Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [16]
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Military Rule & the Cold War
In 1957, General Sarit Thanarat took over, subjecting Thailand to a true military dictatorship: abolishing the constitution, dissolving the parliament and banning all political parties. In the 1950s, the US directly involved itself in Southeast Asia, attempting to contain communist expansion in the region. In the context of the Cold War, the US government gave economic and military support to the Sarit government.
Sarit supported expansion of the royal role, seeing in the king a ‘unifying authority’ for the nation. King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit made state visits abroad, presenting an image of Thailand as a traditional but modernised nation. At home they engaged in rural development. The Royal Project Foundation was founded in 1969, to help eradicate opium cultivation among the northern hill tribes and to encourage a balanced utilisation of land and forest for sustainable development.
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Prem Tinsulanonda serves as lifelong head of the Privy Council of King Bhumibol.
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From 1963 to 1973, military rule was continued under Generals Thanom Kittikachorn and Praphat Charusathien, who allowed the US to station its troops in Thailand during the Vietnam War. A volatile mixture of capitalism, US imperialism, military dictatorship and Marxist ideology set in motion the opposition of intellectuals, students, peasants and workers. In 1973, more than half a million people in Bangkok and in major provincial towns demonstrated, demanding a constitution from the military government. The bloody dispersal of the Bangkok demonstration on 14 October led to the collapse of the regime.
In the following years, the polarisation of right and left, represented by the military and extreme right, and the left-oriented student movement, intensified in Thai society. Finally, anti-communist forces erupted, leading to the massacre of students inside Thammasat University on 6 October 1976. Many students and intellectuals joined with armed communist insurgents in the jungles.
Economic Development & Consequences
The last quarter of the 20th century witnessed skyrocketing economic growth and Thailand’s subsequent social transformation. Development indicators such as the rise of consumerism and individualism were accompanied by new problems – the collapse of rural communities, exploitation of workers and increased prostitution. Economic growth also impacted Thai politics.
In the 1980s, the government of the ‘political soldier,’ General Prem Tinsulanonda, enjoyed a period of political and economic stability. Prem managed to dismantle the communist insurgency through military action and amnesty programs. With economic growth as their priority, the new generation of business people–politicians began to criticise the military, their budgets and their role in politics. In 1988, Prem was succeeded by Chatichai Choonhavan. His Chat Thai Party had close ties with rising provincial business people able to manipulate the local electorate. Under Chatichai, the Ministries of Defence, Interior and Finance were handed over to elected politicians, rather than technocrats and generals. Chatichai’s government attempted to shift power away from the bureaucracy and the military in favour of the Cabinet and business interests. Abandoning the Cold War mentality, the government’s regional policy aspired instead to transform ‘battlefields into marketplaces’, to end hostilities in communist Indochina and to take advantage of economic liberalisation.
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Chamlong Srimuang is a devout Buddhist affiliated with the anti-materialist, anti-consumerist Santi Asoke sect.
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Increasing ‘money politics’ during the 1980s provoked a reaction, especially within the urban middle class. In 1985, a former soldier, Chamlong Srimuang, was elected as Bangkok mayor. He promised to clean up corruption. Chamlong’s Phalang Tham (Moral Power) party also stood for office in national elections. Meanwhile, Chatichai’s government was forced out