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Remember the Thammasat Massacre as an act of organised hate
Thailand Massacre (Neil Ulevich)
Neal Ulevich won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for a “series of photographs of disorder and brutality in the streets of Bangkok, Thailand” (Pulitzer.com).
The Thammasat University Massacre took place on October 6, 1976. It was a very violent attack on students who were demonstrating against Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachorn.
F. M. T. Kittikachorn was a dictator who was planning to come back to Thailand. The return of the military dictator from exile provoked very violent protests. Protestors and students were beaten, mutilated, shot, hung and burnt to death.
The 6 October 1976 massacre, known as the 6 October event (Thai: เหตุการณ์ 6 ตุลา RTGS: het kan hok tula) in Thailand, was a violent crackdown by Thai police and lynching by right-wing paramilitaries and bystanders against leftist protesters who had occupied Bangkok's Thammasat University and the adjacent Sanam Luang, on 6 October 1976. Prior to the massacre, thousands of leftists, including students, workers and others, had been holding ongoing demonstrations against the return of former dictator Thanom Kittikachorn to Thailand since mid-September. Official reports state that 46 were killed (on both sides) and 167 were wounded, while unofficial reports state that more than 100 demonstrators were killed. In the "Documentation of Oct 6" project, Thongchai Winichakul argued that official death toll should be 45, including 40 demonstrators and 5 perpetrators, because one demonstrator died in jail after the incident.
In the aftermath of the events of 14 October 1973, the military dictatorship which had ruled Thailand for more than a decade was overthrown. Political, economic and ideological factors caused the society to polarize into socialist-minded left, and conservative and royalist right camps. The unstable political climate which was exacerbated by the existence of fragile coalition governments, frequent strikes and protests, and the rise of communist governments in neighboring countries led at least two factions of the armed forces to conclude that they needed to launch another coup in order to restore order; one faction plotted to bring Thanom back in order to provoke turmoil which could be used to justify a coup. On 19 September 1976, Thanom returned to Thailand, was instantly ordained at Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, and was visited by the King and the Queen, resulting in anti-Thanom protests and demonstrations. On 5 October, the protesters were accused of lese-majeste following a mock play which led to right-wing allegations that its actor looked like the Crown Prince; the police and rightist paramilitary groups then gathered outside the university.
At 5.30–11.00 a.m. on the morning of 6 October, the police used war-grade weapons, including assault rifles, grenade launchers, anti-armor rounds and grenades, to wage the crackdown against the surrounded protesters. The protesters briefly tried to defend themselves, but they were quickly defeated. Right-wing paramilitaries also lynched fleeing protesters; they were assaulted, robbed, sexually abused, shot, burned alive, and beaten to death, even some who had already surrendered. Bodies were also desecrated. 3,094 protesters were arrested on that day, while none of the perpetrators were brought to justice to date. On 6.00 p.m. that same evening, a coup was launched citing lèse-majesté and heavily armed protesters.
In the aftermath, the preceding age of "democratic experimentation," which had lasted only about two years and eleven months, was ended. Thanin Kraivichien was named Prime Minister and the ultra-right government further fuelled the communist insurgency. The public were largely silent following the government stance of "forgive and forget", including the modern Thai public who are more sympathetic to the massacred protesters. Scholars have pointed out that the monarchy contributed to the events, at least partly, by supporting the rightist paramilitaries and the visit of Thanom.
The police and paramilitary forces blocked all exits from the university from dawn on 6 October, and at 5.30 a.m. began shooting into the campus using war-grade weapons: assault rifles, machine guns, pistols, grenade launchers, armor-piercing recoilless rifles,[5]: 235–236 scoped rifles, and anti-tank guns. The forces fired into the university grounds, later claiming that this was in response to sniper fire from inside the campus, but neutral observers on the spot reported hearing little if any shooting coming from the students.
Prevented from leaving the campus or even evacuating the wounded, the student leaders offered surrender and negotiation with the Prime Minister, Seni Pramoj. It is unknown if the Prime Minister still held any real power that morning. The student representatives, including the actors accused of lèse majesté, turned themselves in, hoping for a chance to meet with the Prime Minister. However, they were arrested and taken into custody.
After a free-fire order was issued by the Bangkok police chief around 7.30–8.00 a.m., the campus was stormed with the police shooting and capturing university buildings.
104 Some right-wing paramilitaries, working with the police, followed them into the university. Students trying to flee by diving into the Chao Phraya River were shot at by naval vessels. Some who were trying to flee the university via the front gate and the fence were lynched by the paramilitaries and bystanders. Witnesses (protesters and bystanders) reported that the paramilitaries assaulted, robbed, sexually abused, and shot the protesters, even some who had already surrendered. Some were hung from trees and beaten, while others were set afire. Although the majority of victims were shot by the police, some were injured and even killed by the ensuing mob of people that took part in the chaos. The mob also desecrated many of the bodies.: 104 At 11.00 a.m., the police gathered the surrendered students in the football arena, where men and women were forced to lie on their stomach and undress to their underwear.
The official death toll was 45, including 5 perpetrators. The official records were autopsy reports. However, the unofficial death toll, given by the organization which handled the corpses, was more than 100.
Neal Ulevich's photograph was the best-known depiction of the event. Winner of the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for spot news, it illustrates the brutality and lynch-mob mentality surrounding the event, and has since become a symbol for the massacre, and has inspired numerous works of art.
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