Khon Kaen students deserve our support
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A group of students stage a peaceful, "three-fingered salute" protest during the prime minister's recent visit to Khon Kaen. They are arrested, presumably subjected to a brief session of "attitude adjustment" and then released without charge.
That should have been the end of the matter, but a senior army commander is then reported to have accused the students of being paid Bt50,000 by a politician to stage the protest, an accusation the students have vigorously denied. The officer who reportedly made the accusation subsequently claimed that it was “mere intelligence gathering”, whatever that means.
This has forced the Army chief, General Udomdej Sitabutr, into a rather desperate attempt at damage limitation, which may well have exactly the opposite effect. He hopes that everyone “will not make a big deal” of the matter in the future. Well, if the accusation was fabricated, then it certainly is a big deal for a number of reasons, not least because it may have been a dishonest attempt to smear the reputations and integrity of the students involved. They are clearly not taking the matter lying down, demanding that the Army show evidence to support the accusation and asking for a meeting to clarify the matter.
Whatever one may think of their actions, the students surely deserve support in their attempt to clear their names.
Robin Grant
