Frankly speaking, this is one of the few times that I agree with political scientist Kasian Tejapira of Thammasat University, despite our political differences, albeit for a different reason.
In his Facebook post on Friday night, he said: “Politics is about finding friends, not venting anger or taking revenge by means. The goal of politics must be clear and be the guide of the struggle. Of course, venting anger or taking revenge is understood and is normal for human beings. But while engaging in political struggle, be careful not to destroy the united front, isolate yourself, undermine the righteousness of the struggle of tens of thousands of people who have joined (the struggle) ….”
So far, Mr Kasian’s opinion is the only lone voice of sanity and decency that I have heard in our deeply divided society, which is steadily losing its sanity and conscience, dominated by mutual hatred and blind loyalty. But his warning to the protesters appears to be out of concern that they may lose support from the people.
The scholar pointed out that political legitimacy is the capital of the protesters and they must keep it, not destroy it.
Like the other voices of the supporters of the Khana Ratsadon (or whatever is its name, which has been spearheading the ongoing protests), Mr Kasian did not mention the incident, described as the last straw, which prompted Prime
Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to announce that he would get tough with law-breaking protesters and would use every law and “every section of the laws” to deal with them.
He has sent a clear signal that the lese majeste law − or Section 112 of the Criminal Code − whose enforcement has been suspended for many months as granted by HM the King, will be re-invoked against the protesters who offend the monarchy.
It is understood why all the opposition parties and MPs and even rights groups have chosen to keep their mouths shut on this ugly and inhumane incident in question which took place during the protest in front of the Royal Thai Police headquarters on Wednesday night.
One unidentified protester spraypainted a few words deemed provocative, cruel and heartless at the base of a huge portrait of HM the Queen Mother. Instead of mentioning or criticising the protesters for this hate message, which is the cause of the anger of the opposing side and the re-invocation of the lese majeste law, they all cried in unison that the government was declaring war on the peaceful protesters, that the issue of the lese majeste law would exacerbate and political conflict bla bla bla.
Commonsense dictates that, in order to solve a problem, one has to look at its cause and not just its effects, can that incident be ignored or must it be addressed if use of the lese majeste law is to be avoided.
Or maybe opposition MPs, right groups and cheerleaders of the protest movement agree that such provocative and outrageous graffiti is acceptable because it does not hurt anyone physically.
Since when is it acceptable to curse someone who is sick and cannot defend himself or herself? Would it be acceptable too if that same kind of inhumane act were applied to the parents or relatives of the protest leaders or their cheerleaders?
Civilised people don’t hurt those who are sick, weak or disabled. Yet some tolerate this abuse and still have the temerity to suggest that others seeking to prevent a repeat of such abuse may need psychiatric counselling.
Splashing paint on state property or somebody’s property to vent frustration is definitely not a peaceful act, although it was considered a non-violent act by a protest leader to justify the vandalism at the Royal Thai Police headquarters and at a temple just across the road during the protest on Wednesday night.
If this is a peaceful and acceptable act, how about someone splash paint on theprotest leader’s house or car?
Violence by the protesters − or by their opponents or the authorities − is unacceptable as it will only fuel more violence. Likewise, police use of the lesemajeste law against alleged offenders of the monarchy must be done with extreme care as that might backfire, too.