Prayut demands progress in efforts to rehabilitate Oct 14 victims, kin

“The events mark a significant democratic call in the country. I think the state can’t overlook this,” PM’s Office Minister ML Panadda Diskul said yesterday at the October 14 memorial.

Commemorating the uprising’s 42nd anniversary on behalf of Prayut, Panadda said agencies would take serious action to rehabilitate the long-suffering victims and their relatives after their work had been sluggish despite the passage of 42 years.

The officials must sit down and tell the truth about what has impeded their work so that they can speed up the process and resolve it, he said.

Democratic development must be brought by people’s unity and sufficiency, he added. 

The events of October 14 saw people protesting against the military government of that time after witnessing a string of ill-fated incidents including alleged abuse of power. 

Some officers had gone game hunting in Thung Yai Naresuan and some student activists who had campaigned for democracy and a constitution were arrested.

Led by a group of students, the rally moved out of Thammasat University through Ratchadamnoen Road before violence broke out in a clash with authorities in the early morning of October 14. The ensuing crackdown lasted until the evening. 

Some students fled into the jungle, while the prime minister and his top officials took refuge overseas. A new constitution was written a year later, dubbed as one of the most democratic, with massive participation after the bloodshed.

The government in 2006 approved compensation to the victims and their kin. Eighty people were eligible to receive up to Bt1.4 million, and in 2008, the government approved a budget to cover their monthly allowances.

However, some relatives claimed they never received the money.

They called for their monthly stipends, reportedly approved by the Yingluck administration in 2013. At the memorial, they asked the government to consider their case and proceed to grant them the financial aid.

Lamied Boonmak, president of the October 14 Victims’ Foundation, said the victims and their kin have never been rehabilitated despite so many years passing. Panadda’s promise has just given her some hope, she said.

Surachai Liengboonlertchai, vice president of the National Legislative Assembly, said the NLA would continue the will of the victims to create a stable and sustainable democracy, as people have helped develop the regime for the past 42 years.

The memorial saw religious rites performed for the dead. Flowers were laid to commemorate them.

At Thammasat’s Prachan Campus, an academic seminar on “Constitution and Idealism” was held in remembrance of the incident. There was also an event in the evening where new democratic groups like the Resistant Citizens held their own ceremonies to honour the victims at the memorial.