Thailand would not have come this far without ‘Great Day of Sorrow’: politicians

They said that without that fateful day and the sacrifice of many pro-democracy protesters killed in the deadly crackdown, Thailand would not have come this far in terms of democracy.

However, some of the politicians believe a lot more needs to be done, so the country can gain “true democracy”.

Political party representatives, activists, and relatives of those killed in the 1973 pro-democracy protest attended an annual ceremony in memory of those “democracy heroes” at the October 14 Memorial on Bangkok’s Ratchadamnoen Avenue. Also participating in the event were Buddhist, Islam and Christian religious representatives. Wreaths were laid at the memorial and a eulogy was read aloud.

A massive crowd of demonstrators – estimated to be somewhere between 200,000 to 400,000 – gathered around the Democracy Monument and along the wide avenue on this day 50 years ago.

Security forces opened fire on mostly young protesters demanding a democratic constitution after years under military rule. The crackdown on the student-led uprising left 77 people dead and 857 injured, and the incident was later dubbed the “Day of Great Sorrow”.

Among the politicians attending Saturday’s event were Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew, who represented Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, and Move Forward Party leader Chaithawat Tulathon, who is tipped to become the next opposition leader.

Cholnan, formerly leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, said at Saturday’s event that the sacrifice by those democracy heroes in 1973 was the “first chapter of a democracy of the people, by the people, and for the people in Thailand”.
 

Wan Noor voiced confidence that Thais today would learn a lesson from the spirit of the October 14 heroes to create a democracy that truly belongs to the people.

He said without the uprising five decades ago calling for rights, liberties and democracy, Thai politics would never have developed this far.

Chadchart said Thais today were indebted to the October 14 heroes. “I believe that without the October 14 incident, the Bangkok gubernatorial elections would never have been held,” the elected governor said.

However, he also warned that dictators around the world have become “smarter” and that pro-democracy campaigners need to be aware of this.

“Whenever people are involved in a conflict, dictators will take advantage. We need to stay united and ignore those enemies of democracy who want to divide us,” Chadchart said.

The governor also said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration was glad to support any pro-democracy activity. “May Bangkok and Thailand have a prosperous democracy from the seeds sown by the democracy heroes 50 years ago,” he said.
 

Meanwhile, Chaithawat said on Saturday that he had spoken to the relatives of the October 14 heroes, and they still hoped that young people would continue the battle for true democracy in Thailand.

The opposition MP said the country has been under dictatorial rule until today.

He pointed out that to uphold the October 14 spirit, his Move Forward Party proposed an amnesty bill for political cases. He said that many people faced severe criminal charges due to their political fight.

Chaithawat also said that 50 years after the October 14 uprising, Thailand is still waiting for a charter that is written by elected representatives of all stakeholders. He added that constitutional rights and liberties need to be put into practice, not in letters only.