Rival 'Black May' commemorations held
Demonstrators dressed as soldiers and detainees stage a parody of the military abuse of pro-democracy protesters in the crackdown at the Royal Hotel during ‘Black May’ in 1992. Activities were held in the Rajdamnoen Avenue area yesterday to mark the 15th
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Rival political activists once united against a non-elected prime minister during the Black May incident of 1992 marked its 15th anniversary at separate rallies along Rajdamnoen Avenue yesterday.
The military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters who took to the streets against premier General Suchinda Kraprayoon 15 years ago left scores killed or maimed. The main events yesterday took place at Democracy Monument and nearby Santiporn Park, where a memorial to the tragedy is located. Groups opposed to last September's coup held a religious ceremony at Democracy Monument and other activities at nearby locations, including the Royal Hotel, where soldiers in 1992 moved on protest sympathisers assembling there. A parody of the confrontation, performed by demonstrators dressed as gun-toting soldiers and abused detainees, took place in front of the hotel, drawing the interest of guests and passers-by. This group consisted of the Thai Rak Thai Party and its allies from 12 anti-coup groups. Attending the religious ceremony were caretaker party leader Chaturon Chaisang, former senator Prateep Ungsong-tham Hata, PTV chief Veera Musigapong, and political activists Weng Tojirakarn and Sant Hatirat. PTV's Jatuporn Phromphan said the current political situation was reminiscent of 1992. Weng said last year's coup-makers seemed to want to cling to power, like their predecessors 15 years ago. A rival group consisting of figures from the Democrat Party, the People's Alliance for Democracy and relatives of those killed in 1992 held their remembrance of the incident at Santiporn Park. Pipop Thongchai, an adviser to the victims' relatives, called for fair compensation for those who lost loved ones.
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