Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the following years, the left-oriented student movement grew more radical, creating
fears among working-class and middle-class Thais of home-grown communism. In 1976
Thanom returned to Thailand (ostensibly to become a monk) and was received warmly by
the royal family. In response, protesters organised demonstrations at Thammasat
University against the perceived perpetrator of the 14 October massacre. Right-wing, anti-
communist civilian groups clashed with the students, resulting in bloody violence. In the
aftermath, many students and intellectuals were forced underground, and joined armed
communist insurgents - known as the People's Liberation Army of Thailand (PLAT) -
based in the jungles of northern and southern Thailand.
Military control of the country continued through the 1980s. The government of the
'political soldier', General Prem Tinsulanonda, enjoyed a period of political and economic
stability. Prem dismantled the communist insurgency through military action and amnesty
programs. But the country's new economic success presented a challenging rival: promin-
ent business leaders who criticised the military's role in government and their now-dated
Cold War mentality. Communists, they maintained, should be business partners, not en-
emies.
LIBERAL COUNTERWEIGHT
Pridi Phanomyong (1900-83) was a French-educated lawyer and a civilian leader in the 1932 revolution and
People's Party. His work on democratic reforms in Thailand was based on constitutional measures and attempts to
restrict by law military involvement in Thai politics. He supported nationalisation of land and labour, state-led in-
dustrialisation and labour protection. In 1934, he founded Thammasat University. He also served as the figure-
head of Seri Thai (the resistance movement against WWII Japanese occupation of Thailand) and was Thai prime
minister in 1946.
Though acknowledged as a senior statesman, Pridi Phanomyong was a controversial figure and a major foe of
Phibul Songkhram and the military regimes. He was accused of being a communist by his critics and forced out
of the country under suspicion of regicide. Since the thawing of the Cold War, his legacy has been re-examined
and recognised for its democratic efforts and the counterbalancing effects it had on military interests. He was
named one of Unesco's great personalities of the 20th-century world in 2000.
It's Just Business
In 1988, Prem was replaced in fair elections by Chatichai Choonhavan, leader of the Chat
Thai Party, who created a government dominated by well-connected provincial business
people. His government shifted power away from the bureaucrats and set about transform-
ing Thailand into an 'Asian Tiger' economy. But the business of politics was often bought
and sold like a commodity and Chatichai was overthrown by the military on grounds of
