I think it's probably an accurate news article. And I think it's probably accurate that they didn't know that what they were doing was offensive. We are outraged that people in Thailand don't know anything about Western history, but I guarantee our students are just as ignorant about the atrocities commited by the Japanese during WWII.
I'll tell a story on my husband. When he was a kid, he was out playing with his friends in the neighborhood, and they decided they'd play Axis and Allies, and my husband got picked to be on the German side. He staked out his piece of territory by chalking a large swastika on the road in front of the house. When his mother looked out the window, she about had a heart attack and she stopped the game immediately and made him get the water hose and wash off the road before the neighbors saw.
So, yes, I can believe children can be ignorant of the evil of certain dress and certain symbols. It's a shame, really, that we have to teach them that you can hurt people with symbols.