Western governments silent in face of Thai massacre

Once again the West’s commitment to human rights is shown to be selective. As Thai troops finally cleared the Red Shirts demonstration in Bangkok today, Western governments remained silent as they troops shot scores of people over the last week with high powered military rifles and shot guns. The silence is in stark contrast to the condemnation of the Iranian Government for its crackdown on the “Green Revolution” after last year’s election in Iran. The difference: Thai protestors represent the poor and the working class whilst the West wished to rid itself of an the anti-US Iranian regime.

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Although the Australian and Western media have reported extensively on the violent crackdown on the protests they have included little context. In particular spokespeople or leaders for the Red Shirts have been conspicuously absent. The first most Australians heard about the rogue general who has switched sides to the Red Shirts, Seh Daeng, was that he had been shot in the head.

This is in sharp contrast to the many interviews and extensive coverage of the leadership of the “Green Revolution” in Iran, such as Mir Hossein Mousavi, were widely covered in the press. Protestors in Iran were lauded as following the tradition of Ghandi in bringing down an oppressive power and we were apparently in awe of the first revolution fuelled by Twitter. Obama was urged in the U.S. and abroad to take a strong stance supporting the protestors and to condemn the Iranian Government.

In contrast, the Thai Government has been shooting unarmed people (or people only armed with firecrackers and molotovs), in full view of the media. In fact a number of media have themselves been killed, as have medics and other civilians giving lie to the “terrorist” tag of the Thai Government.

Whilst I am in no way defending the Iranian Government who are oppressive fundamentalist’s who deserve to be condemned for their treatment of their own people, it sickens me that the Red Shirt’s can be shot down like dogs without a peeop from the West, simply because they represent the poor masses of rural and urban Thailand. Western capital does not want to see a leftist uprising in Thailand succeed and want business as usual to continue in Thailand whatever the cost. In contrast the West cynically supported the peoples uprising in Iran as they saw it as a tool to ride themselves of a troublesome and powerful anti-American regime.

The Age coverage of the crackdown today is typical In this story in The Age .When one looks at this story – the embedded video is of an Australian journalist hiding to save themselves as another journalist is shot in the head only 10 metres from them in the Red Shirts camp. However the text of the story tells of a “rampage” by Red Shirts as fires are lit in upmarket shopping centres at the stock exchange. These attacks on property and symbols of capital are far more disturbing to the Age than the account of indiscrimate death at the hands of Thai soldiers.

More footage of Thai military clearly shooting at unarmed civilians can be seen here
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