BANGKOK – The Thai government memorialized the 5,395 victims of the Dec 26, 2004 tsunami with a touching, 33-word press release posted this morning on its news website MCOT (Mass Communication Organization of Thailand).
The press release, titled “We Will Never Forget”, stated that: “Thailand will never forget that day when the killer wave struck, costing our tourism industry billions of dollars and causing irreparable structural damage to several of our five-star hotels. We will never forget.”
MCOT chairman Jariya Nittirakoon said that several employees came in early to post the emotional press release. She told the press that it appeared for 20 minutes in the general news section below the story ‘Uncertain Future of Traditional Thai Cats’ before being replaced with an article entitled: ‘Khao Lak, Phi Phi and Phuket Fully Recovered, New Hotels Offer High-Season Bargains’.
