Reliving early culture shocks

As my life in Thailand accumulates more memories as the distance between the first discomfiting culture shock of arrival and the present moment increases, I feel more confident, adept, and at home in Thai culture. Although one does not truly feel at home and experience recurring bouts of living the sentence of a perpetual outsider, it is the growing familiarity with predictable patterns and responding to those patterns in a predictably acceptable manner that make life in my adopted country a somewhat satisfying experience. This sense of predictability, despite little grasp of meaning, is the key to navigating the lived life in Thailand with relative ease. Part of the experience of exile is the acute sense of displacement that stems from a realization that by living in the interstices of a foreign culture one cannot share or completely understand the underpinning values or logic of the Thai way of life.

Of course one makes mistakes, and during those times of blunder the strangeness of life reappears with a vengeance acutely felt with deep regrets and strident questioning again about why Thailand is Thailand.

In the reporting of the on-going “civil coup” to overthrow the existing government, I felt a palpable sense of déjà vu of my experience in the first unsettling months upon arrival in the early 90s. When reading the English newspaper Bangkok Post, I was completely shocked by the incomprehensibly shallow and sometimes sheer nonsense that pass for news such as a reductionist quotation attributed to politicians, or high ranking civil servants or a description of what transpired. That sense of déjà vu returned when I read newspaper accounts of the PAD led “civil coup” to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Samak.

Here are some reports based on the Bangkok Post, August 30th, 2008 edition (the only hard copy edition that I could obtain from my wife's office) that once again pushed the limits of my credulity on the nature of Thai reality in the unfolding drama between PAD’s stubborn struggle for the moral high ground (in their continuing occupation of the Government House) and the Prime Minister, who is forced to muster all his cunning and experience so as not to lose any of his tenuous credibility in this fight between “good” versus “evil”, depending on where you stand in the political spectrum.

1. Headlines: Violence erupts – wait a minute.... the accompanying photo only shows demonstrators outside the Metropolitan Police Bureau lying prone on the ground as they tried to take cover from tear gas on Friday evening, August 29th. “Police denied firing the tear gas”. Not a single policeman is shown amidst the puff of tear gas smoke beating up the demonstrators.

NOTE: Lying prone on the ground is the worst possible method of protecting oneself against tear gas especially when there is no wind to dissipate the high concentration. The best possible way is to run away as far as possible from the cloud of smoke. According to Wikipedia, CS gas (tear gas) is generally accepted as “non-lethal”. “The chemical reacts with moisture on the skin and in the eyes causing a burning sensation and the immediate forceful and uncontrollable shutting of the eyes. Reported effects can include tears streaming from the eyes, running nose full of mucus, burning in the nose and throat areas, disorientation, dizziness and restricted breathing. In highly concentrated doses it can also induce severe coughing and vomiting. Almost all of the immediate effects wear off in a matter of minutes.”

If we read the Note inside the box “Day of Scuffles” it reads: “A total of 25 PAD supporters and one police officer were injured during clashes at the Makhawan bridge and Government House. About 20 people sustained minor injuries during the scuffle at Metropolitan headquarters ”. (bold font added)
In my opinion, even if the police fired the teargas, they had every right to disperse the big crowd who could have over run the police headquarters - see below 1a.

1a. in the back page 14, inside the box “Day of Scuffles”, we read that at 7PM “About one thousand PAD supporters rally in front of Metropolitan Police headquarters demanding police return their belongings seized during the Makkhawan bridge raids".

Why were PAD demonstrators so insistent about the return of their belongings when they were indeed blocking Makkhawan bridge for more than 90 days? Huh? This is unbelievable in the annals of demonstration behavior! The demonstrators are acting like spoiled children whose main concern is retrieval of their trivial belongings! Have they forgotten all of a sudden their avowed purpose to overthrow the government? Could it be that their seized belongings cost more than the amount claimed by rumors paid to (some) them to join the demonstrations?

2. Still in the back page 14, is a photo that is described as “Golf clubs, Molotov cocktails, pepper spray and slingshots are among items police seized from the anti-government protest site near Makkhawan bridge yesterday (photo taken by Natthiti Ampriwan). The photo shows at least 50 to 60 golf clubs. Considering that golf is a hobby for the upper middle class to the very rich, are we to conclude that PAD demonstrators are avid golfers on the side, and that perhaps the idea for toppling the Samak government was first broached in a round of golf? It would even be more incredulous to imagine that PAD specifically bought second hand golf clubs from KlongThom as defensive weapons. Or perhaps, the riot police planted these golf clubs, as riot police are also fond of playing golf during off demonstration season.

3. Still in the back page 14, the main (largest photo by Apichit Jinakul) shows a group of police, one shown with his right foot stepping on the back of the neck area of an injured demonstrator. None show carrying guns on their holsters. Two other policemen are pointing their batons on the demonstrator who appears to be bloodied. But there is no anger in their faces. Did the demonstrator charge the police? Or did the police beat up the demonstrator unprovoked? We have no way of knowing the context of this dramatic picture that suggests police brutality!

4. "The Civil Court suspended its injunction to evict the PAD from Government House, saying execution of the order might inflict further damage."
Why the wishy washy stance of the Court? In Thailand, the law can apparently be arbitrarily applied. I don’t recall any magnanimous scruples by the authorities during the 1976 Thammasat clash, 1991 put down of demonstrations in Democracy Monument, Tak Bai, and Krue Sue Mosque incidents. If the decision of the court is affected by outside pressure and therefore shifts to wiggle its way out of firm enforcement, then we may as well forget the rule of law in this country.

5. On page 2, “Electric shocks, sparks, drainage lids deter police” is another piece of incomprehensibly illogical reporting.
This refers to the story of PAD’s use of various kinds of weapons to ward off police from entering Government House.

5a. “At Gate 7 of Government House, where hundreds of police were deployed and prepared to break into the compound, PAD guards tied a long wire to the metal gate and charged it with electricity from a portable battery. When police moved closer, they charged the electricity to generate electric sparks at the gate. ‘Police were scared of the sparks and immediately backed off’, a PAD guard said proudly.

This shows that police have not been trained in disarming the simplest improvised weapon. Do they have no basic equipment like gloves, ropes to dismantle the wiring by pulling at the wire? Thai policemen have no basic understanding of principles of electricity? How much training did this contingent of riot control police receive?

5b. “PAD protesters covered a section of Phitsanulok road with tarpaulins and poured liquid detergent on it to make the surface slippery”.

And the police did not use their sense of smell to determine it was detergent? Why did the police not pull the tarpaulin off the road?

5c. “Rumours about a police crackdown on the PAD had spread every day. Other protesters collected old sewage shaft lids left inside government compounds to use as shield against police batons or rubber bullets”.

A sewage shaft lid probably weighs approximately 10 kilograms (22 lbs). With a nifty trick of knots from a relatively big diameter rope, the lid can be transformed into a makeshift shield indeed. But how long can an Asian sized body carry a 22 lbs shield, much less, use it effectively to parry a baton charge without being hindered by its sheer weight?

5d. “Police reported that various kinds of weapons – machetes, bullets, golf clubs, iron bars, and batons – were found at the PAD’s demonstration sites. They could not confirm if the weapons belonged to PAD. Even if they did, the PAD protesters would not be troubled by their loss, as they believe they can always find other ingenuous ways to protect themselves.”

Did these weapons materialize (Star Trek style) in the PAD’s demonstrations sites? If the police planted them surely that would have been quite an effort not only in terms of collecting these weapons, but also carrying them to the sites. I find the logic totally incomprehensible. If the Americans found WMD in Iraq, would they stupidly dither and say there was no proof that the WMD were Saddam’s?

6. Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag’s damage control. On page 12 “the week in Review” Tej Bunnag in explaining to the international community the invasions of the PAD starting on August 22nd till their seizure of the Government House: “What happened definitely affected Thailand’s tourism and economy, but we would like other countries to understand that this situation is part of the progress on democratic growth in Thailand. We will have to wait and see what will happen next”, Mr. Tej said”.

Progress on democratic growth in Thailand? A civil coup is progress??? Immediately below “the week in Review” is a half page block article “In Print” by Kamol Hengkietisak “PAD’s aggressive move condemned” ends his report on PAD’s tactics: by quoting Matichon ‘The PAD’s long demonstration – more than 90 days now – may have weakened its members and made them want to finish the game early. But the uncivilized use of force not only alienates the general public, it makes it hard for the PAD leaders to find a graceful way out.’ What’s more, concluded Matichon, the misstep cheapens the PAD image to that of an ordinary violent mob.

Can the actions of a violent mob be considered 'progress'?

7. Page 3, at the bottom: “Protesters say police attack proves PM can’t be trusted”
“Mr. Anont, who has no right hand…. Asked police not to use force, but was pushed to the ground. When he fell, police trampled on him and hit him in the head with batons, said Mr. Anont, who comes from Yala.”

"Napat Pitiworawong, 42, said she pleaded with police not to dismantle the PAD stage, but was pushed to the ground and beaten. She covered the back of her neck with her hands while police beat her on the back. They did not care that they were hurting women. They also used pepper spray that burned me and me me choke for a long time. Police saw the demonstrators as criminals, but this violent act makes the demonstrators angry and now they hate the police and the government” she said.

If you are supposedly fighting for a cause with ahimsa, then you must be ready to receive the blows from the police batons and the blood flowing from your cracked skulls as your badge of courage and moral superiority. You were already warned that the stage has been blocking the road for 90 days. A people who want to be treated kindly by the police after they have disobeyed the rule of law and flaunt that disobedience for 90 days or more, are not practicing ahimsa but opportunistic provocation, pure and simple.

The kid gloves (super lenient) approach by the government was extended even further on Sept 1, when Pol Col Jongrak Chuthanon, deputy police commissioner-general ordered metropolitan police to carry only shields and refrain from carrying batons or any other arms when dealing with protesters. This act has stretch disbelef beyond all bounds. Yes, this may help reduce tensions, but how can police carry out their role if they have nothing to defend themselves? This is another amazing first in the annals of demonstration history, unarmed police trying to control a potentially serious riot situation.

Be that as it may, an alien reading the news and following the continuing saga here in Thailand will be hard put to comprehend the nature of Thai behavior and the logic of recent events that can be described as an array of incomprehensible displays of stupidity, arrogance, incompetence, obstinacy, heavy manipulation, unbelievable leniency by the authorities, undemocratic and childish behavior of certain groups who claim to represent the majority of Thais, arbitrary application of the rule of law by wishy washy courts and confusing media reporting. Orwell's mouth would have opened in approval by the word construction of the Thai media.

Perhaps, in our own struggle to make sense of this dire situation that will have long lasting effects on the “progress of democracy” in Thailand we should always remind ourselves that behind all this stupendous absurdity is the constant threat of real violence, a blood thirst of unsatisfiable proportions based on simmering resentments, unresolved injustices and fear of an uncertain future as the country’s most important symbols and institutions are found wanting in defining its role in leading a "modern" Thailand into the 21st century. These recent events are not disconnected to the way Thailand has "plugged in" to the glorious promises of wealth and prosperity in the era of globalization. They are in fact a direct result of the contradictions of capitalist growth, traditional authority and growing democratic sentiments. Those who feel threatened by the loss of control, influence, and power are not wont to let go.

The point of no return perhaps has already been crossed. Thailand may have to go through another violent period so that anachronistic structures may be cleansed. Whatever will unfold in the coming days unfortunately may not necessarily be helping the cause of democratic progress in Thailand because of the divisive angry mood, the spatial polarization in loyalties, the muddled issues, and the strong conservative impulse to retain traditional aspects of authority and ways of resolving conflict. May the Buddha quench all the anger in men’s hearts so that everyone can find a way out of this impasse.