Rock Star Sek Loso Discouraged by Fans Ignorance of Thai History

CityNews – Sek Loso, or Seksan Sukpimai, one of Thailand’s most famous singers and rock musicians has been in the press a lot lately, firstly for slamming record label Grammy, and later for criticizing his own fans’ knowledge of Thai political history.Text says: Crowds waiting around the Democracy MonumentAfter Sek posted something on his Facebook Page on October 14^th saying ‘Happy 40^th Birthday’, his fans took it to mean that he was 40. He was in fact commemorating one of the most important dates in modern Thai history. He then wrote that it was not his birthday (he’s 39), but that the 14^th October 1973 is 40 years on from when 77 people died and 857 were injured in Bangkok after protesting an end to Thailand’s military dictatorship at the time. This was an important time in Thai history as it represented the growing power of critical thinking and student protest. On October 14^th Thai students marched to the grand palace, and number of protesters grew to about 500,000. Tanks, helicopters, army and police opened fire on demonstrators. Large numbers of protesters did not move however, and more violence ensued, which led in the end to the resignation of the military government. An act symbolic of the, ‘power of the people’.Sek Loso wrote that he was disappointed that many of his adoring fans had no idea this event had even occurred.