Nawaphon

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Nawaphon ( Thai ขบวนการ นว พล , RTGS : Khabuan Kan Nawaphon, can be translated with either "New Force" or "Force of the Nine" (alluding to King Rama IX )) was a right-wing patriotic - Buddhist and anti-communist movement that took place during the Was active in Thailand in the mid- 1970s . Nawaphon was actively directed against parliamentary democracy , which achieved a breakthrough after the 1973 popular uprising .

founding

Nawaphon was initiated in 1974 by Wattana Kiewvimol after he had previously headed the Thai student organization in the USA and had returned to Thailand from Seton Hall University . The establishment was supported by the Command for Operations in Internal Security (ISOC; 1974 emerged from the Command for Operations to Combat Communists, CSOC) of the Thai Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior .

history

Nawaphon, with the help of covert military support, drew in many supporters who followed calls for support for the nation, religion and monarchy they saw threatened by left-wing groups. The group was said to have relationships with wealthy businessmen, politicians, the National Security Council and the Thai military intelligence service. Among their supporters were mainly traders, business people and monks, who rejected democracy and social change because they feared for their privileges. The organization was close to the well-known monk Kittiwuttho Bhikkhu , from whom the notorious saying comes that it is not a sin to kill communists. At the height of its popularity, the movement had 500,000 members.

The mood triggered by the agitation of the Nawaphon finally led to the massacre of 46 people between October 4 and 6, 1976 , mostly students from Thammasat University on the Bangkok campus and the Sanam Luang . After a coup d'état , the military then took over the country's government. The judge Tanin Kraivixien , a member of Nawaphon, was installed as prime minister. After the restoration of the military's influence, nawaphon was increasingly viewed as a vehicle that served the personal ambitions of individual senior officers, and its influence declined.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit: A History of Thailand. Cambridge University Press, 2009 p. 192.
  2. ^ A b Alex P. Schmid, Albert J. Jongman: Political Terrorism. Transaction Publishers, 2005, p. 671.
  3. ^ Elinor Bartak: The Student Movement in Thailand, 1970-1976. Center of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1993, p. 27.
  4. ^ Alan Klima: The Funeral Casino. Meditation, Massacre, and Exchange with the Dead in Thailand. Princeton University Press, Princeton (NJ) / Woodstock (Oxon), 2002 p. 26.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Michael Leifer: Dictionary of the modern politics of South-East Asia. Routledge, 1995. ISBN 0-415-13821-3 . P. 118, article "Nawaphon Movement".
  6. ↑ a b Puey Ungphakorn : Violence and the Military Coup in Thailand . In: Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars. Volume 9, Number 3, 1977, p. 11.
  7. ^ Puey Ungphakorn: Violence and the Military Coup in Thailand. In: Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars. Volume 9, Number 3, 1977, p. 4.
  8. ^ Politics and religion mix for Asia's activist monks . Knight Chair in Media and Religion, USC Annenberg School for Communication, September 11, 2007
  9. ↑ Jim Glassman: Thailand at the margins. State power, uneven development, and industrial transformation. University of Minnesota, 1999, p. 239.