Peace, etc

On September 1st, the day Emergency was declared by PM Samak, a group of 50 student and youth activists defied the ban on gatherings of 5 or more people by holding a peace vigil in the trendy Siam area of town. The message was one of restraint, they walked in silence through the trendy shopping district with candles and signs that urged people not to pick sides.


The night before, government supporters and the PAD had clashed. Foreign media reported at least one dead while locally there were reports of 3 or 4. It was said that this kind of violence has not occurred in Thailand since 1992. But people keep forgetting southern Thailand. And Thaksin's war on drugs. But that's different, right? That's government killing civilians in the name of protection and anti-terrorism and the purging of evil. That's allowed to continue in an atmosphere of impunity. This was brother-on-brother. This, apparently, is more tragic.