The unfortunate clash between Thai and Cambodian soldiers at a disputed area along the border near Chong Bok, Ubon Ratchathani province, at dawn on Wednesday led to the death of one Cambodian soldier. Both sides insist it was the other side which opened fire first, and I think that without any concrete evidence, it would be best not to jump to any conclusion, even though I am Thai. Many Thais simply believe what the Thai government has told them, however.
In both countries, ultranationalist sentiment has been stirred since the incident. Former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is still widely regarded as the most influential figure in Cambodian politics although his son, Hun Manet, is now PM, vows to protect what he said was Cambodian territory and challenged Thailand to take the matter to the International Court of Justice. This is despite very warm relations with former PM Thaksin Shinawatra and with the government of Thaksin’s daughter, PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Both Thaksin and Paetongtarn are now closely monitored by Thais who hate them, with even greater suspicion, and some Thai analysts believe the incident, if provoked by the Cambodian political elite, has more to do with uniting the Cambodian public by replaying the much-rehearsed narrative of Thailand being their perpetual threat and enemy.
Political analysis about possible factors regarding internal politics in Cambodia aside, the effect of Wednesday’s deadly clash generates a toxic atmosphere of ultranationalism both in Thailand and Cambodia as netizens from respective countries dehumanise one another.
Many Thais believe they love their nation, but if that love is misguided, extreme nationalism can rear its ugly head and turn into fanaticism, diminishing their respect for the humanity of other people at the other end of the conflicts. Ultranationalism leads to a loss of basic respect for fellow human beings and even erodes one’s own sense of humanity.
Take, for example, the case of the Cambodian soldier who was killed in Wednesday’s clash with Thai soldiers. Some Thai netizens clicked laugh emojis on Facebook following the news of the loss of one Cambodian life. Some even mocked the death of officer Suon Rom, 48, from Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province.
One such degrading FB post was from the “Thai smile” FB page, which enjoys 1.7 million followers. Its post on Saturday shows photos of Cambodian students and teachers paying respect to the image of Suon Rom, their fallen hero, with a caption in Thai stating that Suon Rom died because he “ran into a banana tree” and yet was treated like a brave hero in Cambodia. The post generated 34K ‘like’ and ‘laugh’ emoji responses in less than 20 hours after it was posted and shared over 1,200 times before noon today.
This is the essence of ultranationalism. It eats away at people’s sense of decency and humanity. If the deceased soldier was Thai, these Thai netizens would almost certainly praise their “fallen hero” who sacrificed his life to defend Thailand.
These Thai netizens truly do not recognise that soldiers on both sides believe they were defending the sovereignty of their own nation.
To these Thai netizens: Please show respect to the opposing side, because they believe the same as our soldiers do. And if you cannot even see what is wrong with it, then it means your humanity and decency have been corroded by ultranationalism. I understand that some Cambodians are also under the intoxicating influence of ultranationalism.
There is no need for more loss. Let us try to sort out our differences without force and without having to dehumanise the other.
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