Political violence is abhorrent. So are those who fail to condemn it when politically convenient.
June 4, 2019 (ATN) - Thai PBS reported in their article, "Anti-junta activist Ja New attacked again by unidentified men," that:
Ja New and Nattha “Bow” Mahatthana - also mentioned in the article as providing support for Ja New - were both silent in 2014 when militants aligned with Yingluck Shinawatra's regime attacked protesters day and night with assault rifles and grenades, killing over 20 people including women and children.
Also silent in 2014, but now openly and very publicly condemning the attack on Ja New is Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
Their criticisms for the current government and the 2014 coup consistently omit any mention of the violence and abuses the ousted regime committed precipitating the coup in the first place.
Their one-sided, politically-motivated condemnation of violence only when it targets them is indicative of the overall, transparent lack of substance of their entire movement.
For Thanathorn - a nepotist union-busting billionaire who now runs on a platform to supposedly fighting for "equality" - hypocrisy comes as second nature.
The political exploitation of Ja New's attack raises suspicions that an opposition comfortable with political violence when it suits them may have staged this most recent attack to elicit badly needed attention and sympathy in the wake of elections they lost.
However, it is just as likely pro-government vigilantes carried out the attack.
Either way, political violence is never acceptable.
Not against protesters in 2014 standing up to the regime of Yingluck Shinawatra, and not now in 2019 against those opposing the military for ousting the regime.
For anyone who thinks Ja New and his circle of agitators are a threat to Thailand - they should have enough faith in Thailand's institutions to deal with that threat effectively. Taking matters into their own hands makes them as bad - if not worse - than the very agitators seeking to subvert Thailand's institutions.
AltThaiNews condemned the violence of Thaksin Shinawatra and his various proxies, it condemned episodes of vigilante violence during the 2014 protests, and it condemns this most recent attack on Sirawith "Ja New" Seritiwat.
Anyone engaging in political violence has no place within a civilized society. Similarly, neither do those failing to condemn violence when politically convenient - as Ja New, Bow, and Thanathorn did in 2014 - who are just as bad as those carrying out the violence in 2014 and now.
June 4, 2019 (ATN) - Thai PBS reported in their article, "Anti-junta activist Ja New attacked again by unidentified men," that:Well known anti-junta activist Sirawith Seritiwat, alias Ja New, was attacked by five unidentified men at a bus stop on Ratchadapisek road in Bangkok on Sunday night, which he later described as an attempt on his life.
Ja New and Nattha “Bow” Mahatthana - also mentioned in the article as providing support for Ja New - were both silent in 2014 when militants aligned with Yingluck Shinawatra's regime attacked protesters day and night with assault rifles and grenades, killing over 20 people including women and children.
Also silent in 2014, but now openly and very publicly condemning the attack on Ja New is Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
Their criticisms for the current government and the 2014 coup consistently omit any mention of the violence and abuses the ousted regime committed precipitating the coup in the first place.
Their one-sided, politically-motivated condemnation of violence only when it targets them is indicative of the overall, transparent lack of substance of their entire movement.
For Thanathorn - a nepotist union-busting billionaire who now runs on a platform to supposedly fighting for "equality" - hypocrisy comes as second nature.
The political exploitation of Ja New's attack raises suspicions that an opposition comfortable with political violence when it suits them may have staged this most recent attack to elicit badly needed attention and sympathy in the wake of elections they lost.
However, it is just as likely pro-government vigilantes carried out the attack.
Either way, political violence is never acceptable.
Not against protesters in 2014 standing up to the regime of Yingluck Shinawatra, and not now in 2019 against those opposing the military for ousting the regime.
For anyone who thinks Ja New and his circle of agitators are a threat to Thailand - they should have enough faith in Thailand's institutions to deal with that threat effectively. Taking matters into their own hands makes them as bad - if not worse - than the very agitators seeking to subvert Thailand's institutions.
AltThaiNews condemned the violence of Thaksin Shinawatra and his various proxies, it condemned episodes of vigilante violence during the 2014 protests, and it condemns this most recent attack on Sirawith "Ja New" Seritiwat.
Anyone engaging in political violence has no place within a civilized society. Similarly, neither do those failing to condemn violence when politically convenient - as Ja New, Bow, and Thanathorn did in 2014 - who are just as bad as those carrying out the violence in 2014 and now.
