Shootout harmed Thailand's image
Source : Shveta Kukreja, The Nation
It's good to see that the hostage crisis has come to an end. The government thinks that it handled the situation very well and is very proud to present its victory over the Burmese prisoners.
One thing that nags me about it is why does the whole scene - or you can call it a show in some ways - have to come to an end with shooting and the taking of lives? Even with God's Army the scenario had to come to an end with lots of shooting. It would have been a full time and a sumptuous victory for Thailand only if we had been able to catch the prisoners that fled the prison and give them an official punishment. Even if they had been given the death penalty in court, it would have been much better that way than going through all that shooting and putting many of the hostages lives at stake. Shooting on the spot and killing all those Burmese people just makes things worse. The relationship between Thailand and Burma will surely come to an abrupt end now.
I'm not saying that Thailand will be at a loss, but the fact is that having a neighbour as an enemy doesn't sound all that good to me. The situation could have been handled in a better way than it was. Looks like the government doesn't learn from its mistakes.
Anyway, what we really need to do is to find out how it was possible for these prisoners to break out, take hostages and escape from jail. We need to take precautions so that other prisoners do not repeat what has happened. And of course, take measures for the security of the prisoners fleeing the jail. It is a matter of our pride. If we can't hold prisoners in a jail, then what can we do for the whole country?
Shveta Kukreja