The Thai army’s leader yesterday urged a nation in mourning over a mass shooting “not to blame the army” after a soldier gunned down at least 29 people in a rampage linked to a debt dispute with a senior officer.
Royal Thai Army Commander in Chief General Apirat Kongsompong, an arch-royalist more commonly prone to rants against pro-democracy figures, broke down in tears, as he apologized during a televised news conference on behalf of the army to the victims of the shooting.
The gunman — sergeant major Jakrapanth Thomma — was shot dead by a commando unit on Sunday morning, ending a 17-hour rampage that left 29 dead and scores wounded.
Photo: AP
The army has been at pains to portray him as a rogue soldier rather than a product of the army system.
Apirat said that he would not stand down from his post in charge of an army that has seeped into all aspects of Thai life, from politics and business to conscription, with a multibillion-dollar budget that has surged since the last coup in 2014.
“The army is a huge organization comprising of hundreds of thousands staff... I cannot focus on every subordinate,” Apirat said.
“There are people who criticize the army, I urge them not to blame the army ... because the army is a sacred organization,” he said.
“Blame me — General Apirat,” he said.
COMPLAINTS CHANNEL
Instead, he pledged to open a “special channel” to investigate all future complaints from junior officers about their superiors, blaming the attack on a debt dispute between the gunman and his commanding officer.
The gunman “did not receive justice from his commander and his relatives who promised him financial returns,” Apirat said, referring to an apparent commission over the sale of a house.
Jakrapanth killed his commander and the commander’s mother-in-law first, as he embarked on the shooting spree.
Serving army top brass sit on the boards of state-run enterprises, while many declare assets in the millions of dollars, despite their meager soldier’s wages.
Army leaders routinely flip to become civilian prime ministers — often following coups — while barracks are accused of being hives of gray-area businesses, such as real-estate agencies and private security firms.
Senior officers often use conscripts as effective private butlers in taxpayer-funded grace and favor homes.
FIRING LINE
“I guarantee between February and April there will be many — from generals to colonels — who will be jobless,” Apirat said, promising to throw out retired army officers from government housing.
Apirat is due to retire in September.
Thais have flooded social media with criticism of their leaders for a perceived lack of empathy in the aftermath of the unprecedented mass shooting.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was on Sunday forced into rare public contrition after he smiled and high-fived a crowd as he visited Korat, the city where the shooting took place.
No member of the kingdom’s rich ruling royal family, who are buttressed by the army and protected by a defamation law, has visited survivors.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese