[Tlc] T-commentary/violence

[justinm at ucr.edu]

Forwarded from Dr. Thongchai Winichakul.
Thanks,
justin


Thai government and most media insist that there was NO death among the
red-shirts. Some even said it was effective and not violent. For them, live
ammunitions, war weapons, tanks, and hundred of soldiers were not violent as
long as they did not cause significant number of death.

To the US government (Obama administration!), they said almost the same
thing as Thai government. Two deaths were the result of fightings between
local residents and the red-shirts. Some media said the deaths were local
residents caused byu the protesters, some said the opposite.

Since The blood Songkran, the number of death and how they died become a
public controversy. Lots of rumors and unreliable sources. Lots of them are
arguments-turn-facts as words move from mouth to mouth.

We may take this controversy as irrelevant if our definition of violence is
not restricted to death. Or we may take the controversy as a symptom of the
concern but varying views of violence.

Two facts are ignored by the Thai and US government and most media (Thai and
international) in these debate, despite they are in public news.
1) There are two people killed and thrown into the river. Their bodies
appeared a few days ago with hands tied behind their backs and pieces of
colth over their faces/mouths. They were among the red-shirts -- that's all
we know. Since then, their relatives took their bodies back for cremations
at thier home towns and they said they are not going to press charge or did
not ask for any invetigation. The cases closed! (I am surprised -- can a
criminal case be closed by permission of relatives?)
2) Yesterday Thai Rath daily reported that police confirm to public that
there were over a dozen people carried away by the army truck. This has been
said by several red-shirt people, but nobody believe them. Personally I
don't want to trust the police saying either. But at the least this matter
is worth investiogation (without having to ask for permission by their
relatives).

What the Thai and US governments want us to believe is not over yet.

Last but not least, one Thai commentator raises an interesting issue. Does
violence include the acts that cause people to become "tai sak" ตายซาก,
literally, being alive, but mentally, spiritually death, i.e. being
despaired, hopeless, losing interest in living, or living on with extreme
pessimism and hopelessness?




______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu