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Story : Thanapol Eawsakul
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What happened in Thailand during May of 1992 was beyond the world's comprehension. In a country that had often been hailed as a fledgling democracy, thought to have been rapidly progressing toward a political destiny that embodied such values as democracy and democratic processes, and the rule of law over the rule of man, the opposite occurred. The opposite being the kind of thing people expected in such places as China or Burma... Bangkok's Rajdamnoen Road had become China's Tiananmen Square. Those fateful three days in May of 1992, the army and the people clashed in a deadly political feud, costing people their lives and the army their political dominance. |
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Although we may seem to have come a long way from the events of May 1992, we have to remember that it was still only ten years ago. Only ten years ago, violence took the lives of a countless number of people, a number indeterminable until today, and affected the lives of countless more who continue on without their loved ones.
Have we come very far since then? In the past ten years, darkness still surrounds the tragic events of May 1992; evidence is still waiting to be discovered. Such questions concerning whether there was really a third party involved, who gave the orders to shoot, and what happened to the corpses still lurk in the back of peoples' minds. Within the past ten years, people have been and are still seeking justice. |
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On this ten-year anniversary, Sarakadee remembers the May tragedy and pays tribute to our fallen heroes. In this edition, Sarakadee sifts through the rubble and remains once more to highlight the direct and indirect impact of those tragic events on the diminished role of our military in the political affairs of the country, the increased importance of a free press, the insistence on the right to a free press, and the involvement of all groups in society - especially the growing middle class - in political processes. With this reevaluation, we are reminded that the struggle for democracy goes on. |
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