Friday, May 21, 2010

An Open Letter to the Red Shirts



I am writing you this letter because in the past six weeks I have often been angry.  I've often been disappointed, disillusioned, and frustrated.  But there was only one moment in this entire agonizing sequence that moved me to tears.  That was when your leader, Veera Musikaphong, surrendered to the authorities, and spoke of his dreams, his disappointments, and his enduring hopes.

As the smoke dies down, you are going to be told that you were lied to, duped, tricked, bought and betrayed; that you were tools of evil men who did not truly care about your fate; that you are terrorists, arsonists, destroyers of our culture, king-haters.  It will be said that you destroyed the country's international image and obstructed its economic recovery.  Worst of all, you will be told that you are all ignorant people who have misused your political voices because you didn't understand democracy.

I am afraid that in many cases, the people who say these things will be telling the truth.  The instant rebirth that you wanted for our country has turned out to be more of a false dawn.  Many crimes have been committed and both sides have hidden important facts from each other.

Even though these things are in many cases true, I want you to know that they have not invalidated other truths: the truths that you carried in your hearts when you set out to air your grievances in a peaceful demonstration.

The doors that should have opened for you years ago, when this country became a democracy, have opened too slowly.  The education that you need to become equal participants in society has been withheld too long.  The voice that you have always had has been discovered too late, and because it was so long pent up, it is been expressed destructively.   And the worst destruction was not that of a few shopping malls and banks; it was the destruction you wreaked upon yourselves.

But I want you to know that when it comes to the liberation of the human spirit, history is on your side.  The road towards a more perfect democracy may be difficult, but it is unstoppable.  You did not lose this war.  But I hope you will have learned from it.  The question is not whether the war will be won, but how it will be won: through mayhem and bloodshed, or through slow, painful discussion and compromise — through evolution — the civilized way.

It may be hard for you to believe this, but many people who have been painted as your enemies share your most cherished dreams.  For example, I sincerely believe that the prime minister, K. Abhisit, comes philosophically closer to those dreams than a number of your leaders.  If he did not — if his mindset had been that of some of the military dictators Thailand has had in the past — the carnage of the last few days would have been unconscionable.

I also believe that many of your leaders, like K. Veera, share the hopes and dreams of those not affiliated with your movement, because they are, by and large, the hopes and dreams of all Thai people: to live in peace, not to spend your life in a mindless struggle to survive, to have the same chance as anyone else at realizing your aspirations and becoming fulfilled human beings.

It may be too soon to hope for this, because the mutual anger and distrust are still too great.  If K Veera is found guilty of any crimes, justice will have to be served, just as much as if K Suthep were found to have abused his authority.  But it would be a beautiful thing to see idealists like K. Veera playing a role in an Abhisit government.  Such a compromise occurred in Italy decades ago, and it saved their country from a potentially disastrous internecine struggle.

You have changed Thailand for ever by discovering, and showing your fellow citizens, that you have the right to think, and to speak, and to act.  I urge you to go further.  Keep thinking.  But think for yourselves.  Don't think what you're told to think.  Speak what you think, not what you are told to speak.  And act with your minds as well as your hearts, and in the interests of all, even those whom you disagree with.  

Not many people in Bangkok would feel grateful to you at this moment.  But I do want to thank you.  What you did was really important, though perhaps not for the reasons you think.  And I want to explain why.

When you build a road, you will sometimes come to a mountain.  To get to the other side, you may have to go around it.  You may have to dig a tunnel.  Or you have to blow up the mountain.

Thailand has come to that mountain.  But for at least two decades, no one has been willing to go around, dig a tunnel, or blow up the mountain.  Yet everyone knows we must get through.  The mountain is in the way.  Some past governments have stolen your money to build golden hot-air balloons so that a few individuals could get across, not caring if the rest were stranded.  Others have talked and talked and talked, but the mountain is still there.  Of course you are impatient.  

You didn't blow down the mountain, but the tragic events that have unfolded have convinced everyone that it is time to move on.  Your people — and the soldiers, too — did not suffer and die in vain.  Though we seem to be in darkness and chaos, a fuller democracy is closer today than it has been at any time during the Thaksin administration and all its successors.   There will come a time when people will realize that you opened their eyes, that you all contributed to this major turning point in Thailand's history.  In time, the rest of the nation will understand it, and come to acknowledge it, and even embrace it.  For in embracing those we thought our enemies, we really embrace ourselves.



141 comments:

  1. Dear K. Somtow,

    May I have permission to translate and share this open letter, along with your past blog on Dan River?

    I believed people need to hear more on this line of constructive comment, rather than the destructive one they have been bombarded.

    Sincerely,

    S.R.

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  2. Dear Sir,

    This letter is heart-felt, open, sentimental even. It is very nice in many ways. I mean it. I also find your arguments very interesting, a good change from the usual superficial debate.

    At the same time however, I cannot help but seeing parallels between your language and of colonialism.
    The way you speak of the peasants is the same that white colonialists used when speaking about 'underdeveloped' nations in the last century.

    Your language is that of League of Nations trusteeships,that of UN Mandates, that of the WHITE MAN'S BURDEN. This rhetoric is the Bangkokian man's burden. Saying that these people are ignorant, and that therefore we know what is best for them better than they know themselves - may I warn you Sir - this language is very dangerous. Thailand fortunately was never a colony but try asking Cambodians how they felt about being told what to do by more educated people. Undoubtedly colonialists were much more educated than the locals. Beyond doubt, right? But, were their hearts bigger? No. Did they have the poor people's interests in mind? No. They had their own interests in mind, and the colonial rhetoric was perfect to hide that truth. The white man's burden now seems to be your burden.

    You continue by saying that these poor, uneducated peasants do not know what they are doing. Sir, in a heart-felt way you do not even blame them. that is honourable. However implied in this view is that not only are they poor and ignorant, but they have no agency. This is such a central underlying assumption of yours. THEY HAVE NO AGENCY. They just believe what they are told by evil men, and this means they are not even guilty. You portray them as people empty of content, without agency, passive. They are passive, ignorant and stupid. They know not what they do, we have to help them. And so the educated elites have to step in and take the burden.

    Can I just quote the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514 of 1960, the one basically outlawing colonialism. It said: "inadequacy of preparedness shall no longer be an excuse". Are we stepping back from that? Is 'inadequacy of preparadness' (=peasants' ignorance) enough as an excuse to take away from them their human quality of active engagers in society? is their ignorance proof of political ignorance? and even if this were so, would that justify using Your voice to speak on their behalf?

    Respectfully,

    A white person who has a guilty history and knows all too well how dangerous it is for people to think they know other people's interests better than they do themselves.

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  3. Oh well, it serves me right for being such an evil bigoted cultural chauvinist pig :)

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  4. Dear K. Somtow, as a long visitor to Thailand and a resident of BKK for the last three years I have spent the past few months watching in despair as this country and people that I truly respect have been tearing themselves apart.

    After reading your letter, for the first time in a long time I have a sense of hope.

    With luck your voice of reason will become officially part of the process to heal this wonderful country.

    Thank you.

    A relieved farang

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  5. Teena: anyone can publish one of my blogs as long as they acknowledge its source and don't misquote it.

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  6. Thank you, K. Somtow -- from the bottom of my heart.

    I'm a 70 year old farang who has lived here in Chiang Mai for 15 years as a teacher and a poet (mostly unpublished), and nothing I have read, taught or been taught, by my Thai students, my Thai friends, or my Thai neighbours, has moved me more deeply than your words.

    So inspired by you I have something to say to the Red Shirts too:

    I too stand up and salute you, Red Shirts. I tip my hat to you too and bow down before your efforts and your passion. And even though I firmly believe your leaders must suffer the penalties their behavior has warranted, at the same time I fully believe in the new consciousness they have conveyed to you as well. Though it was untimely and wrong what they did, though their actions were distorted by the financing behind the whole movement, and though everybody involved was exploited by much less worthy and selfish objectives than what you believe in, you will be rewarded, my friends. You will rise up and triumph in the best sense of the word!

    And you will be rewarded far beyond what you dreamed of, and it won't take that long either. Indeed, it's so much closer because of what you have done.

    ~

    I aged so much in the last month, dear K. Somtow -- your words have made me younger!

    Christopher Woodman
    Chiang Mai

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  7. Dear khun Somtow, Thank you for your words and your efforts. I have read too many bigoted and one sided articles and I am bored of them. ALL the world's press have had it wrong at one time or another and it has been the work of the 'amateurs' that has helped show them the way. Ordinary people who risked their lives to get the photos and the videos exposing all the deceit in this sorry affair. Ordinary people who spilled their hearts onto paper to persuade them of what was actually happening here. There is still work to be done so keep at it!

    I applaud everyone who has made an effort for reconciliation and the truth during this sorry affair. May Thailand and the Thai people grow and be strong together again.

    A loving farang.

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  8. Thank you, K. Somtow -- from the bottom of my heart.

    I'm a 70 year old farang who has lived here in Chiang Mai for 15 years as a teacher and a poet (mostly unpublished), and nothing I have read, taught or been taught, by my Thai students, my Thai friends, or my Thai neighbours, has moved me more deeply than your words.

    So inspired by you I have something to say to the Red Shirts too:

    I too stand up and salute you, Red Shirts. I tip my hat to you too and bow down before your efforts and your passion. And even though I firmly believe your leaders must suffer the penalties their behavior has warranted, at the same time I fully believe in the new consciousness they have conveyed to you as well. Though it was untimely and wrong what they did, though their actions were distorted by the financing behind the whole movement, and though everybody involved was exploited by much less worthy and selfish objectives than what you believe in, you will be rewarded, my friends. You will rise up and triumph in the best sense of the word!

    And you will be rewarded far beyond what you dream of, and it won't take too long either. Indeed, it's so much closer because of what you have done.

    ~

    I aged so much in the last month, dear K. Somtow -- your words have made me younger!

    Christopher Woodman
    Chiang Mai

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  9. Dear K. Somtow,

    Thanks for your permission to share your thought. However, I have tried that before but many refused to read since it is in English.

    Please excuse me for being rather insistent but would it be possible then if I submitted my Thai version for your approval before I publish it on the web? I believed the readers would be gain more from the whole piece of your thought rather than my summary snippet.

    If we could plant more seed of reason like yours in the people mind, then we might have more hope to mend this ugly rift in our country.

    Sincerely,
    S.R.

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. Dear S.R. Just email me the Thai version and let me make sure that it's what I actually said ... no problem

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  12. Sir,
    Quoting you: "Oh well, it serves me right for being such an evil bigoted cultural chauvinist pig :)". Hmmm is that referred to my comments? If so, may I point out that it would be more useful to address the criticism and not avoiding the points of contention. Surely you have an opinion on the matter! I would be interested to hear it!
    Secondly, this huge farang support after your open letter makes me smile..In my opinion it should be a warning siren.. for who were these guilty colonialists that I am talking about? those who identify with your message Sir. They are so happy to read your letter! They agree with you 100%. Proof that I was right in my opinion.. I am of course being the devil's advocate here, but... never trust these farangs sir :)
    Kind regards

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  13. Thank you.

    Thank you for putting into words what I also hope, that the Thai people will find a way to get over, under, or through that mountain--and in doing so, they will prove that they have agency. Always did and always will have. This country needs less strident, less militant voices, and more of you who speak of peace, hope, and reconciliation.

    Perhaps the lesson learned for all of us is not how important it is to have our cake and eat it too, but to celebrate what we have in common. I would love to see a part of Rajaprasong turned into a park, a green oasis to renew the spirit instead of another shopping center. Wouldn't that be a radical idea!

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  14. Somtow--stop dreaming!! democracy is always used as though it means that suddenly all people under a democracy will suddenly by magic and by law become equal. This belief is quite the opposite of reality--life is a struggle and Darwin states it as survival of the fittest which means conflict is the constant. This conflict is just what we see here in the real world!!

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  15. You Might have written a perfect piece if you haven't mention the Thaksin you refer to as evil. By just mentioning him, I have stopped reading the rest of the rubbish you wrote.Until to-date, you people are still stupidly thinks it's all about him, just how on earth can you people see yourself as educated, in what terms may I ask? Update knowledge of the latest fashions in the market or the most advance Iphone you can find.

    Let's face facts, without you people being so blind and easily been brain washed by the propagandas the pro-yellows and pro-murderers media, Thailand wouldn't have came to this stage. Without people like you dishonoring the majority of democratic vote, our country wouldn't have been pushed back to decades.

    So, don't give me all these rubbish in your so-called open letter to the red people, ignorant people might think they're buffaloes that don't understand a thing but sadly it is you people who indulge yourself in your materialist world blind by your prestige is killing this country.

    Supporter of the Red People
    Lalida

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  16. MONSOON WATER

    The gracious draught in the cleft shell,
    the cool reprieve, support, belief
    dipped from an old clay pot
    held out at noon
    with torn hands
    under the corrugate,
    that's pure celestial water—
    though every western winner knows
    the village well is far more controversial,
    the undressed orchid's
    purple parts and linen
    more dramatically confessed
    and soapy moss around the edges
    positively pubic.

    I wai.
    I drink the lot.

    Even the sweaty jewels of last night's
    frog-storm chorus
    cling to the moist hope
    that living here
    may be worth
    the heart-breaking thirst
    that's sure enough
    to follow!

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  17. nice and patronising

    I really like the bit about education witheld and "all ignorant people who have misused your political voices because you didn't understand democracy.

    I am afraid that in many cases, the people who say these things will be telling the truth. "

    what bullshit... to understand democracy needs primary school or less and ability to communicate

    democracy is so simple... the sophisticated people in Bangkok do not want to know... thats the only problem

    they do not want to admit that even the lowliest person can judge another person and recognise the environment they are living in... and thats all you need to be able to make up your mind who to vote for

    the sophisticated people think that politics is complicated because it is for them... they have all these complications about how to manage and increase their wealth and how to make sure that the mass of people around them dont get any share of it... and they are fat and lazy, they dont want to disturb the old successful patterns

    democracy is horrible, every 3 or 4 years you might get a new government and have to make sure all your legal and illegal businesses and schemes dont get found out and spoilt by some new broom

    ugh democracy... that means we need to consider the needs of everyone not just me... ugggh

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  18. Eloquently put K. Somtow. Thailand needs voices of reason, compromise and reconciliation like yours, like K. Veera's, like K. Abhisit's and even like K. Nattawut's - when he isn't inciting people to burn the country he is a great orator: his Earth to the Sky speech was truly moving.

    I look forward to viewing and circulating K. Teena's Thai version of your letter to my friends (on both sides of the political divide, who see each other as brainwashed or evil and find the idea of compromise too difficult a step to consider.

    BTW I think sena missed your point entirely.

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  19. Here you go buddy http://bit.ly/azHLqP

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  20. Dear Khun Somtow,

    You are eloquent, but a kind romantic. I disagree with the central theme of this article, just as I disagreed with your defense of CNN.

    I am not in the least grateful to the red-shirts. Of course I agree with improved opportunities for all in Thailand and a curb on the excessive and much abused privileges of the few, but this explosion of anger and, yes, greed, was nothing to do with that. The timing makes it quite clear it was only about the retrieval of Thaksin's assets after an extremely well reasoned judgment. The organisation and initial success over the army on May 10 makes it quite clear that at least some came prepared for extreme violence and it is perfectly obvious to any reasonably informed observer that the red shirt leaders were aware of this. I do not believe that the red-shirts ever wanted to bring equality to Thailand, they merely wanted to replace the elite with their own elite- an old story, both in Thailand and abroad. The bank accounts and selfish negotiation of their leaders made this quite clear.

    Shame on the Thai police for doing nothing to protect the vast majority of ordinary citizens of BKK who have suffered hugely as the reds were having their party at Rajprasong. Shame on the military leaders who seem to think posturing against cambodia and the next military contract is more important than ensuring safety for 60 million people. Shame on a government and cabinet who were all scared to sign military orders. And yes, shame on the red shirt leaders and the red shirts, for taking the money. Twas ever thus. Your voice of reason and compromise will not be heard, because too much self interest and ego always takes precedence here. Do you think that the likes of Thaksin, Jatuporn, Arisman, Chavalit and Chalerm are ever as sincere as you? No, they are merely seeking an opportunity. People like this see arguments of compromise, reconciliation and healing as weakness. I am not saying that you are weak, merely that you are incapable of understanding the type of mind that you are dealing with.

    Thailand has nothing to thank these politicians for, and nothing to thank the red shirts for. Thank the real poor, struggling out every day to set up a stall to earn 100 Baht a day throughout this mess, or working in a gas station for the same amount, worrying if the red shirts were coming to take the gas and torch the place. These ordinary people were never red shirts. They just struggled on. They were earning far less than the red shirts were paid, but they did not join them. They are the real heroes and heroines. They are the people that Thailand should find a way to support for a better future.

    But why should we give them any attention? they didn't burn down half of the centre of BKK, or hold the rest of us to ransom for a month. They are the quiet poor, the good people, the maids, the BMA workers, once again clearing up the mess after the people you thank go home with their loot. Respectfully, you are deeply, deeply wrong. No thanks are due to these people and their manipulators.

    Dr. Ross Taylor

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  21. It would be nice is people like tweetyourselfthai could elaborate on what part of the point I missed? Because if they don't elaborate it just seems like they don't understand MY point...which makes a lot of sense, because that is partly what I am talking about. Eh eh =)

    My effort was probably too theoretically complex; an effort to underline the theoretical assumptions underlying the main discourse. Nothing new, just the regurgitation of centuries of historical debates, tweetyourselfthai. I suggest reading about the philosophical foundations of democracy. Start from Rousseau and the Social Contract, it will help you understand what I mean.

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  22. In a nutshell, what Somtow wants to tell you is that you redshirt people are fugging idiots.

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  23. "Thailand has come to that mountain."

    Please all Thai families who live in huge wealth (much of which your children cannot explain, legally or otherwise) remember you have come to the mountain. To get over it, you, your attitude, your laws, and your government have to change.

    Meanwhile that old woman who has toiled fields for 40 years to feed rice to her children, and now still has nothing, has a question for you ? Is 40 years work so useless? I have heard that you drive a Porsche and you have not worked one year. Can you explain this to me?.

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  24. Dear Khun Somtow,
    I do think you have an important voice and important point of view. You are serving all comers looking to make sense of the tragic events.

    I think in addition to an open letter to the red shirts, Thailand would benefit from a letter penned by you to all the Thai people. Can you speak to the core of a Thai whole?

    And then maybe a separate letter to the West. Again, your background has afforded you a uniquely valuable point of view. I agree with much of what you have written, but think your interest in CNN makes the events in Thailand strange rather than profound.

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  25. In a nutshell, what Somtow wants to tell the red shirts is that they are fugging idiots.

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  26. Beautifully said, Khun Somtow. I fully agree with you.

    Guenter Bellach
    Phuket

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  27. Thank you for those fine words, Khun Somtow and Godspeed to you and Khun Teena on the Thai translation.

    Please process it in all haste as I feel every moment of delay leads to more hatred on both sides. I believe this article would be an important cure to those feelings of hate in these difficult times.

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  28. Actually Som Tow you're not "an evil bigoted cultural chauvinist pig".

    You're more like a amoral, dissembling, pseudo, incoherent intellectual.

    The only absolute truth that emerged from this is that the Thai elite, their cheerleaders in the PAD and a large slice of the Bangkok middle classes are very happy to massacre their fellow citizens. They massacre them because they see them as less than human.

    What you're doing here is attempting, through your faux mystical retarded ramblings, to give intellectual succour to a massacre.

    It's absolutely sickening.

    And in years to come, when you're on your death bed, a bitter old twisted man, as the vale of light slips from your eyes you'll be greeted by all those dead "kwai", headshot wounds gaping. I hope they remind of your mendacious twisted words for eternity.

    These ghosts are going to be around for a long long time. And I hope they haunt every single Thai who championed this massacre.

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  29. Mr Somtow basic assumption is flawed. The red shirts did not really aspire to an "instant rebirth" of the country; they called for something much more prosaic, namely a general election.

    Through his deployment of state violence, censorship, and poisonous rhetoric in order to resist that call, Mr Abhisit sadly managed to turn himself and his colleagues into Mr Somtow's metaphorical mountain, standing in the way of a more perfect democracy.

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  30. When you reference Italy as an example of progress - with its entrenched corruption, muzzled press and Berlusconi: a racist, misogynist, vain, arrogant media mogul turned politician turned football club owner (you see where this is going, yes?) - then it's clear just how long the road is to democracy.

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  31. I would say the people who responded negatively to this article are not missing the point for you can't misunderstand what you don't hear.

    As soon as someone tries to contribute something positive they are shut down by claims they don't know what they are talking about. Fine, offer a solution that is right for the whole country, not just the red shirts.

    The time for the rhetoric has passed. It's time to get to work, together, to solve the problem. We don't need to know the details, you Thais work it out for yourself. Stop blaming foreigners for the way you run this country and take personal responsibility for letting things get this far out of hand.

    My humble opinion is each side has just a few weeks to make some important things happen. If either side misses this golden opportunity for reconciliation, or worse, ignores it, then who will you blame?

    Good luck to all, I sincerely hope for Thailand's quick recovery, believe it or don't, up to you.

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  32. Noboby's right when everybody's wrong

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  33. I find the tragic of these events is, that the Reds came to bring their grievings to the attention of the Bangkok people, but in fact they were only used by corrupt politicians and businessmen for their aim. Very sad indeed.
    During 6 years Taksin never managed (or wanted to) any progress in the field of education going, now at least thanks to Abhisith it is easier to attend 12 years of schooling. Next to be fixed is the old and backwards looking curriculum, that is taught in schools.

    Sam M.

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  34. What massacre? If there had been any intention of a massacre it would have happened weeks ago and there would have been many hundreds killed.For the most part, those killed were active combatants and those caught in the crossfire. The whole situation is tragic but characterizing it as a massacre is about as constructive as painting Hitler moustaches on pictures of Abhisit.

    Perhaps a few more words trying to promote understanding rather than conflict, such as Somtow's, are what is needed now.

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  35. "It will be said that you destroyed the country's international image and obstructed its economic recovery. Worst of all, you will be told that you are all ignorant people who have misused your political voices because you didn't understand democracy.

    I am afraid that in many cases, the people who say these things will be telling the truth."

    Ha aha haahahahah.

    If this is a genuine Thai hiso/middle class attempt at reconciliation then god help Thailand.

    With that one single paragraph Somtow has bathed his soft, unworked hands in the blood of the people.

    He has denied the Redshirts their humanity and their cries of anguish.

    Hell, he barely refers at all to the deaths of the Reds.

    Except where it makes Somtow look heroic in his pathetic, insincere attempts at reconciliation.

    And what destroys Thailand's image are the pictures, sent around the world, of Royal Thai Army sniper squads shooting unarmed civilians directly in the head.

    The more I delve into Som Tow's words the more infected his sensibilities appear.

    No, don't take any lessons on morality, ethics or accountability from this twisted elite Thai man, adorned with his wealth, his privilege, sitting on high, making moral judgements on the Western media as he smugly gorges on the blood of his fellow Thais.

    If this is typical of Thailand your country has no hope at all for renewal, reconciliation or progress.

    You will be doomed to relive this horror, over and over and over and over again.

    1973 1976 1992 2004 2010.

    Again and again.

    And you will never learn.

    And you will always have your ready made excuses. Terrorists. Foreigners. Anti-royalists. Thaksinite (replace with communist in 1970s)

    And that's why it never ever changes.

    You have the country you deserve - an unending cycle of massacre.

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  36. Without exception the respondents who express outrage at Kuhn Somtow's remarks are clearly incapable of holding two mutually exclusive thoughts in mind at once.

    It seems obvious to me that there is no way to understand the human condition without developing a feeling for the ironies, ambiguities, and paradoxes of the present. History shows that rigidity leads inevitably to further unrest, to wider and wider conflicts, and on and on to war.

    Are burnt-out cities really going to be our only hope?

    Must we all scrabble our way out of the ashes as the Germans have had to do, or the Japanese? Is that the only way we can bring about what those truly admirable nations have achieved in our time?

    Was nothing learned at all from 9/11 beside the War on Terror and Homeland Security? Is that all we want?

    Christopher Woodman

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  37. What a condescending and patronizing letter. I am reading this from abroad and I don't know how famous or infamous Mr. Somtow is but this letter comes across as very vain and self serving. He obviously is writing this for everyone else but the red shirts he is addressing in the letter. If they are as uneducated as everyone makes them out to be, including Mr. Somtow, then the majority of them are unable to read this letter. What value does it really have other than to pump up Mr Somtow's media image. If he truly intended to reach out to the red shirts in a conciliatory way, he would have published and distributed it in Thai. Instead, someone is asking him for permission to translate and distribute it. What a farce. Shame on you Mr. Somtow. It is perhaps this elitist attitude that has brought Thailand to this mountain.

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  38. Khun Somtow, thank you for writing the most touching, sincere, thoughtful and considered piece I've read thus far, regarding the current political situation here in Thailand.

    Your English is perfect and this is beautifully written, but, I would like to question whether you meant to use the word "successors" or rather "predecessors", in this sentence?:

    "...a fuller democracy is closer today than it has been at any time during the Thaksin administration and all its successors."

    ?

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  39. This is all fantastic.........but who cares what we all think, given this fantastic way of airing all our views? It's not up to anyone here to express opinions, Thai or farang, it's up to the Thai people. The only fact is, the country MUST move on in whatever way, and quickly. There are millions of Thai people waiting to get on with their daily lives to keep themselves off the breadline and that will be the overriding factor. Everything else will sort itself out in time.

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  40. Som Tow's credibility as an artist is absolutely zero. He actually censored his own works, kowtowing to the 2006 military junta in Thailand.

    "When Nigerian Nobel Prize laureate Wole Soyinka withdrew as keynote speaker at the 2006 S.E.A. Write Awards Ceremony in protest against the ousting of the elected government of Thaksin Shinawatra, Somtow, a critic of Thaksin, replaced Soyinka as keynote speaker. In his speech, Somtow berated Soyinka for boycotting the awards and claimed that in 50 years, he had never felt more free. Soon afterward, Somtow's opera Ayodhya was censored by state officials under the junta, who claimed that the on-stage death of the demon-king, Thotsakan, would constitute a "bad omen" for the military junta. Somtow agreed to modify the scene and was forced to sign a document giving officials the right to "immediately shut down the opera in mid-performance if, in their sole opinion, a breach of 'tradition' occurs.""

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  41. What a grand gesture from a magnanimous executioner! What an Oscar-winning performance!! You're truly deserved a standing ovation.

    This sort of "smacking their heads and pat their backs" attitude is so typical of the Thai elite that the poor know only too well in their daily lives. I don't think they can be fooled easily again. Not after what have happened to them.

    You have written so many fine words in your letter, I grant you that. But I think you address to a wrong person. Such words like these:

    "The question is not whether the war will be won, but how it will be won: through mayhem and bloodshed, or through slow, painful discussion and compromise — through evolution — the civilized way."

    They should address to Aphisit and those whom he represents.

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  42. @anonymous @2.34am

    Hhahahah.

    Mr Sontow

    You should be really ashamed of yourself for agreeing to that.

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  43. Very well written letter. To the denouncers, the author agrees that some level of reform is necessary, but questions whether the leaders of the Red Shirts were the ones to bring that reform.

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  44. Dear Somtow, I want to congratulate you for this letter. It offers hope in this terrible situation and I appreciate its realistic approach, given the hatred on the both sides and the difficult compromises that need to be made. Above all the letter is useful because it provides a context within which those who are more yellow in their affiliations may be willing to enter some kind of reconciliation and, in my view (correct me if I am wrong) its effectiveness derives precisely from the fact that it is intended for such an audience. (Anonymous 1.35 am has thus totally missed the point.) The power of your letter is that it provides a pragmatic mode via which those who find themselves against the red shirts can start to appreciate the deep problems in Thai society without feeling that they are betraying their loyalties. I sincerely hope that others will follow your lead and develop this type of approach further. Despite your detractors, surely this letter is infinitely better than merely hurling insults at each other all the time in the destructive, polarised way that has marked the turmoil of the last 4 years?

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  45. Dear Khun Somtow, Well, to read these comments helps us to know how much anger there is out there. I firmly believe that an attitude of forgiveness and encouragement to all voices is the way forward for this country. It will give the Thai people the space to start to solve some of the problems here without constantly being attacked. All hate gets us is a burned city and a country divided.

    Folks, start to look ahead and do suggest some solutions please! This country needs calm voices of reason not hate spewing armchair anarchists, that get us nowhere.
    Regards,
    Peter Jenkinson

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  46. I pay tax in full, do my job and respect differnt ideas. But I cant withstand all the motivation and activity that all red shirt did for this country. Keep the Law and Citizen right ,we pay tax and those poeple not only dont but rob our future.

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  47. The letter is heart-touching. But I am not sure if it touches the hearts of Red Shirts because I am sure they don't have hearts. The mission of Thakshin Shinawatra is very clear "When I am in Power everything is democratic. When I am not in power Thailand is under dictatorship and there is no democracy." The riot on 19th was pre-planned and arsons were okayed by Thakshin. If you remember about few months ago, Red Shirts had asked for Thakshin's permission to VISIT some media and Thakshin had agreed. You see, they tourched Channel 3. Red Shirts used Central World and nearby buildings for more than 1 month and when they were evicted, they burned them down. They are heartless, thankless and let me say Red Shirts are THAILESS. Now the problem is , the issue will be politicized by every politician. They will so much politicize that the main issue and core problem will be forgotten. The main step Thailand MUST take now is 1. Immediate Renovation and Compensation 2. Immediate steps to PREVENT such acts of terrorism. They may compensate but wheteher they will be able prevent such acts again is anybody's guess because it is very clear that THAI GOVERNMENT LED BY ABHISIT LEARNED NOTHING FROM LAST YEAR'S SONGKRAN RIOT. AND ALLOWED THE SAME FACES TO CAUSE SUCH A HUGE PROBLEM. ONE THING IS VERY CLEAR, IF PM ABHISIT HAD LEARNED SOMETHING FROM LAST YEAR SONGKRAN'S RIOT , THEN THIS SITUATION WOULDN'T HAVE COME. Finally, THAILAND now lacks RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT, SENSIBLE OPPOSITION and THOUGHTFUL CITIZENS.

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  48. Sure, sure - claptrap! I'm fairly certain that all those wonderful folks who formerly held jobs at Central World (5,000?, 6,000? people) are also sympathetic to the Red Shirts and will vocalize their appreciation each time the rent comes due or baby needs food.

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  49. sena, and a few others,
    The point wasn't about ignorance or colonialism. Colonialism has nothing to do with the present situation outside of the unperfected state of a government style relatively new to the country.
    Ignorance isn’t a matter of whether or not people can make a vote based upon what’s best for their selves, but rather if after voting, that government they have perceived as good can supply them with the assistance and education necessary to elevate their lifestyles while at the same time protecting the needs and rights of others.
    Despite the apparent simplicity of picking great leaders based upon good or bad, democracy isn’t that simple. It’s easier to predict whether or not your day will go as planned than it is to choose a leader for the long term.
    Democracy has elected both Abraham Lincoln, and Adolf Hitler. Ideology has produced both Gandhi and Saloth Sar (Pol Pot). All had appeal to a certain element of the masses, but the results of their power and influence were drastically different. I believe Khun Somtow does not want to see the children of Red’s having to apologize to Thailand and the world community for having chosen wrongly. As Myanmar has very well demonstrated, it’s not difficult to do.
    In spite of what some might believe, there is no “Northern Thailand” without Bangkok. That would be called instead, “China’s little puppy” or Lao, or Myanmar. Take your pick. There are leaders who can take you to any of those places.
    At the same time, there’s no Bangkok without northern Thailand, because without the real heart of Thailand, all the glass and steel and concrete in the world can’t recreate what the rest of the world has come to recognize, care about, and respect. So it seems the two need one another.
    It’s just my opinion, but here in the middle of several versions of global financial crisis, it doesn’t seem like the time to go out of your way (if you’re Thai) to destroy the tools with which Thailand can rise up again. That means, don’t burn down your own Country, aka, your own house. No matter what happens, this country needs funds to implement major change, and you can’t gain them by destroying the means by which you gain them.
    You also can’t gain support by burning out the employment locations where many of your own children have gone in order to send extra money to parents and grandparents still on family farms. It’s not just the enemies of the owner of a Fairy Plaza you hurt, but your own sons, daughters, and parents.
    Khun Somtow seems to have also suggested that wise leaders will likely produce the inroads with this administration that assure, regardless of the outcome of future elections, a fair and real voice in government. Far from patting Reds on the head like little children, I believe he’s fully stated that he agrees with their grievances, and actually supports their cause. From what I’ve read, it’s only the methods and means of conveying their message that disturbs him, and assuming this is true, I agree.
    Caution is not a bad thing. Neither is patience. Education is not only a matter of what’s good for the table, but also of what’s good for the Province, and Nation. If I am to understand Khun Somtow correctly, the door has been kicked open. Now it’s a matter of choosing who is going to step through.

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  50. Dear Khun Somtow,

    I read your open letter with great interest since it expresses well what I think. While it makes hope, it might be honest to mention that it will need many, many years to get a step forward in this process.

    Allow me to explain from my personal perspective. Since 2002, I am a lecturer in international programs at Thai universities. I learned a lot about the Thai education system, and I am sure not alone when I state that the main task of this Thai education system is to produce devoted followers to a top-down society system.

    You write "I urge you to go further. Keep thinking. But think for yourselves. Don't think what you're told to think. Speak what you think, not what you are told to speak. And act with your minds as well as your hearts, and in the interests of all, even those whom you disagree with."

    This is a description of critical thinking. Critical thinking is the opposite of believing as it is taught at Thai schools and universities. Starting in schools, students learn to follow national propaganda. That it furthers at Thai universities is only natural since the vast majority of lecturers are a produce of the same Thai schools and universities.

    Adhering to propaganda is tempting for many since it's so easy. Propaganda is like a detergent, pre-packed for easy consumption, to borrow from Chang Noi. One of the worst dictators the world has ever seen once explained you only need to make a lie big enough and to repeat it often enough, and people will believe it.

    This country can neither wait until the education system starts to deliver something of value beyond fancy degrees, nor can it take the risk of more such desperate actions.

    May be I'm naive, but I guess there is a way either side could agree with: Declare corruption the national enemy number one, and the waste of public resources the enemy number two.

    Nothing would give more opportunity to channel energy and awakening self-consciousness towards something useful for the Thai society, while concurrently cleaning up all areas, structures and procedures.

    As I said, I may be naive, but for a foreigner who loves to live and work here, it's a beautiful dream.

    Uli

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  51. 1. How can we see this in Thai? As a professional translator myself, I'm only too aware that what comes out in English often is very different from the Thai.
    2. How is the letter being disseminated among the Redshirts? I mean the actual villagers and farmers?
    3. Can we stop the moral posturing and get down to work with and among the people to find a constructive way to get accross the "mountain"--or, a more constructive way to do battle?

    --Stephen, sae57@yahoo.com
    https://sites.google.com/site/accesstoacademicpapers/

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  52. A moving an magnanimous piece written by someone who doesn't care much for Thaksin but has shown some empathy towards the red shirt cause, in other words someone who is trying to understand the other side's point of view and see the positive. This should be essential reading for a Red Shirt supporters, I think he's quite generous.

    Regrettably we get blinkered people such as comment person Lalida (well known in the UDD Facebook group for her foul mouth and bigoted one-sided viewpoint), who simply don't wish to see any other position than the propaganda they are constantly fed.

    If this country is to move forward we need alot more of this kind of comment and alot less of the 'Lalidas of the world'.

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  53. Dear K. Somtow,
    A lot of thoughts had been put in your write-up and I salute you. I am a Singaporean, staying in Thailand for 10 years. I have first hand experiences during the early years 60 of Singapore evolving into what it is today. Yes declare Corruption and waste of public resources as enemy number one. Do not let those sour grapes comments gets to you. It is people like you, K. Veera,
    K. Abhisit and many like mind K. Thai that will move forwardthis country.


    Christo

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  54. FULFILLING INDEPENDENCE

    In a small organization with few people;

    Let there be ten or a hundred times
    More tools than they can use.
    Let the people value their lives
    And yet not move far away.
    Even though there are boats and carriages,
    There is no occasion to use them.
    Even though there are armor and weapons,
    There is no occasion to display them.

    Let people again knot cords and use them.
    Their food will be pleasing.
    Their clothes will be fine.
    Their homes will be secure.
    Their customs will be joyful.

    Nearby organization may watch each other
    Their crowing and barking may be heard.
    Yet the people may grow old and die
    Without coming or going between them.

    In this passage, Lau-Tzu describes his view of ideal independent social organizations – whether families, business, states, or nation. The ideal organization creates an atmosphere that complements and enhances the development of every member by providing, within the organization, the tools of personal growth: health, education, and recreation. Because the people value the quality of their lives, they are encouraged to observe and monitor their own progress – Lau Tzu call this “knotting cords” – they develop a strong sense of personal power and independence. They find joy and completion in the basic of life: food, clothing, shelter, and culture. When they are independent and satisfied, they will not stray from their work, from their relationships, or from their loyalties.

    The idea of knotting cords comes from ancient Chinese system of mathematics and memory storage. The knotted ropes might be thought of as a crude circuit board with the knots acting as switches. The abacus was developed from this system.

    From: The Tao of Power, translated by R.L. Wing

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  55. I was almost convinced. The critics have spun your plausible, and I hope, well-intentioned epistle into the ground. I quote you, "Keep thinking. But think for yourselves. Don't think what you're told to think. Speak what you think, not what you are told to speak." You preach at them from higher ground? Although my sympathies lie more with the disadvantaged 'phrai' of this country, most of my friends are from the middle class. Their thinking skills are no more developed and they are manipulated by their employers, senior friends, family and so on.

    To redeem yourself, write a corresponding letter to the self-righteous middle and upper classes to which I assume you belong. Expose what you know of the prevailing corruption that the Red Shirts tried to expose and stand against. A Deputy Prime Minister without a seat. The Newin faction who were kept isolated in a hotel and deprived of their mobile phones before being shepherded in to vote Abhisit into power. The way that the upper classes children are able to avoid conscription, get their University degrees without merit, and so on. How much money is changing hands illegally and your Elite found one scapegoat: Thaksin. Why? Because he was more corrupt than the others? No, because he was aware of the plight of the disadvantage masses and did something about it, whatever his motivation. The 'phrai' are not so stupid - they know what is going on.

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  56. Yes. Don't let the anonymous negative comments land. They're faceless insults.

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  57. ONENESS IN LEADERSHIP

    From old, these may have harmony with the One:

    Heaven in harmony with the One becomes clear.
    Earth in harmony with the One becomes stable.
    Mind in harmony with the One becomes inspired.
    Valleys in harmony with the One become full.
    All Things in harmony with the One become creative.
    Leaders in harmony with the One become incorruptible in the world.

    These were attained through Oneness.

    Heaven without clarity would probably crack.
    Earth without stability would probably quake.
    Mind without inspiration would probably sleep.
    Valleys without fullness would probably dry up.
    All Things without creativity would probably die off.
    Leaders without incorruptible ways would probably stumble and fall.

    Indeed, the high placed stem from the humble;
    The elevated are based upon the lowly.
    This is why leaders call themselves
    Alone, lonely, and unfavored.
    Is this not because they stem from the humble and common?
    Is it not?

    Therefore, attain honor without being honored.
    Do not desire to shine like jade; wear ornaments as if they were stone.



    The state of Oneness in this passage is the stage where there is a cohesive harmony between the one and the many. This is a principal Taoist thought exercise; the ability to sense the interdependence and rhythmic interactions between all matter and energy in the universe. Whether that matter and energy are coalesced into a solar system or a family, into spawning salmon or decaying plutonium – if they are existing simultaneously, they are interdependent. It is in this connection between universal phenomena that the truth of existence can be known.
    On the plateau of leadership, this passage implies that leaders must create in themselves a sense of identification with their subject, who in turn must sense this. Evolved Leaders realize that their position rests on the foundation of those below them. They preserve their position and remain connected to those below through simplicity. They do not desire the trappings of honor and prestige because such things can only separate and block their sense of Oneness with the people Evolved Leaders are incorruptible because they are in complete identification with those whom they serve and believe the needs of the people to be their own.


    From: The Tao of Power, translated by R.L. Wing

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  58. Isn't this what Kuhn Somtow had in mind? Isn't this what we should all support?

    "The trick of telling a big lie successfully is to attach it to a big truth. The Big Lie of the leaders and of ex-prime minister Thaksin was that this fight was about democracy and income inequality. Not once did the red shirts offer any solutions or suggestions as to how they would address these issues.

    "The opposition party in parliament which openly supports the red shirts, meanwhile boycotted parliamentary activities in order to allow the continuation of the street protests, thus crucially and cynically giving up the chances of a democratic and parliamentary solution to the conflict.

    "Having said that, by attaching a Big Truth to the lie, they were able to build on a critical base of moral support.

    That Big Truth is that in Thailand there remains poverty and there remains income inequality. Is it worse than other developing economies? I doubt it, but nevertheless it is a problem."

    * * * * * *

    "I will not give ourselves high marks in terms of implementation, but I would give our government the highest marks for intent. And that intent has been to ensure that we give a negotiated outcome that causes the least damage to society the chance it deserves, even at the expense of strictly exercising the right to uphold the rule of law."

    Excerpts from a speech by Korn Chatikavanij, the Thai Finance Minister, at the 16th Nikkei International Conference on "The Future of Asia", Tokyo, 21/05/2010

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  59. Reconciliation. Hope. Forgiveness. Frustration. Compromise.

    What I do not hear about is universal, personal accountability for one's actions. From the poorest, most disadvantaged farmer to the wealthiest, lying criminal of the lot -- everyone needs to be held accountable for their part.

    That is the rule of law, and that is what keeps a collective operable. The law is all about pointing fingers. It is time to stop the 'it doesn't matter' disease in its tracks, here and now. It most certainly does matter.

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  60. Henry-Germany

    I have been living in Thailand for the last 26 years.

    I am really confused ! Everyone is talking about loosing and winning the war !
    It seems to me " democracy " is missunderstood !

    Nobody looses and nobody wins but the country is moving forward and its people getting closer to each other that is democracy in my opinion!

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  61. I am sitting a hotel room, recovering from the shock and horror of the last few days, unable to return to my home. Thank you for your beautiful letter. I'll put in in a part of my brain, my heart, that needs to make sense of the human condition.

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  62. Dear Ulrich Werner,

    re: "Critical thinking is the opposite of believing as it is taught at Thai schools and universities. Starting in schools, students learn to follow national propaganda. That it furthers at Thai universities is only natural since the vast majority of lecturers are a produce of the same Thai schools and universities."

    Such a shame you constructed your example so narrowly; I am not sure why? Anyhow, the use of propaganda has been formally shaping the minds of people throughout Europe and America since it proved so effective in mobilizing the troops for WWI.

    Are critical-thinking skills worse in Thailand than in America? Considering the educational opportunities available to the two populations, the opposite would surely prevail.

    That said, this is not to detract from your point that propaganda is the weapon used against the people by the power-structures running the show. We are all bombarded with it; we are all susceptible to it; we all suffer from it to varying degrees.

    Our defence is to first learn what propaganda is and how it is used; then we must actively look for it, recognize it, and then expose it for all to see.

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  63. Khun Somtow, Sawasdee Khrup, I enjoyed "Jasmine Nights" very much, thanks, and am glad to have the chance to hear your political thoughts.

    May the flowers of idealism have the grace of living as long as possible until, inevitably, the jackboots of history trample them.

    Earth to Khun C. Woodman: thank you for "Monsoon Water:" two poets over sixty years of age living in Chiang Mai should definitely have coffee. You can reach me on ThaiVisa through my "doppelganger," Orang37.

    Since Khun Christopher has "set a precedent" here for including poetry in the comments, I dare include the following :

    a sonnet for Bangkok, April 26, 2010

    ripe fruit dangles, sweet, ready to fall off,
    look: ladders: here, leaning against trees,
    and, there: empty baskets nested, ready;
    why are no people busy picking the fruit ?

    the sun is not high yet, no storm looming
    over distant blue mountain outlines seen
    so clearly through sweet-clean musky air;
    why do we hear only bird-calls, and river's

    muted rush; where is childrens' laughter ?
    how has the usual patter of joke and story
    been swallowed-up by something absent
    we can't put a finger on, feel in the heart ?

    i am listening for your ghost, love: tell me
    why people kill each other and forget fruit

    regards, Orang37

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  64. Very good and on the money

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  65. nice letter, thanks

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  66. An aspect of all this that is rarely observed is the very high level of destructive (and often self-destructive) anger that the emphasis on calm and tranquility in Thai culture can build up in the Thai psyche. Thai women can better express this as they are permitted to let off steam at home, to put it mildly, whereas Thai men just go off anywhere indiscriminately like M79s!

    This is a huge generalization, of course, and I do apologize to my many Thai friends, male and female, who have worked their way through all this, and who are as disturbed as anybody by the insanity they have seen take over their country.

    Yes, the women at the rally allowed themselves to be used as human shields, and their children, but those women were also really listening — and it was those women who were not prepared to give up. But those women weren't out on the streets, at least I very rarely observed one. It was the men who were on the rampage, it was the men who were unleashing the mayhem.

    And lots and lots of boys, of course -- I saw somewhere an estimate that as many as 30% of the arsonists and vandals were Thai teenagers who were just along for the ride.

    ~

    And am I saying this with a sense of superiority? Am I looking down on Thai culture?

    Oh just give me the chance and I'll flay my own culture alive!

    On the other hand, flaying any culture alive is no solution to anything -- building on human strengths is the only way to redeem human activity, and the strengths of Thai culture are legion. When it works it’s as good as it gets – when it flies off the handle there’s nothing between it and mayhem!

    I think that's what Kuhn Somtow is saying too -- this terrible Red Shirt aberration can be built upon if we're all willing to move on and try. The anger can become energy, the slogans policies, the dream a plan for a workable, more inclusive, sustainable and creative future.

    Christopher Woodman

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  67. Dear K. Somtow,

    A senior of mine recommended this article to me, and I found it to be very encouraging. I have been torn apart between the sentiments of my friends and family members, who are enraged at the violence of the protesters, and what I want to believe - that every one of us including the protesters - is human. One and the same.

    Your letter has given me some optimism, and I do hope that after all this painful struggle and loses, our country can rise from these ashes, like a phoenix - a fairer, better country.

    May I ask for your permission to publish this article - including the Thai translation - in a blog I'm going to make with my friends? Also, I would like to ask for your permission to translate this article into German as well. We would like to make articles that are beneficial to the recovery as accessible in as many languages as possible.

    Yours sincerely,

    N. Preechathaveekid

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  68. Dear N Preecathaveekid,

    Nice of you to admit that the protesters are human.

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  69. To Khun Somtow, eloquent writing, but most Thais won’t want to follow it, even those folks who are on the government’s side. Sadly, the majority of Thais, in general, want the least complicated scenario (anything that doesn’t make us laugh just bores us). I support PM Abhisit, but his speaking style is just too complicated and long-winded for the ordinary Thai, of any political color (red, yellow, multi-colored, green, blue). I don’t like any of these speakers, but just want to make an observation: that we Thais love listening to short, crisps messages like those of the late, ex-PM Samak, the PAD leaders, UDD leaders, and MPs like Chalerm (this is because of our brain conditioning caused by our inadequate Thai teachers, who worry more about students’ dress code than teaching). Anyway, communication is the key. It’s not what you say, but how you say it that gets our attention. Very sadly, eloquence does not get the majority of Thais’ attention. Just look at the parliamentary debates, prime-time slots go to the likes of Chalerm and Jatuporn (MP & UDD leader).

    To Dr. Ross Taylor (May 21, 2010 9:44 PM), I agree with you completely.

    To Anonymous (May 21, 2010 11:25 PM ), what good is a next general election if the outcome is a PM called Chalerm, whose own son killed a policeman? But I do agree with you about the “old and backward curriculum taught in Thai schools.” It seems the lowest-scored university students end up being teachers here. Thailand would do well to look at Vietnam where teachers are respected more and paid higher than some career professionals.

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  70. I am not Thai but I have spent many years in Thailand living in the countryside. On balance my sympathy lies with the rights and aspirations of rural folk who over centuries have been shockingly exploited by the government and the elite. The modern world should not stand by and meekly watch such injustice. We all should actively support the red shirts.

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  71. I'm truly sorry to see the patronising attitude in this missive. I think it is in itself an obstacle to change.

    perhaps if these people good see others in their country as their equals then this sort of "pat on the head" would help to perpetuate this lop-sided situation.

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  72. Here are my two cents. It is not who is right or wrong but, WHAT is right or wrong. Then accountability, does not happen here. Buy your way out or "mai pen rai". What a lesson for the children of Thailand. They can't fail and even then they cheat.

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  73. this is very good letter, hope it got translated in Thai so that all of us over the country can understand and think before we act especially under the circumstance.
    Regards,

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  74. It would be good if the red shirt can understand what you want to communicate. But I think it would be hopeless as their thinking and mind are still controlled by the red leaders (or called terrorists).

    Thailand will be better without the man named Thaksin.

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  75. [Cont ...]

    Look at the economy and ask yourself how many of us, from all walks of life, benefit from keeping the poor in their place. Who is going to cast that stone? We have no empathy towards the Red Shirts - yet I ask you who wouldn't be enraged that the one person who looked out for them was ousted in a coup by the very Thais who bleed them dry [Let's not blame the poor that Mr. Thaksin is a self-serving criminal].

    Before labeling these people as 'terrorists', let's compare Greece's recent economic woes, and the widespread civil unrest. This situation has erupted into fatal violence and rioting upon the mere suggestion of austerity measures where, say, civil servants may face a 5% pay decrease. Thailand's disenfranchised poor should be so lucky. They have faced not months, not years, but generations of being the neglected underclass. Would anyone disagree?

    I hasten, Wednesday's reign of arson and looting was inexcusable, unconscionable. Notwithstanding that, I read remarks on social networks like, "Why did they choose Central World?", delivered without and ounce of irony, or insight obviously. In the days leading up to the breakout arson, I read a posting that said that Thaksin had 'spoiled' the poor. There were so many others over this period that outright denigrated the underprivileged that were so venomous, selfish and disgusting, I won't even dignify them by repeating them. Precisely what are Thai values?

    If Government wishes to rid itself of protesters, who are far less terrorists than people fighting for basic human rights and a glimmer of dignity, our urban 'elite' must wake up to the fact that blocking highways isn't the solution to stem the flow - ever. Are memories so short as to forget the PAD 'Yellow Shirt' blockade of Bangkok Airport, and holding the country to ransom? Obviously, they felt their grievances were equally valid, and necessitated such extreme measures. More valid than those of the poor?

    Thailand's coalition have had ample time to establish a rapport, prove that they have a multitude of infrastructure & social initiatives in place [Thaksin's 'generosity' and the coup would have been a distant memory had that been the case]. Nothing doing. The disenfranchised 'Reds' lost their benefactor - and not a soul in politics saw fit to step in and fill the void. THAT is why they are furious and massing here. Respectfully, I challenge anyone here to provide evidence of such initiatives in any response to my comments. I believe you will come up empty.

    Please appreciate that while this posting is as frank as it is uninvited, it is equally damning of ALL parties in this dispute, indeed of society itself and abhorrent values that have deposited us all here today. I pray the words serve not to anger, instead that they open all our eyes to God's will and the shattering consequences of civil war before we commit our nation to a mistake that generations will not repair.

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  76. There are two varieties of human traffic compelled to travel to Bangkok. Firstly, there is a demographic that comprises the vast majority of Thailand's population, yet by 'decree' they remain a voiceless minority whose inadequate education and social standing - by design - ensures that they are exploited by Thailand's ...relatively small, affluent population in the capital.

    The privileged are the only ones wearing that famous Thai smile. And why wouldn't they be pleased - they boast a limitless supply of exploitable labor, demonstrably denied status, social benefits and civil rights afforded those in any civilized country.

    The poor have no more chance of casting off this birthright than shedding their sunburned black skin - a complexion considered abhorrent by those snow-white ponces in the city. It is the indelible mark of the teen prostitute and manual laborer, indentured masses we toss a contemptuous pittance. Have Thai values gradually mutated, somehow manifesting themselves into our crying national shame?

    Do you think families living below the poverty line feel any better than you or I about sending our young daughters away to satisfy the appetite of domestic and foreign sex tourists? The fact that Bangkok has forever been the world's #1 sex tourism destination has seemingly failed to shock or embarrass generations of self-respecting Thais - many surreptitiously profiting on the back of others' misery.

    Hands up, who wants to be a prostitute! Fancy sewing collars on shirts for a few bucks a day? Do the poor not have some right to resent lining the pockets of Thailand's tourism industry, from government departments and commerce, down to the parasitic pimp and corrupt police force. Is this collective state of denial acceptable, with trafficking and exploitation alive and thriving at every turn in Thailand? [Cont ...]

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  77. A Stranger Mourning

    I saw a tear on the face of the Buddha,
    And looked into its deep moisture
    As if into a looking glass,
    And the river was burning
    Sparked by the struggle of gauntlet on gauntlet
    Steel on steel
    And many fingers pointed, curled
    Grasping and cruel,
    Here and him and there and her.

    The children lined up weeping on both shores,
    But none could answer the pain in their question.
    There is no breeze to lift any flag
    In such horrible weather,
    In an air so humid with misery,
    Muffling the sacred bells.

    Laughter is silenced like a forgotten chant.

    Seeing such sadness
    In a country made of smiles—
    I swear I can still see them hovering in the sky!

    My heart is an orphan.

    My spirit is lost like a whisper in thunder.

    My only hope is knowing that healing comes.

    I have not known such beauty
    Anywhere else on earth,
    And that is where it hurts the most.

    The tear on the Buddha came
    From my eyes as I prayed.

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  78. As a farang who has been in Thailand since 1958 and holds Thai nationality in my opinion there's too much roke gamaphan here. Relatives marrying relatives for generations in the same family and causing genetic disorders. Look at the PM's family intermarried for generations. These genetic disorders can only be removed from a family by ceasing to have children.

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  79. Just a little bit more on my previous observation that people at Rajaprasong were "really listening."

    This is the very end of yesterday's Bangkok Post Editorial (22/05/2010):

    "We must put an end to money politics and feuding politicians who exploit well-meaning rural villagers to fight their proxy wars. Better education, welfare and a vibrant strong economy which benefits all are a means to this end. Sadly, not all rural bosses see the wisdom of this. They fear an erosion of their support base and see a threat to the whole corrupt patronage system. Theirs is a selfish attitude designed to perpetuate the status quo. Real grassroots democracy will be a dream until villagers are freed from these feudal shackles and allowed genuine freedom of choice."

    But of course the so-called "patronage system" has not always been corrupt — indeed it is always the heart of any social system that sees cultures move from the nomadic/tribal stages toward the modern state. It only becomes "corrupt" in the transition from one stage to the other, and really dangerously corrupt when it remains as a cynical instrument of control -- as it does in so much of rural Thailand today, and elsewhere.

    With that qualification in mind, I would say most parents in 'rural' Thailand (i.e. the majority of Thai families) don't see the benefit of "freedom of choice" either, or indeed anything that "benefits all." Even more detrimental to the development of Thai society, most State School teachers don't enourage "freedom of choice" either. Primary school children at State Schools are taught to be clean, to salute and to listen, and those priorities hardly change at the university level — at least they didn't in the very large State University where I taught for many years. Both State Krus and Acharns look down on their students, rank them according to their social status as much as their performance, and allow very little freedom of choice, or encourage anyone to challenge the system at all.

    Wonderful places, Thai schools, the richest teaching experiences of my life — but still stuck in an essentially feudal mode of existence.

    Yes, in my opinion the Rajaprasong crowd really did listen, and they obviously bonded, and then listened some more — and the speakers were brilliant, indeed so brilliant they got entirely carried away by their words. And as the IDEAS were noble ones, and moral, and the speakers spoke from the heart, everybody got utterly and disastrously carried away.

    Another crusade was launched, and Bangkok burned.

    That's just an element of it, of course, not the whole story by any means. Indeed, I've left out the whole dirty part, but that's much easier to deal with, it's so hackneyed, so obvious, and so easily fixed. The part I'm talking about is the secret matter of the heart, and it's there where there's always hope.

    So what were those ideas that were so inspiring, and how could they be used to burn away the injustices and abuses of the Thai system without burning down the whole house?

    I'd say Kuhn Veera could be key to finding that out, and if I were running the country I'd get him on board as soon as I possibly could. I'd want Korkaew beside me too, very much, and even Jatuporn and Nattawut if they were willing to retune their strings, lower their volume, and put all their exceptional energy, intelligence and creativity into realizing the new Thai world they envision.

    (That dream has nothing to do with the legal process against the Red Shirt leaders, of course, which must proceed. But many great political figures have used exile and/or periods of inaction to prepare themselves for their real contribution to society later on...)

    Many.

    And that's what I think Kuhn Somtow means too when he encourages the government to empower the Red Shirt leaders, not just revile them.

    Christopher Woodman
    Chiang Mai

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  80. Dear Khun Somtow,

    An interesting letter but what are the practical actionable steps. The discussion about democracy is avoidance because voting is not democracy. The foundation may be the universal rule of law - which in Thailand is sorely lacking. Democracy in Thailand seems to mean who has the right to direct and manipulate government budgets for their own benefit.

    The real actionable change is not better education, etc. It is addressing the economic rights of the farmers. In Thailand, the law gives the right to exclusive groups to profit from agriculture. For example, the law gives the exclusive club known as the Thai Rice Exporters Association the right to export rice from Thailand - http://www.thairiceexporters.or.th/default.htm.

    This privileged group takes 3,500 baht per tonne and has minimal expenses - so they get to drive Mercedes and farmers struggle to live. Lets eliminate this sort of distorting mechanism that creates a small wealthy group in Bangkok and leaves the farmer in debt and poor. Fair Trade for Farmers in all crops would go a long way to solving their problems. An esoteric and intellectual discussion about democracy seems to be a mechanism for avoiding actions that would upset the economic status qu! And emotional appeals to Thais is touching but again does not produce real measurable change and benefit for the hard working poor of Thailand.

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  81. I currently live in Bangkok but am making preparations to leave, I do not believe that Thailand will become a democracy anytime in the near future as the electorate is far too immature,uneducated and irresponsible to let it happen.
    Democracy means abiding by the rule of law and that does not mean giving the policeman a bribe, it means taking your punishment.
    Democracy means using your head and your mouth to communicate with not fists, sticks,knives or guns.
    Just watch Thai TV any time to see the level of arguments and outright violence being displayed on all channels, the soaps are just permanent violence, how can a society progress to democracy when your TV advocates violence and confrontation on a daily basis to solve minor problems?
    I foresee a more deadly stage with possible outright civil war within the next 6 months, I am taking precautions now to be able to move out at a moments notice and have bought a condo in Penang and have transferred most of my money out of Thailand and lots of my friends are doing the same.
    Your tourism industry is beyond repair, the myth perpetrated by TAT of a peaceful smiling Buddhist nation has been forever destroyed by the recent events and people are not going to return anytime soon as they realise that the final act is yet to come and they do not want to get caught up in it.
    Mike Williams In Bangkok

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  82. I fear that an elite, educated Thai may simply not know his own country. There is such a void between them and the farmer up to his kness in md planting rice for 10 baht a day. My seven years living in a village in Isaan tell me that this imposes huge stresses on the stability of this society.

    Because political control has been manipulated, Thailand's economic success has not been fairly shared with the low paid labourers who have created it. No amount of handwring by articulate liberals can hide this fact.

    For my summary please see, "Bangkok Burning - Why?" on www.thaigirl2004.blogspot.com.

    Andrew Hicks

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  83. I think this letter works very well as a way of encouraging yellow supporters and pro-government supporters to open up to reconciliation and to be more aware of the root causes of the problems surrounding them (rather than just focusing on Thaksin all the time). I'm not sure how well it will work as a letter to the redshirts themselves, as it does come across as a bit superior. But this tone is the very reason why it DOES speak to the yellow side and hopefully it will serve as an aid for encouraging reconciliation.

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  84. Just a little bit more on my previous observation that people at Rajaprasong were "really listening."

    This is the very end of yesterday's Bangkok Post Editorial (22/05/2010):

    "We must put an end to money politics and feuding politicians who exploit well-meaning rural villagers to fight their proxy wars. Better education, welfare and a vibrant strong economy which benefits all are a means to this end. Sadly, not all rural bosses see the wisdom of this. They fear an erosion of their support base and see a threat to the whole corrupt patronage system. Theirs is a selfish attitude designed to perpetuate the status quo. Real grassroots democracy will be a dream until villagers are freed from these feudal shackles and allowed genuine freedom of choice."

    But of course the so-called "patronage system" has not always been corrupt — indeed it is always the heart of any social system that sees cultures move from the nomadic/tribal stages toward the modern state. It only becomes "corrupt" in the transition from one stage to the other, and really dangerously corrupt when it remains as a cynical instrument of control in modern states -- as it does in so much of rural Thailand today, and elsewhere.

    With that qualification in mind, I would say most parents in 'rural' Thailand (i.e. the majority of Thai families) don't see the benefit of "freedom of choice" either, or indeed anything that "benefits all." Even more detrimental to the development of Thai society, most State School teachers don't encourage "freedom of choice" either. Primary school children at State Schools are taught to be clean, to salute and to listen, and those priorities hardly change at the university level — at least they didn't in the very large State University where I taught for many years. Both State Krus and Acharns look down on their students, rank them according to their social status as much as their performance, and allow very little freedom of choice, or encourage anyone to challenge anything at all.

    Wonderful places, Thai schools, the richest teaching experiences of my life — but still stuck in an essentially feudal mode of existence.

    Yes, in my opinion the Rajaprasong crowd really did listen, and they obviously bonded, and then listened some more — and the speakers were brilliant, indeed so brilliant they got entirely carried away by their words. And as the IDEAS were noble ones, and moral, and the speakers spoke from the heart, everybody got utterly and disastrously carried away.

    Another Crusade was launched, and Bangkok burned.

    That's just an element of it, of course, not the whole story by any means. Indeed, I've left out all the dirty parts, but those are so much easier to deal with, they're so ugly, so obvious, and so easily fixed. The part I'm talking about is the secret matter of the heart, and it's there where there's always hope.

    So what were those ideas that were so inspiring, and how could they be used to burn away the injustices and abuses of the Thai system without burning down the whole house?

    I'd say Kuhn Veera could be key to finding that out, and if I were running the country I'd get him on board as soon as I possibly could. I'd want Korkaew beside me too, very much, and even Jatuporn and Nattawut if they were willing to retune their strings, lower their volume, and put all their exceptional energy, intelligence and creativity into realizing the new Thai world they envision.

    (That dream has nothing to do with the legal process against the Red Shirt leaders, of course, which must proceed. But many great political figures have used exile and/or periods of inaction to prepare themselves for their real contribution to society later on...)

    Many.

    And that's what I think Kuhn Somtow means too when he encourages the government to empower the Red Shirt leaders, not just revile them.

    Christopher Woodman
    Chiang Mai

    ReplyDelete
  85. To Sena,
    You really believe ALL those redshirts are NOT "propagandized"?? Are you really thinking? or just using your emotion to judge things? or are you really naive? (I bet not)
    This guy's view is constructive and is saying that the time has come for change. It's people like you who don't welcome constructive change and optimism.

    To Lalida,
    It just shows how the redshirt supporters are just by reading your comments. Closed minded, rude, vulgar, and not open to criticism in any form...but say they are all for democracy.

    To others that think his note is just a pat in the back and looking down on the poor.
    Poverty in every country is a challenge. Try imagine yourself being a leader with a corrupted history of politicians. It's a challenge for a leader that's not corrupted!

    The elite & poor argument is a more than a 1st grade math and sometimes a joke to me when people paint the picture as if it was just black and white and so easy to fix. Are insanely rich politicians who were peasants or were poor but came to be rich and now is in the elite because of corruption considered peasants or elites? Are the poor who became rich (and now have educated kids) by working hard considered elite or poor? Are the poor kids who got scholarships to study PhD abroad the elite or poor? I don't think we should judge people by their wealth, education or family background. Attacking Somtow for instance for him being from an educated family does nothing better for the world. Dividing people does nothing to help the issue. Why didn't the redshirt mention anything when Thaksin bought his vote into power? Isn't that corruption and taking advantage of the poor for his own interest? Isn't that using his 'elite' financial power to step over them to get to where he wants to be?
    This whole mess has opened the door to address the inequality issue of the country. The only answer that I see that can fix and prevent this from happening in the future is getting rid of corruption.

    Also Agree with Dr.Ross's comment.

    By the way, I'm from a poor family in Surin but happened to find my way abroad and educate myself. I don't consider myself an elite. I work and send money home to help my family once in a while, I pay for my nieces' and nephews' education. My entire family there still think Thaksin is good JUST BECAUSE every time an election comes, my family receives about $300 at least. They have received a total of more than $1000 and have bought a new motorcycle. They love it because they don't have to work for it. Is this a good value? When I was there, one of his team wai me and put a 500 baht bill in my hand, I didn't know that he was giving me money so it fell onto the floor, that moment made me understand why Thaksin is so popular there. I can only say so much to them, since my family still thinks money is an important value. Is this not taking advantage of the poor by the "oh I love the poor" redshirt Thaksin? The issue of the rich & poor is so much more than black and white than how outsiders see it, if you didn't grow up in that environment like me, it's hard to understand, you would judge from only your point of view. The poors do take advantage of the poors when they can also. You can't just see the poor people as angles and the rich as devils as how the international news paint the picture.

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  86. somtow, it's just great to see how your posting generated so much feedback ... and it's wonderful to see people engaging in so much dialog over this incident.

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  87. Thank you so much Khun Somtow. Could it be translated into Thai so we could share this beautiful letter with more Thai friends.

    Supatra

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  88. I think Abhisit looks sincere and i think he good intention. Thaksin is liar. Reds movement in some sense was needed for long time to teach Bangkok's rich except it was under Thaksin's banner and to benefit him. Bangkok's rich have exploited middle class and poor for so long and become really arrogant about their power. Now Bangkok's rich (hotel owners and shopping mall owners) are asking for govt help. These guys are filthy rich, can't they pay salary to their staff by themselves. Govt should not talk about helping these bulls and giving tax break. They should talk about poor people who do not have enough to eat and that was the whole reason of the motivation for them to join the protest. I think govt and Bangkokians are forgetting too quickly.

    My advise to govt is come up with quick plan to help real poor - rural and urban poor. Debt moratorium, free seeds and fertilizer, waiver of electric and water bill for agriculture and home for low income people, affordable transport for poor in Bangkok, charge high tax on Petrol and luxury goods and car. Give some minimum income gaurantee for people below poverty line.

    Do not help BULLS in Bangkok

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  89. My response was too long for a comment, so I posted it here:

    http://tenminutesofpeace.blogspot.com/2010/05/open-letter-to-somtow-sucharitkul-sp.html

    mick purcell

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  90. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  91. The reason why so many seem to have taken exception to your open letter is that you are among the least qualified to write such words.

    The fact that you may come from this or that rich family is of no consequence at all. What is at issue here, and what invalidates your letter, is the very thing that defines your character itself, namely your intellectual wealth.

    As you have alluded to yourself in another piece in this blog, education is the key issue for the future prosperity of this nation. Before success, before advancement, before even self awareness must come a solid education. Those without it often don't know where they stand and can be pursuaded easily of this and that in the absence of the kind of mental rigour and intellectual experience required to accept that not all is what it seems and suppositions must have a sufficient amount of evidence supporting them before being accepted as anything approaching facts.

    I support the red shirts and I also say many of them are easily manipulated. This is not a criticism, it is a symptom of their plight and a cornerstone of the legitimacy of their demands.

    So when you of all people come out with the following:

    "I urge you to go further. Keep thinking. But think for yourselves. Don't think what you're told to think. Speak what you think, not what you are told to speak. And act with your minds as well as your hearts, and in the interests of all, even those whom you disagree with."

    it's like Usain Bolt telling a one-legged person that they really should try running faster.

    It is inappropriate, and utterly self serving. In fact the whole missive comes across as some kind of idealised communique you may have cooked up during a light snooze the other afternoon to make yourself feel better about.....well, yourself.

    I know it's a blog and you know it's really all about you, but whilst many of your pieces offer greater scope for meaningful debate I think you really could have switched off the 'Post A Comment' feature for this one.

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  92. Dear Mr.Somtow,

    I'm a passing Thai citizen who saw your open letter as it came across me in the Twitter stream. The very first thing I'd like to say is that I salute you. It's clear that much time and effort were put into writing this letter. You have my utmost appreciation for that.

    As for the content, I think it's perfectly written out as I share all of your standpoint. I fully acknowledge the strong intent of the protesters who came all the way to Bangkok to demand an election. That's great. However, they must come to accept the bitter fact that some of their fellows were manipulated, there were also dishonest transactions happening behind the scenes, and the leaders were pouring distorted facts into them. There're already too many concrete evidences to back this up. I don't accuse them nor I speak to condescend them. I condemn the manipulators who took advantage of these people.

    You're not condescending them either. You're just presenting blatant facts supported with strong evidences. It's really up to them if they're willing to accept these truths or not.

    Khun Abhisit is not a murderer, nor the protesters are terrorists. If he really is a murderer, the crackdown wouldn't have waited for two months and the death toll would be terrifying. This logic is simple enough for anyone who critically thinks about it to understand.

    I believe that most of the demonstrators came with peaceful mind. They're not terrorists--I want to make this clear. They didn't wish for violence either. But the armed force, the real terrorists, stood behind them without them knowing.

    But after all, the most important point in this letter is not who are at fault and responsible for this tragedy. We'll put our trust in the judicial system to do that for us. What's more important than that we're now on the verge of deciding which way we want to steer out country towards. We've reached this verge thanks to the protesters. Their actions were not wasted in vain; it is the power to push us towards better democracy we all long for. But for us to progress and the decision to happen, we need to reconciliate and need to compromise no matter how painful it'll be. There'll be debates and disagreements, but if we truly share the same goal: to move out country forward, then a true dawn awaits us.

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  93. This editorial in today's Australian shows how difficult it is to explain to an external audience what is going on here. And for successfully doing that I think they deserve recognition:

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/red-and-yellow-signal-trouble-for-thailand/story-e6frg71x-1225870268871

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  94. So many of the posts are constructed around the word "democracy." And that's reasonable considering that the banners and slogans have been emblazoned with that word. Lives have been lost and many of them were genuinely seeking something beyond Thaksin's personal glory.

    We can have technical debates about whether Thailand meets certain criteria that constitute democracy. Or we can ask how much progress society is making moving in the direction of democracy.

    But I suggest that we put that word aside for a bit-- not because it is not an admirable one-- not because it may or may not be attainable-- but because there is a better word to use: fairness.

    How fair is a society to those born with the least advantage? Does Thailand need to make enormous strides to ensure opportunity regardless of where one is born and to whom one is born? The answer is "of course."

    So rather than struggling over abstractions, we ought to be thinking about a program that achieves concrete goals. I abhor most of what Thaksin has done. But he has proven one valuable point-- concrete programs have profound effects. Even though we can rightfully point to opportunism as the motive, those simple programs demonstrate just how much more is needed.

    How can Thailand provide a fine education that stimulates critical thinking? And that extends all the way up to a college degree for anyone with the capacity to benefit-- regardless of one's start in life?

    How can we stimulate an environment where politicians and voters alike are not just commodities to be bought and sold? Where those standing at the forefront of subsistence farmers genuinely care about their welfare and not their own personal power and wealth?

    If we can approach any of those goals, we have created something enduring and a stable, thriving society will be the result. Is that democracy? Probably. But right now it's just a word.

    Thoughts to ponder.

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  95. Thank you for this thought-provoking letter, I took the liberty of putting a link on my facebook page.

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  96. Please allow us to post this on our FB page 'Anti-Red Shirt International' http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109050695804673&v=wall&ref=ts where we promote the right understanding of Thailand's political situations to the world. There are so many biased international press out there that damage our country's image. Thanks for your good work. It will help our cause.

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  97. Som Tow - you are a man who eagerly agreed with generals in censoring your own work.

    What kind of democratic credential is that?

    As for the slow movement towards democracy - in Thailand its forward motion is making a glacier seem positively warp speed.

    You've come almost nowhere in 78 years.

    Who has benefited the most from that? Why, elite like yourself.

    No wonder the Redshirts freaked you out.

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  98. Dear Somtow, I couldn't take the time to read all the comments, but was distressed at how many unreasoning and negative ones there were, even though it seemed most people were on the same page. I can say it moved me, and I agree with you completely. I wish I could say I thought the redshirts would be receptive to these thoughts, or even really understand them, but I doubt that many will. But maybe sometime. Veera might be a good one to start with.
    We in Thailand don't have anything nearly as tough to deal with as South Africa had, but look what they did. Truth. Reconciliation. Add to these the Buddhist virtues of compassion and moderation. We can do it, let's go.

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  99. Again and again, the only explanation that I hear from English-speaking Thais for the Red Shirts' "misbehaviour" is "they were brainwashed and exploited for their leaders' selfish goals". In fact, it is more like "they were so stupid they didn't even know they were brainwashed and exploited".

    Come on, you Thais-who-claim-to-know-it-all are just hypnotizing yourself by repeating this mantra over and over again. Perhaps you can convince yourself and your peers to remain blind to the underlying chronic problem, but the rest of the world can see it so plainly. In fact, when you complain to the media how these events have exposed the ugly face of Thailand to the world, it probably never crossed your mind that the ugly face is actually yours.

    A Fellow Asian

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  100. Do you honestly actually believe the drivel you just wrote?

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  101. It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good.
    Thomas Jefferson

    Thanks , so many things to learn from this article by so many people .

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  102. Som Tow, please allow me to gather my elites and we will strongly nominate you and your associates the renowned Golden Horse Film award. But first I have to translate your essay to Chinese first.

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  103. Mr.Nick,
    If you think Somtow puts himself above others especially the poor. So do you. Your writing shows your personality and shows no true care for the poor. People like you who support the redshirts don't support the poor but support you own ego and hatred towards whoever you call 'elites'. You comment shows no optimism and no constructivism at all. Sad to have people like you in the world.

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  104. Mr. Fellow Asian,
    You can be more constructive and less rude. What nationality are you?
    We're not hyptotized. The gap between the poor and rich does exist and we accept that. Hoping that with this, the government can start new policies that help the grassroots... but this mess of violence and burning down the city is what we're talking about that are caused by one selfish man who gives interviews to the international press that he's just a peaceful guy.

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  105. I have been wondering for days now:

    What would you write in an open letter to Yellow Shirts?

    I suspect that's a harder letter to write.

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  106. I'm trying to rationalize and trying to come up with the logical links between the "means" and the "ends" of Red's actions, but to no avail....

    The "ends" to their means:

    - for democracy,
    - against the impoverishment of the poor,
    - against double-standard and unfair treatment.
    - against the lack of opportunities.

    The "means" to their ends:

    - throw away the existing government,
    - new election where the people choose Red financier back into office,
    - close down roads, loot, threaten innocent citizen
    - burn the streets of Bangkok and other provinces.

    Logical Links:

    - assuming that the existing government opt for an immediate election, will we Thai people really achieve "democracy"?- NOPE: as history can tell, thai politicians rarely represent the voice of the so-call mass. Thaksin and his politicians do not represent democracy. They merely represent a Robinhood-type/ freebies policy. And that's actually what the Reds are fighting for - they like the populist policies that were extensively promoted and marketed by the Red billionaire while he was in office. My honest opinion is that its easy to throw free money at people but seriously how long can a government give until it has nothing else to give. Its harder for a good government to come up with policies to utilize the same money for a long, sustainable growth and development. And I opt for a harder route and government's financial responsibilities is the key.

    - assuming that there's a new election, can we win the fight against impoverishment. The majority of the poor are still poor after 8-years of Thaksin's government. Wealth comes from preparation (education), wit, hard work, opportunity and the will power to overcome poverty. Can we really force someone to work hard? Can we force someone to look for opportunities when for some, looking for opportunities means looking for clues for lotto numbers? Education is free in Thailand but nothing is fair in this world of competition for limited resources. If you can not compete, you can not wholly blame the government. If you receive a small amount of benefits, in whatever form, from Thaksin government, please do not rush to give credit to him either because what if such policies are short-sighted and only show financial irresponsibility of a government. The fight against poverty has to come from within, with the help of the government to ensure opportunities are given and tax money is rightly put to use for sustainable growth. But in this cruel brutal world, you can't avoid the fact that not every one can be rich.

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  107. K. Somtow, as always, I've enjoyed your letter..

    I love the comments of an anonymous from Surin, that in fact is another thing many people don't really see as well. Many mid-income levels have come from poor family and have been doing nothing but working diligently to pave their ways for better lives. Just please see those in Bangkok or mid-income levels as just hard-working people, not an elite.

    Some evils are elite but have tried to camouflage themselves to be among the poor. This elite group, my friend, is dangerous.

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  108. What is unique about Thailand, and one of the reasons it so appeals to visitors from other cultures, both east and west, is that it miraculously survives with one foot in every world you've ever wanted to be in!

    So Thailand has genuine peasants, in the best sense of the word -- indeed millions of people who still live close to the earth, bound to the soil, at one with the rhythms of the rain, the sun, and the spirits, and who not only still believe in magic but obviously make it work!

    Where else in the world can you see so many truly poor people live in a way that would suggest that the meek really can inherit the earth? Where else in the world can over-educated, over-stimulated, over-travelled, over 'developed' human beings glimpse a world with almost nothing which is still better than what all that privilege has brought?

    Where else can you see so many people scrabbling for a living right on the edge yet where nobody goes to bed hungry at night? How could such a marginalized population enjoy so much more security than millions of Americans earning 10, 20 times more per day?

    Where else can you read all about it even when there is so much hidden, so much Machiavellian intrigue and extra-judicial violence? Truly, the relative freedom of the media is one of the greatest gifts Thailand has to offer its visitors -- so that we foreigners can respond to Kuhn Somtow's article as we have, for example, so relatively well-informed and so relatively unafraid of speaking our minds (that's why, as a matter of principle, I sign my own name, even when I write what I know some people won't like).

    What we are watching is all this unravelling, for however much we admire peasants who sing and dance and eat well, all of them want what we have too much of as well, a car, a house, a bank account and a proper education. The Red Poison of introspection has been tasted in paradise, and we're now all in danger in the garden!

    And am I criticizing the Red Shirts for this? Not at all. It's their responsibility to enlighten their own people. But whoever said that a birth wasn't going to be bloody or painful, particularly when the baby is kept so long in the womb?

    And whoever said there wouldn't be goblins and witches who would spirit away the baby if they could? Or hold it to ransom?

    Whoever said their wouldn't be false-prophets and carpet-baggers?

    And is it too late to make these transformations peacefully? Is it too late to save Thailand from chaos and terminal depression?

    Not at all — if we can read and understand what Kuhn Somtow, among many others, has written -- and then do something about it. For if we can succeed in making these changes in time we can all move on.

    But the so-called 'expats' who are here for the beer and the girls are going to have to pay a great deal more for the service, and there's going to be a whole lot more anger if the age difference is too great, for sure. Because the days of virtually free Retirement in Thailand are over, and we're all going to have to accept that we're here among equals, and that our pensions are small.

    No wonder we squirm. On the other hand, if we can get it right we can help.

    Christopher Woodman
    Chiang Mai

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  109. Dear Sir,

    I am a farang who lived and worked (legally) for 7 years in Thailand, and a scholar who wrote several History books and knows very well the history of South East Asia.

    I am afraid that I do not share your vision of the events at all. The Red Shirts are composed of 2 kinds of people : the leaders of all levels, who are educated and know very well what they are doing, and the mass, who, for the most part, is not illiterate, but cannot comprehend certain intricacies of the previous regime. Both want one thing : the return of Taksin. However the reason why they both want his return are completely different : the mass wants him back because he did some good things for them (the 30-baht medical coverage, OTOP, etc.), the leaders for one thing only : take back the power and resume the looting of the public finances "like in the good old times". Return to democracy has nothing to do with their goal, set by their leader, Taksin, who dreams to be back only for 2 reasons : recuperate the loot that the present government has seized, and resume his appalling pilferage of Thailand.

    The problem is that the leaders know very well that Taksin was a bandit, but most of the mass don't because of their lack of certain knowledges : how do you explain to partly uneducated people, for example, the remarkable financial manoeuver thanks to which Taksin did not pay one cent of astronomic capital gains on the sale of his company ? Or that he used public funds to fly to one country "in order to improve the ties between the 2 countries", and came back with not much except of that, but with a contract between the government of that country and his company (= use of public funds for personal gain) ?

    The whole mess was created by one man, Taksin, who clearly showed that he does not care about Thailand, only about himself. With his televised inflammatory declarations, he literally pushed part of the country to a revolt; it would be understandable if the new government was an appalling dictatorship, it is not at all under the new Prime Minister, who seems to me one of the best the country has had.

    Like in too many country, the entire affair comes to one thing : CORRUPTION !

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  110. In addition to CNN`s controversial reporting there is a german publication on tageschau.de: http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/bangkokpresse100.html 2 days ago: small headline: Government in Bkk is limiting freedom of press. headline: Situation as in Burma. 1st sentences read: Bkk is full of informants... people dont trust anybody and live in fear... freedom of press limited... obviously there is a campagner against foreign journalists going on... (translated). - Comments!?

    Also I think we all should stop naming the suea daeng as terrorists (terrorists are blowing themself and/or others up - they look for maximum casualities - in the name of religion and/or freedom fight) - Suea daeng are mainly sit-in protesters and some fractions as turned-into rioters and some uprising elements...

    democracy does work better with a broad middle-class as in europe/us... if education and income levels are raised/more equalized between big city and rural (also big city middle class and low wage workers) then also corruption is more difficult... it seems a long (maybe hard) process. We (Bkk people - Thai middle class, foreigners) know social devide is there and ignorance is easy but now its painfully brought to our attention.

    W@lfe_Bkk

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  111. Dear Anonymous 11.43am,

    I am also a farang who has lived several years in Thailand (Bangkok), but I am not going to suggest that this makes me some kind of superior authority on Thai politics. Your comments are, like so many of the comments here, imbalanced and skewed. And you should admit this, rather than shrouding your personal biases with an illusion of objectivity supposedly earned through being an 'Asia-expert'.

    In particular, your comments miss out the following important details: the valid issue that there do appear to be double standards at play in Thai politics and the valid issue that the electoral legitimacy of the present government is weak. Please do not forget that, for all of Thaksin's faults (and yes he has many serious faults indeed), he was the only PM to be elected twice into power. Indeed, he would have been elected again (overwhelmingly) were it not for the fact that the Democrat Party claimed that they needed longer time to prepare for the election (probably a reasonable enough claim, but ultimately unlikely to achieve anything more than a stalling strategy). The Democrat Party came into government off the back of a coup (not directly linked with the Democrat Party but instigators of the coup played a key role in supporting the Democrat Party), longterm illegal demonstrations by the yellows, the support of the army, and suspect horse-trading with other parties. The PAD leaders who caused even greater economic damage to Thailand through their illegal occupation of the airport than the terrible arson attacks last week have still not been brought to justice. In fact, the PAD (whom, let us not forget, Abhisit condoned) set the dangerous precedent that you can stage illegal demonstrations and get away with it. These factors do not excuse the actions of the reds, nor do they excuse the manipulative actions of Thaksin, but they should be recognised nonetheless - otherwise you are merely exacerbating the problem rather than seeking a solution to the problem through proper discussion of the underlying issues.

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  112. Som tow, thank you for your comment throughout this last few months. Although not all who come to read your thoughts agree with you, you have continued with courage and tenacity to speak your mind.

    As someone who loves traveling in the "land of smiles" i have found the events of the last two months saddening.

    I do hope that you continue to put across your veiws without fear or favour as of all the reporting, and general comment, yours seems to prevoke people to think for themselves.

    To me it seems that at this time Thailand is lacking leadership. Exceptional leaders are the ones that relinquishes "the want to control" therefore EN-ableing others through there actions to build a more ethical society.

    But at the end of the day both sides have to realise that good leadership comes by trust, and poor leadership comes by fear. What we need to see is at this point of time is recognition and articulation of common values.

    The best relationships are between equals, not predators and victims.

    Mick the Tasmanian tiger..

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  113. Dear Anonymous

    I'm sure your name isn't that bad, please use it! Here's what you wrote:
    ---------------
    Mr.Nick,
    If you think Somtow puts himself above others especially the poor. So do you. Your writing shows your personality and shows no true care for the poor. People like you who support the redshirts don't support the poor but support you own ego and hatred towards whoever you call 'elites'. You comment shows no optimism and no constructivism at all. Sad to have people like you in the world.
    ---------------
    In response:

    1) I never even used the word 'elites' in my post.

    2) I have optimism for the red shirt movement and my own ideas about how the poor should be helped. I didn't know that expressing these was a prerequisite for making any criticism, but just to make you happy, here goes:

    a) Optimism - As Somtow said, world history reflects the eventual success of popular uprisings. If the red shirt grievances remain unaddressed, they will eventually force their own victory. It is natural law.

    b) Constructivism - To address red shirt grievances effectively requires action at street level, where these people actually live. Not just in parliament, where if helpful policies are ever initiated, they are soon carved up and ruined by the wheeling and dealing of MPs. So help must given at the community level so that it is i) highly visible and ii) administered by the very people it seeks to benefit. Listening to problems - truly listening - is the first step to solving them, but that simple truth escapes most people who ought to know better and have a responsibility to know better.

    Finally, you think it's sad to have people in the world like me. Well, the world can be a sad place. Ask any red shirt. I welcome your input and celebrate the fact that you have the right to actually say that the world would be a happier place without me. Others clearly don't embrace that kind of diversity of opinion. Do you?

    I certainly wish you well and hope we can both smile when this country finally unlocks its true potential via a properly empowered electorate.

    Regards

    Nick

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  114. To Steve,
    Did you know that he Thaksin bought his votes into power? This is not the US where votes are almost clean.

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  115. Total agreed with Nick and those who really understand Somtow's hidden phrase in his so-called opened letter. Please, you - elegant, elite, upper class level people, look a little bit lower and you will see what's happening now in this country. Illegal slot machines in local stores (someone openly offer it to the owners), illegal casino, drugs, underground lottery - much more than Thaksin's time. Seems nobody cares that much, only to protect Abhisit to be our PM forever, because you cannot accept if the Red shirt supporter will become. Though it is called majority votes, but you people says they are evil. It is not a surprise to me, whoever writes a letter like you become heroes.
    One lady died during yellow shirt demonstration was honored and mourned, while hundred of red shirt died was a truth we have to face.
    My English is not that high class, but believe me this is from my heart. A big heart, not less love this country than you guys. If you really need peaceful to this country, show your sincerity by stop commenting red shirt like you know more than them. Times will cure our pain, your your bias opened letter.

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  116. Steve 6-05
    I must take issue with you on a couple of points.
    1) The legitimacy of the current government.
    The PPP (Peoples Power Party) Thaksin's resurrected TRT won the last election by a very narrow majority 39% to 39.6 but under Thai law before a party can form a government it must have more than 50% of the vote so they entered into a coalition with other parties to form the government. The vote was so corrupt it was unreal, my in laws and relations are farmers in Surin and they all voted for PPP because the going rate was 500 baht per vote and the Kamnan of the village got a lot more, The Kamnan in my inlaws village traded in his 12 year old pickup for a new one not long after the election.
    The election commission investigated the PPP and found wholesale vote buying and corruption and one MP even had a fake university degree, you must have a university degree here to become an MP.
    Under the Thai constitution which was voted for by the people in a referendum the PPP had to be disbanded which left the Democrats as the largest party, they then teamed up with Friends of Newin Chidlob and others to form a coalition party.
    Candidates were then put forward from the coalition parties for the position of PM and Abhsit was elected in a vote of the coalition MP,s, sorry but this government is as legitimate as the Cameron and Clegg coalition.
    2) Thaksin is evil personified he would sell his granny if he thought it would give him an advantage, he cares nothing for the country just himself, he did not come to power by being popular he realised that the key to power was the votes of the rural poor as they are in huge numbers, poorly educated and politically naive so he set about buying their votes and bribing the village Kanman to secure peoples votes which he did very successfully, that is how he got into power, once in power the Reds tasted what is was like to have their noses in the trough and all their friends and relatives getting kickbacks from government contracts, so when they lost power and the kickbacks they were well hacked off and want their noses back in the trough again, his populist policies last all of about 3 months and each village got a development fund of 1 million baht and guess how many Kanmans then got new pickups?.
    Thaksin is nursing hurt pride and a dent in his bank balance of 48 billion baht he will stop at nothing to regain power even if he has to wreck the whole country to achieve it.
    I have been here for 5 years and have watched this unfold but I am now selling up and moving with my Thai wife and daughter to Penang, the trouble is going to get a lot worse before it gets better this was only a warm up to the main event.
    I feel so sorry to be leaving I love Thailand and the Thai people but will not put my family at risk so some terrorist who cares nothing about peace can blow them away.

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  117. Khun Somtow, I do appreciate your views that are reflective of wisdom and compassion.Yet I am not so certain of sincerities from Khun Veera, having known of his past behavior. I too am convinced that PM Abhisit has a good heart and that may have actually circumvented added bloodshed,but whether the early inactions may lead to a more difficult future only history will judge the incident of the past two months. The government will need to act quickly decisively and sincerely to win hearts and minds of those who feel lost. Thailand can move on but most likely without any role of Thaksin. I hope your article can be translated to the Thai citizens as well. Thank you for caring, we need more of this in our society. And yes the rule of law must be held so people are accountable for there actions.

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  118. K. Somtow
    I may like to comment on your following statement :.........."But think for yourselves. Don't think what you're told to think. Speak what you think, not what you are told to speak. And act with your minds as well as your hearts, and in the interests of all, even those whom you disagree with. "

    the sense of this statement sounds undermind the strength exist in the reds group. I believe the people in the red groups have their own thoughts and minds. Beleive it or not? They are the people who are facing in their everyday life, the injustice, the discrimination, the poverty, the mistreatment by officials, etc. no wonder why they can easily sympathize with Thaksin who claims facing the same fate. Together with the help Thaksin gave them, who has ever done liked Thaksin before? Thaksin apparently became their friend. Friend helps friends though their friends corrupted but who are in the power that do not corrupt?
    They know that to have their voices to be heard they have to sacrifice, so their children will have better future.
    I agree that there are many ways to across the mountain peacefully and we have spend many many years trying to get across the mountain unsucessfully with the continuing sacrifice of the poors. When will we across the mountain with the sacrifice of the rich? Then Thailand can be changed.

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  119. Bla bla bla....
    I love reading these Thais continuing to belitle their fellow Thais and say they don't know what demoocracy is or what they the Red shirts were fighting for. PPPLLLEEAAAASSSEEE....stop it!
    You are the ones who have no idea what democracy is.
    You really don't know why these people feel cheated? really?! Are you in denial?! you can call it legal all you want but please don't act like you can't feel or understand these people. If you sincerely don't get it then you are the ones who need to learn what democracy really is...
    Its not complicated. Give Thais democracy instead of always couping or deposing elected governments because they don't allign with your (minority) views.
    Good luck...

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  120. Nick

    I find several surprising writings in your response to the open-letter, and i absolutely didn't interprete that letter as "utterly self-serving", "to make yourself feel better about.....well, yourself".

    Fair enough. But can you just tell us why did YOU end up writing your criticism?

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  121. Hi Paco

    Thanks for the question.

    As you would have read in my criticism, the best thing for this particular page would have been for Somtow to not let anyone reply at all.

    Given the opportunity though, I replied because several things struck me:

    1) Somtow appears to have a genuine, if not deep-seated concern for the red shirt cause.

    2) His remarks were not deliberately condescending.

    3) He seems highly intelligent and 'cultured'.

    4) The letter is directly to the red shirts - a group most people agree is shamefully undereducated.

    5) In all probability, and like many of us, he cannot possibly empathise with a red shirt mindset shaped over decades of hardship and privation.

    6) For reasons 4 and 5, the ideas he is trying to convey to them are therefore doomed in their attempt at being understood by their target audience. As I said, it's like Usain Bolt telling a one-legged person to run faster.

    7) The letter is therefore a failure in effective communication with the red shirts. Some feel it is even deliberately condescending, but that is just a measure of the red shirt frustration with the whole situation.

    8) Many who are moderates or yellow-leaning seem to support the letter and 'agree' with it.

    9) So what was the point of the letter?

    I think Somtow is a sensitive guy trying to deal with a problem that he - like many in Thailand - has trouble accessing. By 'accessing', I mean feeling - not just reading or writing about - the red shirt's grievances.

    I don't blame him for it. This is his blog and he can write what he wants. But I wish he hadn't - consciously or otherwise - disguised his own personal, rather romanticised attempts at a resolution in his own heart (that's the self-serving bit) as some kind of 'General Advice To Redshirts'.

    It is not convincing and I look forward to hearing from anyone how on earth this Open Letter To Redshirts could possibly help the situation in the slightest way, shape or form.

    Regards

    Nick

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  122. Dear Mike,

    The differences between the Democrat Party's coalition and the Clegg-Cameron coalition are almost too numerous to mention. They are certainly too numerous to allow for any valid comparison between the two. Abhisit's coalition was formed after a controversial court ruling made by a judiciary which is manifestly politicised in nature. It was formed with the support of a hugely powerful and unaccountable army - the very same army which staged the coup (and yes, Anupong was central to both the coup and the army's support of the Democrat Party). It was formed in the context of longterm illegal demonstrations by the PAD, which Abhisit condoned and which clearly affected the political changes occurring at the time. It was formed two years after a general election during a period of great political instability (not immediately after a general election). None of these factors appeared in the British context. If they did, of course there would be uproar, just as there is in Thailand. Technically, you are right that the coalition is procedurally legal. But its legitimacy is thoroughly weak. Is it any wonder that the redshirts feel aggrieved?

    By the way, further double standards have also been revealed recently - sadly it seems that these fissures in Thai society are destined to deepen and deepen. The government threatens to sue those responsible for the arson attacks (damage which a Bangkok Post article estimates at 150 billion baht). Fine. But why not also sue the PAD for the economic damage that they caused through their demonstrations and illegal occupation of the airport (which a Bangkok Post article estimates at 290 billion baht)? The reason is clear - Abhisit dare not upset his yellow conservative allies.

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  123. Dear Thai People,
    uuh...so many comments...it seems to me that we are not moving forward by pointing fingers at each other.I dont really want state my point of view cause despite the fact that itself wouldnt change anything. Fact is that that the poor has been ignored for years due to the benefit of others. Fact is that your democratic system is weak. It is now like this but it has been like that during taksin and before that too. and None of them changed that. Meaning: It mostly benefits the party who is in power the most. Of course everybody has a vote but the percentage of the vote an opposition gets gives them no power at all.Different parties are to serve different interests of different people, issues, views some focus on this some focus on others with a vote in the parliament. what you need:
    1.reform your democratic system by giving more power to a subgovernment in the provinces.Its clear that the provinces have greater needs in the acricultural sector than in bangkok. Vote for your candidate in your province ..as more votes he gets as more seats he should get in the parliament meaning also more votes.
    2.taxes:reform your tax law greater penalities for those who think they dont need to pay tax at all..there is much more...
    3.Dear thai people get rid of your logo, branding..you call yourself yellow or redshirts..think!YOUR are somebody by simply beeing you!To me its an insult to a human beeing who needs a branding to become acknowledged!In europe this is called Facsim!There is not everything bad about fascism in history everybody part of the community received great benefits but it came to a high price.Fascism often let to violence towards those who didnt want to be part of the group. Its not the group its you.(like some of the redleaders who got called loosers because they distance themselves from the movement(logo) once it let to violence)
    Fascism is a form of dictatorship and its not democratic. A politican who is basicially rich belongs in a parliament to serve the people with a vote and not on the streets.
    so dear thai people, Thailand is going through a major reform and it takes time. you might disagree with me: the roadmap is the first efford /step in the right direction but it need reforms all over the country in every small sector-democracy doesnt only come from the top it has to grow from sectors within.. it takes years and years to get there. Just give it a chance!i admire your social values towards family keep that up!thailand is your baby carry it!Give the attempt of implementing democracy a real chance! If its this government or the one in the future..both will need your support more than ever!it could be worth it a lot!

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  124. 'when this country became a democracy'
    are you joking? since when is Thailand a democracy?
    since when a democratic government sends soldiers with war weapons to break up demonstrations? since when does democratic government close all media critical to them? since when democratic governments arrest and detain academics and label any criticism as 'terrorism'? since when do democratic government shoot people in temples and arrest monks?
    first, sir, make a lucid assessment of the situation and what government rules Thailand, then only you can have any intellectual credibility.
    I'm a stupid farang, and have none of these great Thai values that make your people so special and unique, but in the farang school I went to, I learned to use my brain correctly.

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  125. Good comment, Nick

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  126. Dear Nick,
    Days have passed -- this thread is winding down. And I wonder how many of us have been reading your last comment and have just turned away in despair, giving up on this sort of dialogue?

    Because I don't believe for a moment that you want to hear from anyone about how Kuhn Somtow's Open Letter To Redshirts could help the situation, a fact which you give away when you conclude your challenge with the phrase "in the slightest way, shape or form."

    So who's going to reply to that? Who's going to bother?

    ~

    The problem is that you read comments only to prepare your next 'position paper,' and the position is always 'Nick.' -- i.e. by the Nick who owns the truth.

    All suffering begins there, Nick -- however intelligent or informed your views may be.

    Read more sensitively and you might have heard Darunee JunG on May 25th:

    I love the comments of an anonymous from Surin, that in fact is another thing many people don't really see as well. Many mid-income levels have come from poor family and have been doing nothing but working diligently to pave their ways for better lives. Just please see those in Bangkok or mid-income levels as just hard-working people, not an elite.
    


    Some evils are elite but have tried to camouflage themselves to be among the poor. This elite group, my friend, is dangerous.
    May 25, 2010 8:25 AM

    Or just before Darunee, this comment from Nita:

    I'm trying to rationalize and trying to come up with the logical links between the "means" and the "ends" of Red's actions, but to no avail....

    The "ends" to their means:

    - for democracy,
    - against the impoverishment of the poor,
    - against double-standard and unfair treatment.
    - against the lack of opportunities.

    The "means" to their ends:

    - throw away the existing government,
    - new election where the people choose Red financier back into office,
    - close down roads, loot, threaten innocent citizen
    - burn the streets of Bangkok and other provinces.
    May 25, 2010 7:52 AM

    Nita doesn't say there aren't links, but just raises the same questions that K. Somtow does, and I for one was helped (there’s more – you should go back and read it).

    And this is a comment on the whole dilemma in Thailand, it seems to me -- which is as much about the Discourse as the Disorder. It all comes down to the words in the end, what we are able to say. K. Somtow really tried to say something helpful but he couldn't be heard by someone who is convinced there's no hope in them "in the slightest way, shape or form."

    And that’s the nutshell of the matter. The baby and the bathwater.

    Christopher

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  127. Nick! as you mentioned:"As you would have read in my criticism, the best thing for this particular page would have been for Somtow to not let anyone reply at all."
    well..to do so wouldnt be democratic at all! cant believe that you suggesting it after beeing such an expert in democratie.

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  128. Yes, the mountain is long overdue for recognition and a timely response.

    What is the mountain?

    Is it what Abraham Lincoln had in mind in his Second Anual Message to Congress, on December 1, 1862, when the US was facing some similar difficulties:
    "The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."

    Some clearly remain intent on cherishing their blind enthralments.

    Let us hope that the Thai people, all of the Thai people, may be allowed to opt for the disenthralling that can lead on to democracy, justice and human rights.

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  129. Yes, the mountain is long overdue for recognition and a timely response.

    What is the mountain?

    Is it what Abraham Lincoln had in mind in his Second Anual Message to Congress, on December 1, 1862, when the US was facing some similar difficulties:
    "The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."

    Some clearly remain intent on cherishing their blind enthralments.

    Let us hope that the Thai people, all of the Thai people, may be allowed to opt for the disenthralling that can lead on to democracy, justice and human rights.

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  130. Hi

    To Christopher Woodman

    Thanks for your comments. I was genuinely hoping to get a reply containing some pointers as to how Somtow's words could improve the situation - even if just one person could come forward and say they felt more sympathetic with the reds or if a red could come forward and say they understood more now why the government and some other posters here took their poistions on the matter.

    Anyway, if it's becoming too much about 'me', then I will happily now withdraw from this debate in the interest of letting you guys continue with YOUR dialogue.

    And to the last poster:

    I am a student of Democracy just as everyone else is, high or low. I just suggested he switch off posting here as a device to illustrate how inward-looking rather than outward-looking the contents of his letter was. Maybe I didn't explain it properly. I apologize.

    Regards to all.

    Nick

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  131. Thanks, Felix Qui — a very interesting parallel indeed.

    To this day, historians cannot agree exactly what the mountain was that so divided the people during the American Civil War, and one suspects that at the time Abraham Lincoln was climbing in the dark as much as we are today in Thailand. Yet because Lincoln had the courage to hold fast to one simple, universal principle, Wholeness, the Union held -- and countless benefits accrued, not the least, of course, being a new level of tolerance in the new United States (took a long, long time as well — tragically long!).

    The mountain Thailand finds thrusting up like a volcano in its midst is similarly shadowy, and Abhisit Vejajiva is in much the same situation as Abraham Lincoln was. Like Lincoln, Abhisit is also surrounded by allies and advisors with vested interests, some of whom are prejudiced, others frightened, others cowards, confused, compromised, stuck in the past, old-style party-members. Like Lincoln, Abhisit is also a bit distant, a bit deaf, so to speak, a bit isolated by his education, and, of course, altogether a bit too good to be true. On the other hand, like America in 1862, Abhisit is the best we've got for the task because he never takes his eye off the ball. He knows there's just one constant which can prevent the present turmoil from slipping into chaos, and that's the Rule of Law. The Rule of Law is Abhisit's priority, his touchstone, and I'd say he has been doing a very good job hanging on to it regardless.

    As the King advised.

    And does Abhisit always try to keep what he does 'just' and 'legal,' both in the light of international and domestic law? Yes, I think he really does -- but like Chuan Lekpai before him, Abhisit is also a loner surrounded by wolves, and can only just keep the dogs of war on their leashes. (What an image, and I'm not referring just to the army and the police either, not even mostly!!!)

    What we foreigners can do is help the international community to accept Abhisit's credentials and trust him as well as to encourage the world to give him a little more space within which to maneuver. For it will take at least another year to approach this mountain, to get close enough to it to know what it is. Abhisit should also be given enough time and space to set a new standard for future Thai leaders — his just being there is the very best example of a Prime Minister Thailand has ever had, and a beacon for its future.

    What a thought!

    I personally am convinced the Red Shirt grievances are just. on the other hand, I'm equally convinced that for the moment Abhhisit Vejajiva can do more than any other Thai leader to deal with those grievances appropriately. Most important of all, I want him to be given the time and space to begin to deal with the REAL POWERS inside the Thai mountain, and that includes inside the very culture itself, a task which will prove far harder than figuring out who was who at Rajaprasong, a small skirmish by comparison!

    Our support is crucial for Abhisit Vejajiva, my friends -- and the discussion on this little blog-spot is something we can give him.

    I thank K. Somtow for giving us so much to work on, for offering us this mysterious mountain to explore — we, the proverbial blind men, being offered an elephant to work on.

    Christopher Woodman

    P.S. Apologies to you, Nick -- my quibble was mainly with your language. If we dismiss others with blog-blitz we end up with just rubble.

    The hope K. Somtow gives us is the image of the mountain -- and yes, Nick, we do matter as well, even we foreigners.

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  132. Cynical external interventions in a nations internal affairs, including Civil Wars, are well-established in history. Entrepreneurs with a lot to gain and/or to lose have often provided illicit support to one side or the other in bloody conflicts, but the facts often do not make it into history books until a long time afterwards.

    Like this one:

    Britain in the American Civil War
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

    "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was officially neutral in the American Civil War. Confederate strategy for securing independence was largely based on British and French intervention, which never happened; intervention would have meant war with the United States. A serious conflict between Britain and the United States erupted over the "Trent Affair" in 1861. Also, the British shipyard (John Laird and Sons) built two warships for the Confederacy, including the CSS Alabama, over vehement American protests that continued after the Civil War in the form of the Alabama Claims, in which the United States won $15.5 million in arbitration by an international tribunal for damages caused by the CSS Alabama and other British-built warships. The British also built and operated most of the blockade runners, spending hundreds of millions of pounds on them; but that was legal. In the end, these instances of British involvement neither shifted the outcome of the war nor provoked the U.S. into declaring war against Britain. The United States' diplomatic mission headed by Minister Charles Francis Adams, Sr. proved much more successful than the Confederate missions, which were never officially recognized."

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  133. Abhhisit is a leader that lack leadership or simply a human being that don't behave like human.

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  134. Wonderful, Mr Somtow. I don't have time to read any of the comments. Thank you for writing this.

    Seven

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  135. Dear Khun Somtow,

    May I ask your permission to link this article to my Facebook page? I've found this a very constructive article.

    Best regards,

    Jarunee

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  136. Thanks "redshirts". You've ruined the property market, tourism as well as your country. I guarantee there will be even less opportunity for all of you now. All this damage for the "greed" of one man. Where is he now? Shopping at Gucci's or staying in a 5 star resort in Montenegro?

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  137. It's so complicated, so hard to keep the eye on the ball. No wonder the mainstream media opt for the easy reading, so often the script is accompanied by such perverse and contrary images. What exhausted CNN viewer looking for a little light relief on the Evening News is going to work out those connections, or even a hard-working liberal who tunes into the BBC late at night because the quality is higher there, and the possibility of actually understanding the world that much greater?

    So Rachel Harvey in helmet does another on-the-site interview, this time in Issan. A tearful mother having just returned to her poor farmer's hut in the northeast recounts how she went to Rajaprasong to bring democracy and justice to the Thai people. And that she is so much angrier now, she says, after what happened, and so much more determined to fight on for what she believes in. That the war against dictatorship has just started, and that she will be in the forefront forever.

    And she's absolutely real and convincing, that mother -- there's nothing contrived here whatsoever, and nobody would have to pay her to say what she did. And Rachel Harvey, the Brave Reporter, believes in her Cause too, and is bringing it Right Into Your Home. She's showing you REAL PEOPLE who are hurting!

    And while the mother is talking and Rachel Harvey is listening so well with all that level-headed, no-nonsense goodness that is her persona, the BBC is showing a dark and impersonal Army tank smashing its way through the mere bamboo stakes and tyres that were the poor woman's refuge. And the world sees how cruel and heartless the Thai army is, and indefensible.

    End of clip.

    Thanks, Rachel Harvey — thanks for the fantasies, prejudices, romantic revisions you confirm.

    For of course the mother is telling the truth -- the mother is real and authentic. The tank did go through the bamboo and tyre fortification as well, that's real as well, that's true. But that tank was in fact nowhere near the Rajaprasong rally where the woman was sitting on the mats with her brave companions but in Lumpini Park where the weapons were and the shadowy arsonists who had hidden behind those 1000s of mothers and children and old people for over a month. In actual fact, the tank was liberating the woman from cynical forces she couldn't have imagined, in actual fact facilitating her return home in one piece along with her friends.

    If the leaders of her movement had had their way she would have been buried in a pile of dead bodies 10 times higher, and the whole of her country would be burning. For that was the objective, chaos and carnage. A country ungovernable, was the objective, a country that would need Special Powers to restore it...

    That tank, in fact carefully driven and commanded, succeeded in wresting the initiative from the hell-bent Red Shirt Leaders, here and abroad, and got the situation back to the point where there could be constructive engagement: negotiations, reconciliation, restructuring, political maturation, all those things that could actually bring a better future for that mother and her children.

    Thailand Corp. has no interest in mothers, just in control, investment, and profit-taking.

    The BBC did the situation in Thailand a great injustice by juxtaposing the tank with that mother, and Rachel Harvey should have known better. Indeed, Rachel Harvey should be fired, she has brought so many distortions like that to the world, and done such a disservice to Thailand.

    Christopher Woodman

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  138. The white man should not liken K. Somtow's burden to white men's burden. The white people never have changed their colonial mindset even long after the demise of Western colonies; he actually imposes his mindset onto K. Somtow's, and that is unjust.
    Thai people understand Thai people better. I agree with K. Somtow by and large. By and large most red shirts, except a few red leaders who master the plot and have hidden agenda, are ignorant; they are heated up to that violent fires. But as a Thai, I never feel worried amid the havoc; I see a beauty in that, namely the red-shirts by and large burnt but did not kill innocent people, we are still brothers and sisters; the army are more disciplined,they won my respect indeed. The red-shirt leaders are to be condemned and punished for their irresponsible acts; I really want to kick their asses. These leaders actually violated the red followers' right and liberty in thinking by flooding them with biased information.
    The red-shirts are mostly peasants, and they did not come out because they are poor. I never see a poor Thai peasant, they may be poor in cash, but they are actually rich in their land and soil, only that they are told that they are poor because they do not have money by - Western standard - a concept that some idiotic western-educated Thais brought in.
    To wrap up, I would say that usually Thai people do not fight with one another for food or money, only because of heated jealousy.

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  139. Yes, Thai people certainly do understand Thai people better, but sometimes Thai people don't understand how they can be manipulated by other Thais, particularly by very rich ones — and manipulated both by example, i.e. what the very rich Thais buy, how they live, what they say, who they associate with, and by their deliberate efforts to mislead their own people in the foreign media. So at the moment we see some very rich Thais actually hiring western lawyers and lobbyists to repackage events in Thailand, and that's extraordinary. So who else in the world would do that? And who is it all for, this extravagance, specifically? Is it to sway western governments to intervene in Thai affairs, very unlikely indeed, or is it to influence how Thai people see themselves and the events in their own country?

    And how could the investment actually be worth it? How could it be worth it to spend millions and millions of dollars to get international lobbyists and lawyers to put spin on local events in Thailand involving poor farmers from Isaan and day-laborers on Bangkok building sites?

    This is where foreigners can help, because we can evaluate better the quality of the spin. We can look at the face of the lobbyist lying through his teeth on Prime Time, for example, and we can call his spade a spade without anyone questioning our motives or our judgement.

    K. Somtow is Thai but he's got a foot in both worlds, so he can bridge the divide. And between us we can do a lot to help Thai people see how other people are manipulating them, because we already have too much and can see perhaps more easily how much Thai people have to lose if they let themselves be persuaded by some shyster that it's better to be richer and richer like us!

    That's the role informed foreigners can play in all this, not to pretend to understand Thais better than Thais but to insist the western media see through the spin, and report what's actually happening on the ground. By so doing foreigners can help Thais not to be intimidated by the very rich, or to swallow the crap in turn!

    A Foreign Friend

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  140. Smart post and so good blog
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