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## Mid

*History of Thailand (1932–1973)*
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from 14 October democracy movement)

The history of Thailand from 1932 to 1973 was dominated by military dictatorships which were in power for much of the period. 

The main personalities of the period were the dictator Pibulsonggram (better known as Phibun), who allied the country with Japan during the Second World War, and the civilian politician Pridi Phanomyong, who founded Thammasat University and was briefly the prime minister after the war. 

A succession of military dictators followed Pridi's ousting — Phibun again, Sarit Dhanarajata and Thanom Kittikachorn — under whom traditional, authoritarian rule was combined with increasing modernisation and westernisation under the influence of the U.S. 

The end of the period was marked by Thanom's resignation, forced by a massacre of pro-democracy protesters, who were led by Thammasat students.

wikipedia.org






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*Govt, opposition, senators remember students slain on Oct 14 1973*
October 14, 2008 : Last updated 08:50 am

Representatives of the government, opposition, House and Senate Tuesday took part in alms giving rite to commemorate the killings of students activist in the October 14 1973 uprising.

PM's Office Minister Sukhumpong Ngonkham, Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, Deputy House Speaker Samart Kaewmeechai, Deputy Senate Speaker Nikhom Vairatphanit, and Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin took part in the rite at the Oct 14 monument.

Sunee Chaiyaros, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, also took part in the alms giving.

nationmultimedia.com


 
_A girl walks past photos of those killed in the October 14, 1973 uprising at a memorial in Bangkok on Monday. An exhibition is held there to mark the 35th anniversary of the uprising on Tuesday._

Man Noipitak

nationmultimedia.com

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## Mid

*1973 victims: What about us?*
25/05/2012

 Victims of previous political violence,  including the incidents of October 1973, are waiting quietly but  anxiously for the Yingluck Shinawatra government to agree with their  request for 1.2 million baht each in compensation.

  The Social Development and Human Security Ministry has agreed to a  proposal for a lump-sum package instead of the monthly assistance now  paid by the government, said Prawais Em-amorn, a key member of the  Association of October 14 Relatives.

The ministry has asked the  elderly relatives and victims of the 1973 incidents to wait until the  current payments to victims of more recent political violence have been  made.

 Once the attention surrounding the current payments has  died down, the ministry would seek cabinet endorsement for a package for  others who suffered four decades ago, added Lamied Boonmark, the  chairwoman of the association.

Lamieds husband Jira, a masters  student at the National Institute of Development Administration, was  killed on Oct 14, 1973, during pro-democracy rallies that brought down  the military government of Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn.

While  she welcomed the compensation for the families of the red-shirts,  Lamied, 67, said she wanted the Yingluck government to speed up  reparations to victims of state violence in the 1970s as well.

After  Oct 14, 1973, the Sanya Dharmasak government set up a 30-million-baht  fund, managed by the Foundation for the October Victims, to provide  monthly support of 400 baht to relatives of the dead or injured. The  fund closed in 2004, after which the Thaksin Shinawatra administration  paid 250,000 baht to the families of each of those who died.

"Some  relatives did not want to get involved with the issue again, so they  faded out, but some 60 people believe we have to group together to help  each other in times of dire need, such as when someone is hospitalised  or cremated," said Mr Prawais, 59.

The Association of the 14  October Relatives previously sought help from the Abhisit Vejjajiva  government. Sathit Wongnongtoey, then a PM's Office minister, promised  them 7,000 baht per month in cost of living support.

"The  relatives have agreed [to settle for] a one-time final figure of 1.2  million baht, as we are already old and dying. Since early this year,  three people have already passed away. This is the last request from  relatives of those whom society calls 'heroes'," said Mr Prawais, who  was shot by an M16 rifle bullet in the upper thigh.

In another  development, uncertainty has arisen in connection with compensation for  some red-shirt members involved in the events of May 2010. It's not  clear if those now charged with offences will receive compensation if  they are acquitted by the courts.

Jiem Thongmak and Arthit  Baosuwan have just received a document from the Southern Bangkok  Criminal Court to confirm that their cases have reached the final stage.

The  two were among seven defendants charged with violations of the  emergency decree, robbery, and fighting against the authorities during  the CentralWorld fire on May 19, 2010. In December 2011, the court  acquitted the two of the two latter charges; they have confessed to the  emergency decree violations.

The pair have to wait until all possible appeals have been exhausted before they could obtain documents as free people.

However, they still wonder if they would be entitled to receive the compensation from the Yingluck government.

"This  still excludes the jail term we have served. We were imprisoned more  than a year longer than we should have been," said Mrs Jiem, 47. "The  emergency decree violation carries six months' imprisonment but we were  in prison for nearly two years."

bangkokpost.com

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## StrontiumDog

*Oct 14 victims plead for final govt payout | Bangkok Post: news
*
*Oct 14 victims plead for final govt payout*
Published: 10/10/2012 at 01:43 AMNewspaper section: News
 Victims of the Oct 14, 1973, uprising have once  again voiced their plea for the government to give them a final  compensation payment as the event's 39th anniversary approaches.

 The Association of Relatives and Survivors of 14 October 1973 has  been wrangling with the authorities for almost seven years over their  demand for a one-off payment of 1.2 million baht to its members who are  now all elderly citizens.

 "There have been flip-flops in the bureaucracy as well as insincerity  from politicians," said Prawais Em-amorn, a core member of the  association.

 "The most recent victims [of state violence] have received  compensation but their predecessors are still waiting for mercy from the  government."

 Mr Prawais, 59, was referring to the payouts of up to 7.5 million  baht made by the Yingluck Shinawatra administration to red-shirt and  yellow-shirt protesters as well as victims of the violence in the deep  South.

 After the Oct 14 uprising, which left 77 dead and hundreds injured,  the government led by Sanya Dharmasak set up a 30-million-baht fund  managed by the Foundation for the October Victims to provide monthly  support of 400 baht to relatives of the dead or injured.

 The fund was exhausted and eventually closed down 30 years later in 2004.

 In March 2006, the government of Thaksin Shinawatra made a pact with  the Oct 14 survivors and relatives to pay up to 3 million baht to each  survivor and half a million to relatives of victims.

 But even this sum was not enough in the end, they said.

 "We were asked to sign papers forfeiting the right to demand compensation in the future," Mr Prawais said.

 "But the survivors and relatives, including victims' parents, have  led a difficult life. So we are pleading with the government to consider  giving a final lump-sum payment to them on humanitarian grounds."

 After much discussion, the Abhisit government agreed to pay the  association's members 7,000 baht a month until death. However, the  ageing and ailing members would rather settle for a final one-off  payout.

 "Politicians are just preaching about democracy without really caring  about the people who made real sacrifices and were affected by the  fight for democracy," said Mr Prawais, who still has a big scar on his  left thigh from M16 bullet wounds from 1973, a legacy of when the  military regime of the time opened fire on unarmed pro-democracy  protesters.

 During the past few years, 14 members of the association have died. Its membership is now down to 52.

 "We would like to live our final days with some dignity without  getting into debt or becoming a burden on our descendants," said Mr  Prawais.

 Ms Yingluck has turned down the request for the lump-sum payment and has stood by the monthly subsistence allowance deal.

 Lamied Boonmark, 67, wife of Jira Boonmark, a student from the  National Institute of Development Administration who was killed on  Ratchadamnoen Avenue during the 1973 demonstrations, said the  association is not begging for money from the government. It is just  asking for humanitarian support for the final days of its members, he  said.

 Since 2003, parliament has recognised Oct 14 as Democracy Day, but  those who struggled then have been abandoned by the generations who have  followed in their footsteps, Ms Lamied said.

 Mr Prawais has urged members of the cabinet, whom he believes  indirectly benefited from the landmark incident, to show up during the  event's 39th anniversary commemoration on Sunday to see with their own  eyes how relatives of the so-called "heroes" and "heroines" live their  modest and difficult lives.

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## StrontiumDog

*Oct 14, 1973 uprising remembered | Bangkok Post: news
*
*Oct 14, 1973 uprising remembered*
Published: 14/10/2012 at 02:34 PMOnline news: Local News
 Representatives of the government, opposition  and relatives of the dead turned up at the October 14 Memorial at Khok  Wua intersection Sunday morning to attend a ceremony to mark the 39th  anniversary of the student uprising on Oct 14, 1973.

 A ceremony involving three religions - Buddhism, Christianity and Islam - began at 7am.

 Prime Minister's Office Minister Worawat Ua-apinyakul represented the  prime minister at the ceremony. Other well-known figures attending the  ceremony included Surachai Liangboonlertchai, first deputy Senate  speaker, and Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich, Ong-art Klampaiboon and  Chamni Sakdiset of the Democrat Party.

 Parinya Thewanarumitkul, deputy dean of Thammasat University, said  the new generation should take this occasion to pursue the intentions of  the Oct 14 heroes to bring about true democracy to the people.

 Years of protests by students demanding democracy culminated in  clashes with police on Oct 14, 1973 around Democracy Monument. Unable to  control the large crowd attempting leave via Ratchawithi Road, police  opened fire on them with tear gas and gunfire.

The military was called in and took over Ratchadamnoen Avenue, while helicopters fired at Thammasat University.

Then  prime minister Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachorn was forced from  power, but not before at least 77 people were killed and more than 800  wounded.

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## Mid

> Unable to control the large crowd attempting leave via Ratchawithi Road, police opened fire on them with tear gas and gunfire.



flickr.com

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## Mid

*The 14 October 1973 Memorial*
Eric Lim

*lest we  forget*

 *

The 14 October 1973 Memorial* in Bangkok  was erected to preserve the memory of those who were killed on that fateful day  when thousands demonstrated against the military dictatorship.  

It stands at the junction of Central Ratchadamnoen Avenue and Tanao Road, not  far from the Democracy Monument where most of the demonstrators were gathered  back in October 1973.

The memorial, a conical structure rising from a rectangular pedestal, is at  the center of an elevated arena shaded by trees and plants in the outer  perimeter. 

  A poignant inscription at the pedestal expresses the sorrow of lamenting  parents waiting in vain for the return of their missing children whose names are  inscribed on the sides.

 
_Names and a message at the base_ 

A museum has been constructed as an extension of the 14 October 1973 Memorial  and it's divided into three levels. The first level is the elevated arena and  garden, with an exhibition area for photos of the October revolution behind the  memorial.

 
_The sculpture in the garden_ 

The photos are a stirring record of the tumultuous days in October 1973; tens of  thousands massing at the Democracy Monument, the violent military response,  masses of demonstrators running for their lives and jumping into canals, the  courage and defiance as some fought back using buses to block tanks and the  tragic aftermath. 

 
_Spirit of the seventies_ 

A spiral staircase leads to the 14 October Foundation in the mezzanine floor  below and then to the basement with the office and library.  
Every year on 14 October, services will be held at the memorial to  commemorate the occasion and the sacrifices of those who lost their lives during  the October revolution in 1973.

 
_Those who gave their lives_ _"Democracy achieved at the price of blood, flesh and  lives."

_The 14  October 1973 Memorial serves as a stark reminder of a grim period in Thai  political history and a dedication to the brave young men and women who stood up  and died for a cause.

tour-bangkok-legacies.com

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## Bettyboo

The pig faced &(&%# was a major force in bringing the Boy Scouts to Bangkok to murder the Thammasat students, yet when he was in power, he stated that only 1 student died and that was an accident...  :Sad: 

I've spoken to folks who were there, and they told me that 600+ were killed. They said that you could walk across the river on dead bodies... & the folks who were behind the murdering still cling to power...  :Sad:

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## aging one

compare their commitment to the assholes out on the streets today. Quite the dichotomy from paid protesters and people going for the free food and drink on both sides.

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## Rural Surin

> The pig faced &(&%# was a major force in bringing the Boy Scouts to Bangkok to murder the Thammasat students, yet when he was in power, he stated that only 1 student died and that was an accident... 
> 
> I've spoken to folks who were there, and they told me that 600+ were killed. They said that you could walk across the river on dead bodies... & the folks who were behind the murdering still cling to power...


They weren't your mother's Boy Scouts, but _different_ Scouts.
One of a few of nationalist subversive organizations created in the 1970s.

All, in pure form, still exist today.
Keeping the status quo where it belongs.

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## dexlowe

> Originally Posted by Bettyboo
> 
> 
> The pig faced &(&%# was a major force in bringing the Boy Scouts to Bangkok to murder the Thammasat students, yet when he was in power, he stated that only 1 student died and that was an accident... 
> 
> I've spoken to folks who were there, and they told me that 600+ were killed. They said that you could walk across the river on dead bodies... & the folks who were behind the murdering still cling to power... 
> 
> 
> They weren't your mother's Boy Scouts, but _different_ Scouts.
> ...


Yes, the village scouts, formed to fight the communist insurgency, and evolved into t he right wing fascist groups like Aphirak Chatri and Red Gaur, which caused havoc during the 1992  violence.

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## xanax

Did not see any coverage in the Thai press and no documentary on TV, no wonder Thais no nothing about their history

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## Rural Surin

> Did not see any coverage in the Thai press and no documentary on TV, no wonder Thais no nothing about their history


Well...sure.
You certainly wouldn't be expecting anything else, would you.

A most common and useful tool throughout all societies.
Promoting the goodness in their respective histories....nothing dark or negative - which all cultures/countries have ten fold.

It's the nature of convention to bring the most positive.....therefore: revision, suppression, and omission of truer historic content is applied and accepted by the masses.

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