US Embassy protest turns smiles upside down
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To many resident foreigners, the Land of Smiles is fast becoming the Land of Frowns. Part of the reason is the junta’s use of the lese majeste law to arrest anyone it does not like.
The US ambassador merely spoke the truth, yet his remarks drew several hundred Thais to a protest at the embassy – even though it was illegal for them to congregate in a large group. Since the National Council for Peace and Order allowed those protesters to assemble, it is obvious they were speaking for the NCPO. This is hatred against Thailand’s oldest ally, which, unlike Britain, Japan or China, has never failed Thailand, yet has often been used as a whipping boy by the Thai authorities.
Michael Weldon
