BANGKOK — In response to a Redshirt rally marking the third anniversary of the April 2010 crackdown on Redshirt protesters that left 26 dead, the chief of the Thai army has stressed that soldiers were also among those who perished in the clashes.
Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha said the Redshirts are free to commemorate the crackdown because of their losses, but that he, and the army, have their own losses too.
“A one-sided narrative of the event” is not fair, said Gen. Prayuth, declaring that those responsible for the soldiers' deaths be brought to face trial.
“I don't want to pick fights with anyone,” Gen. Prayuth said, “but I have to ask for fairness on behalf of those men under my command.”
The army chief said he has received complaints from wounded soldiers and relatives of the slain servicemen concerning the unsolved cases concerning their injuries and deaths. Gen. Prayuth says he will order the army's legal team to write to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and inquire about any developments in those cases.
“Soldiers are people, too” Gen. Prayuth told reporters.
