Greeley man a witness to Thailand's growing pressure

As Pia Dounglomchunt spent the summer in Thailand, he just knew something big was about to happen.

Dounglomchunt, who is from Greeley, saw discontent with the Thai prime minister and weekly street protests in Bangkok that were drawing crowds of as many as 500,000 people. There was violence and blood, too, he said, frustrated that the American media hasn't shown this.

Dounglomchunt is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Thailand. He is the University of Northern Colorado's alumni ambassador to Thailand and works to recruit Thai students to UNC and Aims Community College. He was in Thailand from June 30 to Aug. 24, first visiting family, then working and visiting the 200-plus UNC alums living in Thailand.

During his stay, the Thai people were showing more and more frustration with the alleged corruption and abuse of power in the prime minister's office -- issues currently under investigation. And then, on Tuesday, the Thai military ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was in New York visiting the United Nations.

Army Chief Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin is now in charge of Thailand -- which is being run under martial law -- and Thaksin is in London, reportedly resting.

The coup itself was reportedly bloodless, and so far there has been no opposition to the new power. The Thai king, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, has supported the coup and Thailand's new interim leader, citing his frustration with the prime minister.

"And the king is beloved. He is the center of the Thai people," Dounglomchunt said. "If the king comes out and says stop, everyone will stop."

Dounglomchunt supports the coup, and said a cultural misunderstanding makes coups seem undemocratic and dangerous to people from the West.

"When you say 'coup' to an American it is a big deal, but in Thailand it's not that way," he said.

There have been 17 coups in Thailand since 1932, when the country became a constitutional monarchy.

This coup in particular was justified, Dounglomchunt said, because of the human rights abused by Thaksin. On Aug. 21, as Dounglomchunt was in Bangkok, protesters of the prime minister were beaten by "gangsters," he said, as the police stood by and watched.

"When you're against him, that's what happens," Dounglomchunt said. "That's why we hate him. He used his power and his money to get his way."

The Thai media, controlled by the prime minister himself, did not show the violence. To get informed, Dounglomchunt said people need satellites and access to Asian Satellite TV. Only the middle- and upper classes enjoy this freedom.

"That media never goes to the people," he said. "They never get the true information."

While in Thailand, Dounglomchunt donated money to a rural area to allow for the purchase of a satellite, so the people can get the "true" information.

"As an educator I believe strongly that the only way you can fight the bad people is through the news and freedom of information," he said.

Dounglomchunt is frustrated because he has not seen the violence that led to the coup in the American media either. He was first reluctant to share what he saw in Thailand because of the negative media coverage the country has received since John Mark Karr, once a suspect in the Jon Benet Ramsey case, was arrested there.

"They say it's the sex capital of the world, and I did not like that," he said. "I didn't want to create a bad image for Thailand, but the abuse never gets reported, and this is what I cannot stand."