Bullying won’t bring reconciliation

Jerry Feldman says that one good thing to come from the coup is that the mass demonstrations, civil disobedience and violence have ended. It’s a sad thing when the only example he can give is something that could easily have been accomplished without a coup. It is obvious that the coup has failed in all the objectives that Eric Bahrt outlined (“Sometimes it pays to listen to your guests”, Letters, April 15).

Firstly, the demonstrations were not the cause of the coup – they were the excuse for the coup. Second, the demonstrations were not the main problem. Rather they were a symptom of a deep-seated problem in society. 

The junta, being blatantly partial, has done nothing to heal this problem. It is using brute force – a form of violence resulting in more casualties than the demonstrations did – accompanied by threats and an atmosphere of fear, in order to ensure the survival of a social structure that is responsible for the unrest. 

The divisions in Thai society need to be healed with understanding, compromise and justice. The bullying tactics of the present regime will never succeed, as we are already seeing. 

Keith Barlow