The content in this page ("Lip-service to the cause of reconciliation" by Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation) is not produced by Prachatai staff. Prachatai merely provides a platform, and the opinions stated here do not necessarily reflect those of Prachatai.

Lip-service to the cause of reconciliation

Two weeks after the May 19 military crackdown on mostly unarmed red-shirt protesters and the burning of more than 30 spots in Bangkok, it appears as if it all took place for nothing. Those who hate continue to hate, while those who wanted the red shirts to be punished got what they wanted. Yet there's been no reflection.

Of the 89 killed since April 10, most were red-shirt protesters. The movement continues to be cracked down upon and intimidated with arrests under the emergency decree - all in the name of national reconciliation.

Talk of reconciliation is empty if you shut the ears, eyes and mouths of those very people you claim you want to reconcile with and arrest those who call for a small protest outside an emergency-ruled area, as happened to Chulalongkorn University history lecturer Suthachai Yimprasert. He was arrested and released after a week, while his "co-conspirator", Somyos Prueksakasemsuk, the leftist editor of "Voice of Taksin" magazine, who does not have the status of academic, remains a political detainee.

One human-rights activist ranted that even in the aftermath of the darkest day in modern Thai history - October 6, 1976 - the names of those arrested were made public. This time, two weeks after May 19, we still don't have such a list.

Also, how long will Bangkok and the 23 other provinces be ruled under the emergency decree? Should it continue for another month, or until the next general election is held late next year? We are now at the mercy of the Abhisit Vejjajiva regime and those behind him who are deeply insecure and addicted to the idea of emergency rule in order to sustain an illusion of political normalcy.

In this climate of "reconciliation", transparency, rights to political assembly and due process of law are gone, as arbitrary arrests and censorship under the emergency "law" becomes the new norm. One disturbing "truth" is the story behind the death of six people at Pathum Wanaram Temple.

Though Abhisit told the lower House that an "independent" committee would be set up to find out the truth, the government's statement, released in English and dated as early as May 20 - one day after the tragedy - purportedly stated with absolute certainty that it was "a well-planned operation on the part of the armed group who knowingly took advantage of the temple's designation as a safe area �".

So why the need for a committee when "the definitive truth" is already readily available a mere day after the incident? I think the government's failure to fly the national flag at half mast even for a day to mourn the loss of lives is probably the most sincere reflection of the authority's sentiments. The fact that most red-shirt leaders failed to come up with even a single sentence to express a sense of contrition for those who lost their lives , properties or were undeservedly affected is equally inexcusable.

Many people, be they red or non-red, were left to deal with the pain and sorrow by themselves. A red-shirt contact said on Tuesday that many fellow members of the movement upcountry felt that they have no place to stand. Their mass-media outlets have all been shut down, while their arch-enemies - the yellow shirts - are taking great pleasure in their defeat. For many, death seems to be the only way out.

Some red shirts from the cities have visited their fellow protesters upcountry to sympathise, while others are learning how to shoot so they can seek revenge.

Back in Bangkok, a hundred small notes mourning the burning down of the Siam Theatre were left at the site. Only one of these notes expressed condolences for those who were killed - the rest were more disturbed that a fire had consumed their favourite movie theatre.

Source: 
<p>http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/06/03/politics/Lip-service-to-the-cause-of-reconciliation-30130765.html</p>

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