Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Phibul government was hoping the allegiance would restore historical territory lost
during France's expansion of Indochina. Thailand intended to declare war on the US and
Britain during WWII. But Seni Pramoj, the Thai ambassador in Washington and a mem-
ber of Seri Thai (the Thai liberation movement), refused to deliver the formal declaration
of war, thus saving Thailand from bearing the consequences of defeated-nation status.
Phibul was forced to resign in 1944 and was tried for war crimes.
For a brief period after the war, democracy flourished: full elections for the people's as-
sembly were held and the 1946 constitution sought to reduce the role of the military and
provide more democratic rights. And it all lasted until the death of King Ananda, the pre-
text the military used to return to power with Phibul at the helm.
Thailand has had 17 constitutions, all rewritten as a result of 18 (this number is debatable) coups. Each
reincarnation seeks to allocate power within the branches of government with a bias for the ruling in-
terest (military, royalist or civilian) and against their political foes.
Military Dictatorships
In 1957 Phibul's successor General Sarit Thanarat subjected the country to a true military
dictatorship: abolishing the constitution, dissolving the parliament and banning all politic-
al parties. In the 1950s, the US partnered with Sarit and subsequent military dictators,
Thanom Kittikachorn and Praphat Charusathien (who controlled the country from 1964 to
1973), to allow the US military to develop bases in Thailand during the war in Vietnam in
exchange for economic incentives.
By 1973, an opposition group of left-wing activists, mainly intellectuals and students,
organised political rallies demanding a constitution from the military government. On 14
October that year the military brutally suppressed a large demonstration in Bangkok,
killing 77 people and wounding more than 800. The event is commemorated by a monu-
ment on Th Ratchadamnoen Klang in Bangkok, near the Democracy Monument. King
Bhumibol stepped in and refused to support further bloodshed, forcing Thanom and
Praphat to leave Thailand.
Thaksin Shinawatra was the first prime minister in Thai history to complete a four-year term of office.
