2 September 2008

Little Uncle Nuamthong Praiwan had a heart bigger than the Democracy Monument. Despite his little knowledge of history, after the 19 September 2006 coup, he slammed his taxi into an army tank, driven by the sheer force of his fervent hopes for democracy. He did not die instantly.  But his action has since then symbolized anti-coup sentiment.

No one cared or was interested enough to investigate what kind of structural violence was inflicted on him and triggered him to fight alone. Not a single NGO or professional organization came out to demand the coup makers relinquish their powers. 

Soon afterwards, Uncle Praiwan decided to hang himself in front of the headquarters of Thai Rath, the best selling newspaper in Thailand. He sacrificed his life to declare his determination which has been entrenched in the flesh and blood of many ever since.

Narongsak Khobthaisong was heading from Nakhon Ratchasima in the Northeast, to Bangkok, in order to quell the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) which had been using unjustified and illegitimate means (at least in his view) to unseat a democratically elected government. He was beaten to death in the middle of the Ratchadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok at dawn on 2 September 2008. 

His death has of course brought grief to his close relatives and associates. It has also prompted many professional organizations to voice their sadness and concerns for the current tumult. But they have not hesitated to use his death as a tool to back their demand for the resignation of the democratically elected prime minister whom Mr. Narongsak had tried to protect in the first place.

All these small people’s voices, like Uncle Praiwan, will soon go unheard. It is simply sad that their determination is misrepresented and even misused to serve a mischievous purpose.  Similarly, the fervent hope of the late Narongsak is being used in a corrupt manner. 

How can we justify this? 

The Prachatai Editorial Board would like to reiterate that the root cause of the incumbent violence driven by massive uprisings stems from the unjustified and illegitimate call for a democratically elected PM to resign. 

The demand for resignation of the PM and the call for an end to the violence seem to contradict each other. And those who make the demands seem to be ones who instigate the violence. 

In light of the current situation, the Prachatai Editorial Board would like to make the following stand;

1. We condemn both leaders of the PAD and the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) for creating pretexts leading to violence. They should be aware that their actions have led to chaos in which innocent lives have been sacrificed. 

2. An impartial and transparent process should be set up and carried out to investigate the deaths and injuries and the state must provide remedies for the victims.

3. Double standards in social analysis as demonstrated by various professional organizations should be avoided.

4. Academics, media, professional organizations and political organizations should refrain from issuing statements such as “you have to be held responsible for the violence” in order to capitalize on the grave situation to serve their own vested interests.  Responsibility should be held collectively by the parties involved. 

5. We are opposed to violence and shall not lend support to any kind of violent action. 

6. We stand opposed to any non-democratic politics, whether in the form of a coup d’état, or the proposed royally-appointed PM, or the PAD’s “new politics” (which calls for more appointees in parliament than elected members), or the proposed “national interim government”. 

7. We hope that all parties shall discontinue mobilizing people for demonstrations in order to bring all the demonstrations to a halt and to restore public order. 

8. The Thai state, including the military, and Thai society have to find ways to peacefully solve the occupation of Government House. It should be borne in mind that the restoration of law and order does not need to come from violence. Also, all PAD leaders facing arrest warrants of should abide by the law and agree to face justice. 

9. In the aftermath of the restoration of law and order, in order to promote reconciliation and show responsibility for losses, the government shall decide to “resign” or return power to the people by dissolving the House of Representatives.  This will make it possible for the people at large to make the major decisions by themselves and will prevent the PAD and their allied professional organizations from monopolizing power and make decisions for others.

Translated by Pipob Udomittipong