Narong Kittikachorn

Narong Kittikachorn ( Thai ณรงค์ กิตติ ขจร , RTGS Kittikhachon ; born October 21, 1933 in the province of Ayutthaya ) is a Thai former army officer (colonel) and politician. He is the son of the former military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn , who ruled Thailand from 1963 to 1973, and played a leading role in his junta and in the attempt to put down the popular uprising in October 1973 . From 1983 to 1991 he was a member of the Thai House of Representatives and from 1986 to 1992 chairman of the "Liberal Party".

Life

Education and family

Narong is the second of six children (and the eldest son) of future Field Marshal Thanom and his wife Chongkon Kittikachorn. He attended the renowned Suankularb Wittayalai School in Bangkok, then the Chulachomklao Military Academy (5th year, i.e. he was a classmate of the future Prime Minister Suchinda Kraprayoon ) and finally the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England.

As a child, Narong met his future wife Supaporn, the daughter of Praphas Charusathien , who was a close friend and ally of his father. Narong's father and future father- in-law participated in the 1957 coup d'état of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat as commander and deputy commander, respectively. They then held high positions in the military junta that was thus established. In 1957/58 Narong's father was Prime Minister for a few months, then the actual ruler Sarit took over this office himself. Narong and Supaporn married in 1958, the wedding ceremony was led by King Bhumibol Adulyadej . They have three sons and one daughter. After Sarit's death in 1963, Thanom Kittikachorn succeeded him again, and Praphas Charusathien became his deputy, so that Narong was the son and son-in-law of the two most powerful men in the country.

Role in the military junta (1970s)

Despite being head of government himself, Narong's father undertook a coup d'état in May 1971 to fully rule the constitution and parliament (which were reinstated in 1969). Narong was appointed deputy secretary to the military junta. At the same time he was in the rank of lieutenant colonel commander of the 2nd battalion in the 11th infantry regiment (life guard of the king). The impression spread both in the armed forces and in the population that Thanom and Praphas were preparing their son or son-in-law as successors, that is, they wanted to give their rule a quasi-dynastic character. This aroused not only resentment among the people, where Narong was considered corrupt, but also among other long-serving officers who feared being overtaken by the younger Narong in the order of promotion. The crash of a helicopter on April 29, 1973, in which Narong friends were officers who were on their way back from an illegal hunting trip in a nature reserve, developed into a scandal.

In response to allegations of corruption and abuse of power against the military government, the latter set up an "authority to investigate and monitor government activities", which, paradoxically, was headed by Narong, who instead used it to prosecute political opponents. According to British historian, diplomat and Southeast Asia expert John LS Girling, Narong's "ruthless character and driving ambition" frightened many people. For the opposition movement of the popular uprising in October 1973 , he was one of the regime's most hated exponents. Narong, his father Thanom and his father-in-law Praphat were collectively called the "Three Tyrants" and went down in history under this name. Narong took an active part in the military suppression of the uprising. According to a widespread report, Narong himself was said to have shot at demonstrators with a machine gun from a helicopter gunship. However, Narong denies this.

After King Bhumibol and the new army chief Krit Sivara urged his father and father-in-law to resign, Narong left the country on October 15, 1973 and went to Taiwan. Narong traveled on to West Germany, then South Korea, before finally settling in Bournemouth , England . His assets, which came from illegitimate enrichment, were confiscated by the state and his pension entitlements as an officer were canceled.

Political career (1980s)

After returning to Thailand, Narong entered politics. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the 1983 parliamentary election for the Conservative Chart Thai Party as a member of constituency 2 of Ayutthaya Province (where his home town is). According to villagers in his constituency, Narong sent henchmen from the military to the Hua Khanaen (i.e., electoral candidates - locally influential people who traditionally play an important role in voting in a particular community) to intimidate them and urge them to support his candidacy. He also made use of the purchase of votes.

For the 1986 election he joined the small “Liberal Party” (Phak Seriniyom) , which he then chaired. In the early elections in 1988 he was re-elected again. In the March 1992 election, Narong lost his seat in parliament to Lieutenant General Khasem Kraisant of the Social Action Party , which was affiliated with the National Peace Keeping Council (NPKC; military junta led by General Suchinda Kraprayoon that had come to power the previous year). In the subsequent election, Narong did not run, as did his party as a whole, which was then dissolved the following year.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d} Daniel Arghiros: Democracy, Development and Decentralization in Provincial Thailand. Curzon Press, 2001, p. 102.
2. ↑ Katja Rangsivek: Trakun, Politics and the Thai State. Dissertation, University of Copenhagen, 2013, p. 154.
3. ↑ Thak Chaloemtiarana: Thailand. The Politics of Despotic Paternalism. Cornell Southeast Asia Program, Ithaca (NY) 2007, ISBN 978-0-8772-7742-2 , p. 203.
4. ↑ Prajak Kongkirati: Thailand. The Cultural Politics of Student Resistance. In: Meredith L. Weiss, Edward Aspinall: Student Activism in Asia. Between Protest and Powerlessness. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis / London 2012, pp. 229-257, at p. 243.
5. ↑ Erik Martinez Kuhonta: Dictatorship and the State. A Comparison of State Building and State Plunder in South Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. In: Miguel A. Centeno et al. a .: States in the Developing World. Camdridge University Press, Cambridge et al. a. 2017, pp. 121–153, on p. 150.
6. ^ John LS Girling: The Bureaucratic Polity in Modernizing Societies: Similarities, Differences, and Prospects in the ASEAN Region. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore 1981, p. 191. Quoted from Daniel Arghiros: Democracy, Development and Decentralization in Provincial Thailand. Curzon Press, 2001, p. 102. Original quote: “(…) whose ruthless character and driving ambition 'struck fear into many people's hearts'”.
7. ^ William Warren: Letter from Bangkok. In: The New York Times , February 10, 1974.
8. ↑ Daniel Arghiros: Democracy, Development and Decentralization in Provincial Thailand. Curzon Press, 2001, p. 173.

Note on Thai names : This article addresses people by their first name.