A British Red Shirt who was shown promising to burn down a Bangkok shopping centre has expressed regret for his words and insisted that he had nothing to do with the arson attack that destroyed the luxury mall four days later. Jeff Savage, of Tonbridge in Kent, said that his outburst, which has caused outrage among Thai internet users, was sarcastic and came at a moment of frustration because of the imminent suppression of the Red Shirt demonstrators by the Thai Army.
“I hold my hands up — it was me, and I’m ashamed that I lost my temper,” he said by telephone from his home in the Thai resort town of Pattaya. “I was tired and emotional and full of steroids. I said we’re going to burn down Central — I was being sarcastic.” Mr Savage, 48, was filmed on Saturday as he walked down a street occupied by the anti-Government Red Shirt protesters. It shows him dressed in the black clothes of the protest movement’s guards and brandishing a stick which he throws down in anger.
Contains NSFW language.
Amid much swearing he is heard to say: “We’re going to burn down Central World,” and threatening to loot gold and jewellery from the shopping centre. To Mr Savage’s embarrassment, Central World was burnt down by a mob on Wednesday, after Red Shirt leaders handed themselves in to Thai police and called off their protests. He insisted that he had played no part in the mayhem, and that at the time he was watching — although not taking part in — another arson attack on a Thai television station.
But he defended the destruction of property as a weapon in the “class war” which he believes the Red Shirts are fighting. “I was not involved [in either arson attack], it was far too dangerous,” he said. “But from what I heard it was some of the guards which did it to Central. I heard rumours that it was planned and that stuff had been put inside — gas canisters and stuff. It didn’t just go off because someone put a lighter to it.” Mr Savage is the only Briton known to be an active member of the movement. He said: “I don’t mind if they knock on my door and throw me out of the country. But I would be disappointed to end up in a Thai jail.”
4 comments:
<span><span>It is with trifles, and when he is off guard, that a man best reveals his character.</span>
<span>Arthur Schopenhauer </span></span>
I think Mr. Savage has shown his character in his original statements.
"he defended the destruction of property as a weapon in the “class war” "
What a load of B.S.- This was just a reason, a legitimation to go out and just loot and vandalise. If they really would have wanted to use it as a weapon in their struggle, they would have destroyed the parliament buildings instead of buildings with shops in them.
this is total bullshit, sorry. i hate how so many people seem to think the red shirt protestors in thailand were fighting for a just cause. they most certainly won't.
they were paid around 1000 baht a day by ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to sit around creating problems for the current government! they claim to be fighting for democracy, which is a lie because they already had it! the current government was ELECTED into office after Thaksin was exiled from the country on counts of corruption!
anyways, that's just my two cents..
happy anniversary di and jiju quotes
Post a Comment