Professor Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in economics, said there was a "gross oversimplification" in the way international media reported the Thai conflict as a class war between the rich and the poor.
Speaking to reporters after his lecture on Peace, Violence and Development in Modern Societies at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Sen did not offer a cause for the Thai conflict and violence, or recommend remedies for the complex situation.
He said he was sceptical about the international media - such as the BBC, CNN and even the New York Times - over its reporting of the Thai disturbances.
"The BBC, CNN and even the New York Times reporting certainly does not help when it describes the conflict as a class war between rich and poor. It's a gross oversimplification," he said.
Sen said he did not know enough about Thailand to describe or explain its troubles as a class war. But there must be something more to the conflict when the poor happen to be led by the richest man in the country, he said.
Sen has been a frequent visitor to Thailand. He said he loves this country and is aware of the political crisis going on - the upheavals in April and May with their heavy casualties and deep-running struggle for power.
Asked about the justification of using armed forces to quell protesters, Sen said bringing in the military to tackle riots must be done in extraordinary situations. Even in India, he said, sometimes it is necessary to use the military to deal with riots, which get out of control.
The military are there to be used both for handling external threats and also for subduing domestic riots, he said.
Sen disagreed with any attempt to view human insecurity or violence from a one-dimensional approach. He disproves the thesis of Samuel Huntington, author of "Clash of Civilisations", who views the global conflict as a religious war or a cultural clash.
Sen said many elements are at play at the same time within human beings or plural identities.
He cited an example of a district in Germany, which had the highest incidence of community cooperation and shared responsibility. "But people in this district also throw bricks at immigrants," he said. "So what is good in a community might not be good for others from the outside," he said.
In spite of its economic progress, the world appeared to be tilting towards more violence and less human security. Sen said although economic growth had reduced poverty and increased opportunity, there was no guarantee we would enjoy peace. For instance, there are the new security threats of terrorism and epidemics.
"We should not be surprised that not every good thing leads to another good thing," he said.