'Apology needed for reconciliation'
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All sides involved in the 2010 bloodshed should step forward and apologise for the violence caused and pave the way for reconciliation and forgiveness, instead of passing the blame, peace advocate Gothom Arya said yesterday.
Gothom, who is also the director of Mahidol University’s Research Centre for Peace Building, said the country would continue to be mired in animosity as long as the opposing sides refused to be held accountable for the political strife.
“None of us are strictly angels or devils; our actions are a mixture of good and bad,” he said.
He said he believed that in the prevailing political climate, even if the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand were to issue a comprehensive and irrefutable report outlining what happened in 2010, the opposing sides would still insist on their versions of the truth.
“The fact is that death and injury were inflicted on protesters as well as on the security forces, hence all sides involved in the violence had blood on their hands,” he said.
Gothom called for a halt to passing the blame. All sides should accept their respective responsibilities for triggering violence, he said.
The mutual apology would lessen bitter feelings and allow the opposing sides to engage in a meaningful dialogue to sort out the legal wrangling, he said.
A first step might be to grant amnesty to protesters accused of violating the emergency decree and issue a pardon for those convicted of such violations, he said. Other issues should then be discussed and settled in accordance with the progression of the reconciliation process, he added.
