| What was Samak thinking? |
Tag it:
| Written by Daniel Ten Kate | ||
| Thursday, 14 February 2008 | ||
The
pictures show that Thailand’s new prime minister is delusional
if he thinks nobody died at Thammasat in 1976
In a recent interview with CNN, new Thai Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej made the stunning claim that only one person was killed in
the October 6, 1976 bloodbath at Thammasat University.Here's the exchange between Samak, an avowed rightist, and CNN correspondent Dan Rivers: Rivers: Would you like to take the opportunity now to condemn what happened in 1976? Samak: Actually it's a movement of some students. They don't like the government. Rivers: But dozens of people, maybe hundreds of people died. Samak: No, just only one died. There are 3,000 students in the Thammasat University. Rivers: The official death toll was 46, and many people say it was much higher than that. Samak: No. For me, no deaths, one unlucky guy being beaten and being burned in Sanam Luang. Only one guy by that day. Rivers: So there was no massacre? Samak: No not at all, but taking pictures, 3000 students, boys and girls lined up, they say that is the death toll. 3,000. Rivers: People say that your very right-wing rhetoric inflamed the situation. Samak: What's wrong to be the right wing if it is? The right wing is with the king. The left wing is communist. In 1976, students from various universities began to protest the return of Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachorn, a military dictator who was removed from power and exiled three years earlier after a bloody crackdown on students. The protests initially started at Sanam Luang, a traditional protest ground, but soon shifted across the street to Thammasat University. To commemorate three student protestors hanged in Nakhon Pathom province, the students at Thammasat staged a mock hanging. In what remains disputed to this day, some say that newspapers doctored a photo of the hanging to make the victim look like Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. When the photos were published, the rightist militants unleashed their fury. During the incident, Samak, then the deputy interior minister, tended to fuel the pro-royalist, anti-Communist rhetoric that created the environment for the pending massacre. Branding the students Communists who wanted to destroy the monarchy, the pro-palace Village Scouts and the Border Patrol Police, as well the Red Gaur and Navapol—two ultra-rightist groups trained by the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc)—stormed the university with heavy weapons. Some students tried to flee into the Chao Phraya Rver but were shot at by Navy vessels, according to Paul Handley's book The King Never Smiles. Others were beaten, hung from trees or set ablaze. Female students were ordered to strip and some were reportedly raped. All in all, as Dan Rivers pointed out, officials acknowledged that 46 people died in the attack. Witnesses claim that hundreds died, although it's unclear if the truth will ever be known.
Either
way, the pictures presented here show that Samak’s memory has
failed him. The pictures on this site— as well as here
and here — show
clearly that he is flatly wrong.
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How sad the world and how short the individual and collective memory, that the Thai people should serially re-elect this odious pig. Again and again over more than thirty years, under the guise of his spurious "royalist" agenda, he has had his snout to the trough of power and wealth, at the expense of the common people.
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 written by caca , November 04, 2009
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 written by Thaipeople , February 22, 2008
He would try to protect someone whos behind the scene.
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Samak is not alone.
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Conclusions based on questionable facts and assumptions are the main diet of the Thai media and also underpin the rote learning in the educational system. What is taught needs to move beyond the idea that challenging what is said implies disrespect , and in fact can help build a healthy society. Unfortunately, the experience of the last two years since the latest Thai coup, suggests there is little appetite for challenging these habits. Here is a link to a Simplified Mock Trail which has students consider: "What to Teach" http://www.lfslessonsasia.com/whattoteachlesson.html Thanks for this article. It's painful to remember how barbaric people can be, but its our collective history. report abuse
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 written by Brainwashed , February 15, 2008
Pfffill, much more can be said about Thai society's short memory and collective brainwashing.
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What's more, the silence from the Palace in these events is just so telling, don't you think. The silence from the royalist Thai society with regards to these events is even more telling. But oh well, the truth will emerge eventually. report abuse
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 written by Pfffill , February 15, 2008
How sad the world and how short the individual and collective memory, that the Thai people should serially re-elect this odious pig. Again and again over more than thirty years, under the guise of his spurious "royalist" agenda, he has had his snout to the trough of power and wealth, at the expense of the common people.
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