with foldable Motorolas by 1991.

I remember the staff keeping each other updated on protestor movements. I was living near to the Ram U, the location for the final showdown. Fortunately, His Majesty stepped in and a bloodbath was avoided.

Edited May 20, 2015 by trogers

[FangFerang]

What? No one blaming this on Thaksin? How unusual, even for the ignorant.

According to the yellow goggle camp "Thaksin is retroactively responsible for every crime, problem, death, illness and sadness for every Asian individual." This argument is valid because Thaksin's incarnations started off as Ghengis Khan, and now we all ended up here because of him.

[GeckosDiving]

What? No one blaming this on Thaksin? How unusual, even for the ignorant.

According to the yellow goggle camp "Thaksin is retroactively responsible for every crime, problem, death, illness and sadness for every Asian individual." This argument is valid because Thaksin's incarnations started off as Ghengis Khan, and now we all ended up here because of him.

[trogers]

What? No one blaming this on Thaksin? How unusual, even for the ignorant.

According to the yellow goggle camp "Thaksin is retroactively responsible for every crime, problem, death, illness and sadness for every Asian individual." This argument is valid because Thaksin's incarnations started off as Ghengis Khan, and now we all ended up here because of him.

Thaksin was keeping his head low during this period, laying plans for his monopoly on mobile signals.

[Thailand]

Shocking news, elections to be delayed.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32799690