Gothom to lead peace march
By the News Desk
A peace march from Bangkok to the deep South to arouse public awareness of the problems in the restive region and to promote the use of peaceful means to resolve the conflicts down there will kick off this coming Sunday July 11.
The 1,100 kilometre long march which will go through 11 provinces from Bangkok to Pattani, one of the three violence-prone southernmost provinces is to be led by Gothom Arya, director of the Centre for the Study and Development of Peace at Mahidol University.
The peace march from July 11 to September 1 is timed to coincide with the Buddhist Lent which is due on July 27 and the fasting month of Ramadan of the Muslims, said Mr Gothom.
Initially joining the march will be Gothom, a group of volunteers and Dr Pramual Pengcharoen, a former lecturer in philosophy and religious affairs of the Humanities Faculty of Chiangmai University who used to take a long march from Chiang Mai to his hometown in Koh Samui, Surat Thani province. Dr Pramual has authored a book, titled “Peace March”.
“This activity is intended to send a message to people in the southern border provinces to come out to demand peaceful means to resolve the conflicts. It is also intended to a message to people outside the region to understand the root causes of the conflicts,” said Gothom.
People living in the 11 provinces along the route of the peace march are welcome to join the march.