[Avaboormavoro]

Thank you SiamJai. I have ordered "The revolutionary King" and may post about it when I've read it.

[Avaboormavoro]

It's amazing how little I actually know about Thailand. After two and half years on these boards and about 10 trips to Thailand since the beginning of 2003, I am ashamed to say that I still know very little about Thailand's history.
I found this story last week on another Thai related website and was astounded.
It's amazing to think that the Thailand that we know and take for granted today has only been outside of the hands of the military for such a short time.


As the crowds were breaking up the next day, the historic October 14th, many students found themselves unable to leave because the police had attempted to control the flow of the crowd by blocking the southern route to Rajavithi Road. Cornered and overwhelmed by the hostile crowd, the police soon responded with violence by lauching barrages of teargas and gunfire. Within minutes, a full scale riot had erupted.

The military was called in, and Bangkok witnessed the horrifying spectacle of tanks rolling down Rajdamnoen Avenue and helicopters firing down at Thammasat University. A number of students commandeered buses and fire engines in an attempt to halt the progress of the tanks by ramming into them, with disastrous results.

With chaos reigning on the streets, King Bhumibol, ignoring the safety concerns of his immediate security staff, ordered the gates of Chitralada Palace opened to the students who were being gunned down by the army.

Despite orders from Thanom that the military action be intensified, army commander Kris Sivara had the army withdrawn from the streets.

Then, for the first time in modern history, Thailand's constitutional monarch openly involved himself in the transition of politcal power. He condemned the government's inability to handle the demonstrations and ordered Thanom, Praphas, and Narong to leave the country.

At 06:10PM, Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn resigned from his post as Prime Minister.

An hour later, the King appeared on national television, broadcasting the following speech:

"Today is a day of great sorrow that will be. . . recorded with the utmost grief in the history of our Thai nation. For the past six or seven days, there have been various demands and negotiations that have culminated in an agreement between the students and the government. But then bottle bombs were thrown and tear-gas was fired, causing some clashes in which many people were injured. Violence then escalated all over the city until it became a riot that has not ended until now, with over a hundred of our Thai compatriots having lost their lives.

I beseech all sides and all people to eliminate the causes of violence by decidedly suspending any action leading in that direction, in order that our country can return to a state of normalcy as soon as possible.
Furthermore, in order to remedy the present disaster, Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn resigned from the post of prime minister earlier tonight. I have consequently appointed Nai Sanya Dharmasakti as prime minister. . . ."''

The junta had fallen, at the cost of 1,577 lives.


I also found
this previous thread posted right here on Thailand forums 2 years ago.

There don't seem to be that many books on Thai history- not at Amazon at least. Does anybody have any suggestion for good books on both modern and not so modern Thai history?

[Cerilopasei]

Nice to see that someone remembers - nice post, Jerome.

It's nothing to be ashamed of. You just found a somewhat hidden part of Thailand's past, that's all. Strange, isn't it? Thailand, a country famous for its nationwide remembrances of past glorious events and traditions, is so silent when it comes to remembering -or at least acknowledging- its recent past.

Everyone knows of Loy Krathong, Songkran; the legend of Suriyothai was made into a famous movie; Thai children have to recite "naam mee pla, tungna mee khao" from the Ramkamhaeng stone; King Naresuan's legendary battle with the Burmese prince is cast in stone.

And yet, the events of 14 October '73, and the massacre of activists also in October, three years later - these and other 'touchy' subjects are largely left in the dark. Books written about them are banned in the country. Erected monuments lay nearly forgotten. Any leftover commemoration is becoming increasingly ritualistic, retaining less and less meaning.

Thailand just needs to look overseas for a positive example. Just last year, a book written about the Holocaust was given the Nobel Literature prize. If Europe can look into the eyes of the Nazi monster, bringing it out with several documentaries and countless remembrances, so can Thailand with her monsters.

But such a thing must be nothing new to you, I'm sure. After all, Japan is still blamed for not acknowledging its wartime atrocities, and for respecting war criminals as heroes.

Jerome, you noted that there aren't that many books on Thai history. I agree with that, as far as true Thai history goes. The books currently on the Thai market passed the censors cutting board by omitting the 'touchy details' ie. coloring the the real deal in all shades of pink.

You are lucky that you live in Japan - there are books outside Thailand that tell how things really were. Those are banned here though...

Does anybody have any suggestion for good books on both modern and not so modern Thai history? For modern Thai history, I'd go for The Revolutionary King, by William Stevenson, a Farang with direct access to the Royal family. Although people reported minor inaccuracies in the book, it's your best (read: only) chance to see recent times from the perspective inside the court, and the life of Rama IX. Don't let the unfortunate subtitle fool you, it has nothing to do with the notorious King and I.

For not-so-recent history, I recommend anything published by White Lotus Press. I learned a lot from just the few books that I read from this publishing company. Unflattering, down-to-earth reports and descriptions of the Siamese royals is also a plus.

For reliable, accurate description of times before Thonburi (ie. Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Lanna, etc.) - I have no idea. Just one advice: avoid Thai literature! Yes, it's that bad. Let me tell you this anecdote to show you how backwards they are:

There were two professors, a Farang and a Thai, researching the times of King Ramkamhaeng of Sukhothai. They stumbled into evidence that questioned the authencity of the fabled Ramkamhaeng Stone. When they published their findings, it caused such an uproar, that the two poor fellows were nearly stoned! Demonstrations organized, effigies burned, etc.

Crowds demanded the repatriation of the distinguished Farang professor who's been in Thailand for around three decades; they also called for the resignation of the Thai professor, whose professorship was revoked, if I recall it correctly.

So there you are.

[Cerilopasei]

That's great, Jerome!

I'm interested in your impressions about it when you're done.

[DOWNLOADnowADOBEphotoSHOP]

Interesting true story, as this all happened when I was to young to remember the international new, so I was also ignorant to this part of Thai history. It seems Thailand has prospered, due to the reforms set after this date, and other Asian countries like Indonesia have fallen behind, because there reforms are just starting in recent years.

[DoctorBeny]

There is also a very good Thai Movie called "The Moonhunter" about the Story that took place on 14th October 1973.
You can order the Movie as DVD or VCD; just go to the following Link:

http://www.ethaicd.com/list.php?keyword=moonhunter