Pattaya, Thailand:
The Thai Prime Minister, Prayut Chan O’Cha, has commented on the viral incident that took place earlier this week on Jomtien Beach in the Pattaya area involving a Russian foreign expat and a pro-democracy protester in which the protester, reportedly enraged by alleged comments made by the foreigner, head-butted the man in front of his ten year old daughter and wife.
Readers can get caught up on the story so far below:
English video news: Protester headbutts foreigner at pro-democracy rally on Jomtien Beach
The Prime Minister stated in a press conference yesterday that the incident hurt the “good image” of Thailand and hospitality to foreigners. He also stated that democracy was about listening to all sides from all people and that violence was never an answer regardless of how much you disagreed with a viewpoint as long as no laws were broken.
The pro-democracy group, following the accused attacker being released on bail with a future court date, apologized for the incident although stressed that, according to them, the foreigner had made comments designed to provoke an already emotional and heated crowd on Jomtien Beach.
The victim, a 52 year old Russian man named as Vladislav, has reportedly been a resident of Pattaya for ten years, is married to a Thai woman and has a half-Thai daughter. He had been reportedly walking on the beach when he and his family stopped at the protest, which was located in an area popular with foreigners and Thai nationals and has heavy foot traffic on Jomtien Beach near the Dongtan Beach entrance.
The video clips of the incident have more than a million views on our social media platforms as of press time, The Pattaya News notes. The majority of the commenters have chastised the attacker for his actions, although some have questioned why the foreigner decided to allegedly make comments about politics and get verbally involved, stating that if he had simply kept walking past the protest the incident would have never taken place.
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