Both sides must listen to each other, reconciliation expert advises

Hayner, an expert on truth and reconciliation, is working as a consultant to Thailand's Truth for Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

"I hope that means can be found to allow dialogue," Hayner told The Nation. "If there can't be an understanding, then there's an increasing problem."

Hayner, who ends her brief visit to Bangkok today, said the TRC as well as leaders of both movements and protesters on the ground level should discuss their disagreements and honestly try to understand other side's perspective and recognise the legitimacy of their views.

She said the core problems might go beyond the April-May 2010 crackdown, when at least 92 people were killed.

She warned that the issue of granting amnesty to those responsible for the deaths was a tricky issue. For instance, South Africa was slammed for granting amnesty to people for telling the truth, she said, adding that a distinction must be made between intentional killings and unintentional manslaughter.

As for the unresolved task of finding the truth behind the deaths and injuries last year, Hayner who has advised similar commissions in more than a dozen countries over the years and is co-founder of the International Centre for Transitional Justice, offered a caveat.

"You can have truth without reconciliation and you can have reconciliation without the truth. There are cases where countries have chosen not to dig into the past. When civil war ended, they dropped their arms and went back to their villages," she said, adding that sometimes truth can also "damage" reconciliation if it does not come from all sides and is unbiased.

She also said that the government should reconsider the impact of the lese majeste law, saying the increase in the number of charges was not really helping the situation. "If there's an increase in prosecution, one must ask if that's appropriate and good for Thailand."

A believer in the power of truth, Hayner said that not learning lessons from the past would only open the door to similar violence in the future.

"If [finding the truth] is done in the right way, then it's certainly better than trying to pretend we cannot learn anything. Some deny and don't learn from their mistakes and refuse to admit," she said.

However, Hayner admitted that in the end she could not tell Thailand how it should proceed.

"I can't speak for Thailand. Every country is different," she explained, adding that building trust between people of opposing view is important in order to stop confrontations turning violent. However, she warned that Thailand still had the potential of seeing violent conflicts in the future.

Hayer met both Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and top military commanders during her visit.