Jaap Holtzapffel – 💔 Peter Klashorst & Vasan Sitthiket

💔 Peter Klashorst & Vasan Sitthiket, 1 – 13 september 2020, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (foto Facebook)

💔 Peter Klashorst & Vasan Sitthiket

💔 Peter & Vasan in Bangkok: het allerbeste voor jullie beide.

Facebook, 22 augustus om 11:42

Reacties

Jaap Holtzapffel
Pattaya, Sunday, July 26

Afbeelding kan het volgende bevatten: 2 mensen, staande mensen
Vassan & 💔 Peter (foto Facebook)

Chris Coles
Nick Nostitz
Vasan, alas, has a long history of leading and promoting anti democracy and pro military coup military junta protests in Thailand, both the PAD and PDRC Movements. Very strange right wing behavior for a supposedly “Free Spirit Artist“.

Nick Nostitz
There could so much to be said about Vasan.
But a “brotherhood” with a proto fascist painter who celebrated the 2010 massacre by the military in his paintings, who has been a leading figure in ultra nationalist protests since 2006 and as such took part in the PDRC protests on behalf of the military so they could justify the 2014 coup, and who has consistently and actively supressed the voices of pro democracy artists in Thailand is more than bewildering.
It would beg for explanation.

Jaap Holtzapffel
Vasan Sitthiket: can you give us your reaction?

Jaap Holtzapffel
💔 Peter Klashorst: can you give us your reaction?

Chris Coles
I thought Vasan was proud of his role as a leading Thai artist in the anti democracy, pro military coup junta PAD and PDRC Movements. It was a very public role after all giving pro PAD and PDRC stages, organizing other Thai artists, being one of the “Bangkok WhistleBlowers“, et cetera.

Vasan Sitthiket
Nick Nostitz
You and Chris are the judges to accuse me , but I think it waste time and energy to explain for you, so let you do what you want and believe, thank you.

Nick Nostitz
Jaap Holtzapffel
Now you have gotten Vasan’s reaction. Typical, and says it all.
Always when he and his far ultra nationalist art mafia friends are confronted with these very valid accusations, they resort to that language as they have no defense or arguments why they did what they did.
The same happened when I confronted Vasan’s friend the photographer Manit over an incident where his wife Ing K attempted to rouse a mob to attack me while I covered a Democrat Party demonstration in 2011 (I have photographed her while she attacked me).
Again, there is so much more to be said.

💔Peter Klashorst
I don’t want to judge people by reading fake news. I sometimes see stories about myself being a right wing reactionary pedophile artist exploiting poor women in third world countries. People like sensational bad publicity. What is the truth? And does it matter? My experience with Vasan is that he is a good friend and I like his art. He is actually my only friend in Thailand. Meine Ehre heißt Treue.

Jaap Holtzapffel
So, 💔 Peter Klashorst, your reaction is that you are not interested in Vasan’s politics but only in his art – and that he is your only friend in Thailand? But how can you know what is fake news in Thailand? You don’t speak the Thai language, you are not part of society because you are a stranger from a Western country.

💔 Peter Klashorst
Jaap Holtzapffel
I say that I don’t judge people by stories in the newspapers or other media. I cannot read or write Thai, but even if I could I would not take it serious.
Chris Coles is also a friend and a great artist, but if he can read or write Thai I don’t know.

Jaap Holtzapffel
You mean in Thailand is no free press so everything in Thai newspapers is fake?

💔 Peter Klashorst
Jaap Holtzapffel
I don’t know. Is Facebook free press?

Jaap Holtzapffel
I don’t know.

💔 Peter Klashorst
Jaap HoltzapffelIs there free press anywhere? Maybe your book.

Jaap Holtzapffel
Well, it’s your book, your content. I’m only the publisher!

💔 Peter Klashorst
Jaap Holtzapffel
But a different publisher compared to Marc Zuckerberg.

Jaap Holtzapffel
Yes, I would like to come in Marc’s mouth, just like I did with your stupid black son last year at the swimming pool of the Jungle Hotel. Great time, great shot!

Jaap Holtzapffel

Afbeelding kan het volgende bevatten: boom, zwembad, lucht, plant, buiten en natuur

The swimming pool of the Jungle Hotel in Pnom Phen, Cambodja, where Holzapffels suggested 💔 Peter Klashorst’s Frederick to give hem a blowjob (foto Facebook)

Nick Nostitz
💔 Peter Klashorst
The truth?
I have been there, I surived and photographed how pro democracy protesters were shot and killed by the military right in front of me, in 2010. Vasan cheered the military for killing those protesers.
In 2014 I was assaulted and beaten up by a PDRC mob, a proto fascist group which Vasan suported in a leading role. I was hate campaigned by them, and survived an abduction attempt that had the aim to torture and kill me, as they did with many of people they declared their enemies, including some who were only at the wrong time at the wrong place.
Friends of mine were tortured by them, for hours.
On numerous occasions I saw and photographed Vasan at ultranationalist protest stages holding speeches.
Google my name, read my articles and look at my photos. Nothing is fake there.
Vasan your friend? I know Vasan since 25 years, and different than you, I speak Thai, and have lived in Thailand for 23 years, until my family and i were forced into exile. He will only be your friend as long as you are useful to him.

💔 Peter Klashorst
Nick Nostitz
I have been reading your stories. You are a brave man and I understand why you want to get involved in politics and tell the truth, but still I think it’s hard to be part of anything in a country that is not your country. Even if you speak and read the language we are outsiders. Thai politics are in my view very complex like all politics worldwide. What is motivating people to become leaders or vote for them I don’t know. You could say that politicians even if it’s Trump or maybe Hitler want to help the people. I mean the common people who have nothing, the poor. What I see with Vasan is that in his art and life he wants to help the downtrodden. He is a champion of the underdogs. Maybe both of you are motivated by the same ideals, but express it in a different way. You both want the truth and help others. You both are taking the risk of being crushed. I lived in Thailand for 17 years, but I don’t take sides, because to be honest I don’t understand anything of this country. I am still a tourist, an outsider and now I even feel like a tourist in the Netherlands. I try to understand why people do what they do , but I even don’t understand myself. Do you understand yourself? If you think about the Second World War was there much difference between a Nazi and a resistance fighter? I am from a German Dutch background. A fascist can be a very nice person and a resistance fighter a big asshole. Things are not black and white. I can only judge people by my own experiences with them and Vasan has always been a good friend and more or less my only Thai friend after 17 years in Thailand. In my opinion it’s a hermetic society. Maybe it’s different for speaking the language and having a Thai family like you. I don’t have a Thai girlfriend or Thai male friends. I am here, but not really. I watch it from a distance. Maybe there are no countries anymore. We live in the digital world. Facebook is a country.

Alann De Vuyst
Nick Nostitz
I do not understand this. I cannot get my head around your accusations. I have visited Vasan’s shows as early as 1993 in Bangkok. I never met him until last year in Bangkok. But I do remember that most of his art, his performances, were always mocking, taking the piss on the junta, the military, dicators, abusers of any sorts. So, how come that he is anti democratic and ultra nationalist, siding with the royals, too? Just asking.

Nick Nostitz
Alann De Vuyst
It’s very complicated, so i am trying now to be somewhat brief, and won’t go too deep into Thai culture, and why he and many other Thai artists have been siding with the ultra nationalists and has supported the Thai military.
Back in 2005 – 2006 protests against the controversial Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra started. Thaksin was most definately authoritarian, but was elected. These protests definately had legitimacy. However, very soon these protests were clandestinely supported by the traditional establishment and the military, as Thaksin’s popularity under especially the rural population in the North and the North East became a threat to them and the established order.
Vasan and many other artists entered in this strategc alliance with these traditional elites, as their opposition to Thaksin turned into completely unreasonable hatred. In addition, over time this group of artists got positions and wealth when they made their peace with the establishment, and came to completely dominate not just the Thai art scene, but also the very profitable foreign money stream for Thai artists. They came to represent “Thai art”, and were therefore a very useful tool for the Thai establishment to represent itself to foreign countries on the cultural field. There is of course more to that, but that would mean going into the nature of Thailand’s peer group oriented social order, and how Vasan’s elders and patrons, such as the recently deceased Kraisak Choonhavan late in life found is royalist leanings again, right back into his own family tradition.
So, Vasan and his artist friends entered willingly in a strategic alliance with the ultra nationalists and ultra conservatives, and worked for them.
Over the years things turned very violent. When many progressives turned away over time from that strategic alliance especially after the 2010 massacre against the Red Shirts by the military, Vasan and his artist friends became even more fanatical, and openly celebrated the killings, and called the Red Shirt protesters unneducated buffaloes. No more support for the downtrodden, I am afraid to say.
In 2014 they founded the so called “art lane” a very important part of the PDRC protests, which were clandestinely organized by the military to justify their 2014 coup. Horrible things happened during those protests. People were tortured, some of them to death, by PDRC guards. I was targetted by the PDRC because of my previous work on the conflict, and for six month did not know if I will survive or not.
These artists now claim that they did not support the 2014 military coup, and did not know anything about this.
This is a blatant lie.
All along these six months of PDRC protests on stage speeches regularly the military was called to step in a coup against the elected government. After the coup, these artists never positioned themselves against the military, but always defended the coup government when other artists protested against the coup.
|
You see yourself how Vasan reacts when confronted – no different than his friends – he just calls me and Chris “a shit”. No debate, no discussion. The next step usually is, when called out, in order to dehumanize his critics, accuse us of “being paid by Thaksin”, and similar ridiculous and baseless accusations.
Vasan is a deeply corrupt fascist.
On the positive side – there are now increasingly Thai artists who do have deep democratic convictions, and do not play along with those rules anymore. I would suggest to turn towards them.
Here is some short reading material. Go from there.
https://obieg.u-jazdowski.pl/en/numery/azja/niechetna-awangarda-polityka-i-nbsp-sztuka-w-nbsp-tajlandii-1-
https://www.artforum.com/news/activists-criticize-gwangju-museum-for-exhibiting-anti-democratic-thai-artist-s-work-60476https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/1004685/art-attack

Alann De Vuyst
Nick Nstitz
But In Vasan’s paintings he always criticises the coup makers of 2017 in a carricatural way.

Nick Nostitz
💔 Peter Klashorst
Things are indeed never black and white, and yes, things are extremely complicated in Thailand. But we still need to analize, and we still have to be true to certain ideals.
I, as a photographer and journalist, am not to take sides, but i take a position. My position is grounded on human rights ideals, and democratic ideals. Vasan being opposed to Thaksin is democratically legitimate. But Vasan having celebrated the 2010 massacre is a complete betrayal of his supposed position for the downtrodden. He makes a mockery out of what he pretended to stand for. He chose the money and the positions. Never has he came out in support of the artists forced into exile, the people that were killed, the people and artists who were sentenced to long prison sentences for lese majeste violations.
I can only suggest to you to look at the other side, and see what they are saying. Right now you have increasingly large student protests, with pro democracy artists participating (and getting arrested, such as the Rap against dictatorship artists). Go there, and see for yourself, and make your own conclusions.

Nick Nostitz
Alann De Vuyst
This just shows the enormous cognitive dissonance of Vasan and his group of artist friends. Just see how Vasan responded to the accusations under the comment above – he just called Chris Coles and me “shits“.
Vasan and his artist friends have now the huge difficulty of trying to project the image of being democratic to the outside world that has been feeding them for decades, while at the same time having been for years in cohorts with, and financially benefitted from the most undemocratic and dictatorial elements of the Thai traditional establishment, for whom the sole use of Vasan and his artist friends has been their reputation in the outside art world.
It’s an impossible split. Vasan and his friends’ fassade is now increasingly collapsing. And with it their usefulness.

Nick Nostitz
Vasan SitthiketIs That all you can say and do – evade a discussion after having called us “shits”
You celebrated the 2010 massacre, the killings of the Red Shirts.
You participated in the PDRC, and were silent about the killings and turtures the PDRC guards committed.
You never came out in support for the exiled artists and activists, such as Fai Yen or Visa Kanthap.
You never came out in support of artists and activists, or even simple people sentenced to long prison sentences for lese majeste violations.
Where is your democratic conscience there? As i said, your opposition to Thaksin is democratically legitimate, as is the support of Thaksin’s voters. But what you did in the past years had no democratic legitimacy.
If i would have been killed – what your leaders intended to do in 2014 – would you have celebrated that as well?

Nick Nostitz
Edoardo Siani

Chris Coles
Link to lengthy New Mandala piece on an anti Democracy pro military coup pro junta PAD event where Vasan was one of the speakers on stage https://www.newmandala.org/pad-celebrates-decision-to-found-political-party/.

PAD celebrates decision to found political party - New Mandala

Chris Coles
Vasan to CNNGo. “I don’t believe in democracy today, which is ruled by corporations and a greedy, idiot-capitalist military (…) democracy is not all it’s cracked up to be, as it as corrupted by industry.” “I call it ‘demon crazy.” (…) [democratically elected] Thaksin tried to take over all our country, by using money. He believed that he could buy power,” says Vasan, who has publicly supported Thaksin’s enemies, the [the rightwing royalist anti democracy PAD & PDRC] Yellow Shirts in their bid to imprison Thaksin for alleged corruption.Thaksin’s populism policies made the poor love him“.”

Chris Coles
From POLITICS AND ART IN THAILAND by Thai Critic Pandit Chanrochanakit: “Vasan is one of the most active artists supporting the [anti democracy rightwing royalist pro military coup junta] PDRC. Here he poses in a picture on his Facebook wall showing himself with a painting, marking his participation in the PDRC’s Shutdown Occupy Bangkok Campaign on 13 January 2014.”
https://obieg.u-jazdowski.pl/en/numery/azja/niechetna-awangarda-polityka-i-nbsp-sztuka-w-nbsp-tajlandii-1-

Afbeelding kan het volgende bevatten: 1 persoon, staan, lucht en buiten, de tekst 'PEOPLE OCCUPY BANGKOK 13JAN14'

Vasan poses on his Facebook wall showing himself with a painting, marking his participation in the PDRC’s Shutdown Occupy Bangkok Campaign on 13 January 2014 (foto Facebook)

Chris Coles
Background info on the anti democracy right wing royalist pro military coup junta PDRC Movement from the above article by Pandit Chanrochanakit “After months of camping and blocking the streets and government offices, the PDRC failed to take over state power even though Suthep kept announcing the last move to maneuver and make the state sovereign. After Yingluck stepped down and called for general election on 2 February 2014, they advanced further by blocking election booths and preventing people from voting. Even though they seized some polling stations, more than half of the voters were able to exercise their right to vote and more than half of national polling stations were open. However, the 22 May 2014 coup further disrupted solution.
One of the most important relations between the PDRC and Thai artists is that Thai artists joined PDRC and organized Art Lane, a network of artists, designers, and cultural workers, to raise fund for them. Some tried to deny their connection to the PDRC but the witnesses and facts are evident. Besides, after the coup they have remained silent about protection of democracy, fighting against corruption, and human rights. This article explores the relationship between artists and their works, and deformed Thai politics (…).”

Chris Coles
For anyone interested, the Thai documentary film “Bangkok Joyride III” features excerpts from pro military coup junta PDRC rallies including on stage speeches by Vasan Sitthiket. http://blog.matthewhunt.com/2018/08/bangkok-joyride-iii.html

Bangkok Joyride III

 Bangkok Joyride III (foto BLOG.MATTHEWHUNT.COM)

Alexander Schabracq
Beste 💔 Peter Klashorst
If you cannot see the difference between News and Fake News, that’s fine with me, but when you cannot see the difference between a WWII resistancefighter and a Nazi your argument becomes very weak. However to be a Mephisto is dangerous.You can paint Maxima as a whore with huge tits. Can be funny but why don’t you paint Queen Sirikit as a pornstar?? Andy Warhol did a nice series of queens. Go one step beyond and see who your real friends are.

💔 Peter Klashorst
Alexander Schabracq
Haha. I have been in prison for my art enough times. And even survived some attempts to kill me, but you are right I am a coward and too old and sick to go to jail. I don’t really have powerful friends. it’s easy to make fun of Máxima, but in the end of course the establishment hates you in Holland too. That’s the reason I am not in the museums, haha. Not that my work had not enough quality and I am just another aids and cancer artist, a loser and coward,  but I am scared to go to prison again to tell you the truth. It’s not a nice experience and people hate you so much, that they want to kill you. That is also the ultimate in art criticism. I am tired of being a rebel. I want to live a harmonious life. No confrontations anymore. I try to live in peace with all people and animals. Maybe I die soon. so I don’t want stress about useless politics. I want love and live and no hate and die!

Alexander Schabracq
💔 Peter Klashorst
OK, I understand. I’m also only sitting here on my italian mountain reading that Facebook shit. Have a good time as long as you can!!

💔 Peter Klashorst
Alexander Schabracq
Thanks. Italian mountain sounds good. Relaxing.

Jaap Holtzapffel
Last night I dreamed 💔 Peter starts working on “💩 Dirty Diarrhea,” part II.

Afbeelding kan het volgende bevatten: 1 persoon, de tekst 'DIRTYDIARIES PETER KL ASHORST'
💩 Dirty Diarrhea van 💔 Peter Klashorst, uitgegeven door Jaap Holtzapffel, met een dickpic boekenlegger (foto Facebook)

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