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'The current farmers are not the same farmers as last year, because we are now well organized and firmly connected.' Text on a sign during a demonstration in Chiang Mai (1975)
Between 1974 and 1979, at least 46 farmers, mostly farm leaders, were murdered in cold blood across the country, with Chiang Mai being the most.
One of them was Intha Sribunruang, born in 1930, and living in Saraphi district, Chiang Mai. After several years as an organizer and leader (he was village chief for 5 years), in 1974 he was elected regional vice-president of the Chiang Mai chapter of the FFT, the Farmer's Federation of Thailand. He founded the magazine of the FFT, 'the Thai Farmer', and was its editor-in-chief.
Originally a farmer, he sold his land to pay the school fees for his five children, and then opened a small shop. On July 30, 1975, while he was managing the shop because his wife was taking a nursing course, a red Yamaha scooter with two men pulled up in front of the shop at 10 am. The passenger got off to buy a pack of cigarettes.
When Intha returned the change, he was shot eleven times in the head. He was the XNUMXth peasant leader killed in Thailand and the sixth in Northern Thailand. Many more would follow.
There has never been a proper investigation into the perpetrators of all these murders; no one has ever been arrested for it, let alone punished. Below I describe the background and course of events.
Background
On October 14, 1973, the military dictatorship of Field Marshal Thanom Kitttikachorn (Prime Minister from 1963 to 1973), Field Marshal Praphas Charusathien (Commander in Chief of the Army) and Police Colonel Narong Kittikachorn (son of Thanom and married to Praphas' daughter) came to an end after two weeks of demonstrations. for the release of twelve students and the call for a constitution.
The students had been arrested on October 6 for handing out pamphlets calling for a constitution. The demonstrations, started by students, grew into a mass movement. Thanom had resigned as head of government, but he continued to influence the army and in the evening and night of October 14 to 15, violence broke out between students and the army, resulting in an estimated hundred deaths. The Three Tyrants went into exile.
The three years that followed were of incredible freedom, opportunity and change. All kinds of groups organized themselves and became active in social and political life. The books of Marx, Lenin and Jit (Chit) Phumisak (a Thai Marxist, murdered in 1966 in the Isaan) were taken from the bookcase, read and discussed. Students went to the countryside to help the farmers.
It was an exciting atmosphere that went to the head of many, but at the same time it was also a chaotic time. Against the background of the advancing communism in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, it will come as no surprise that every freethinker (those who did not believe implicitly in 'Thainess', King, Nation and Religion) was accused of being a communist. Right-wing extremist groups, such as the Village Scouts, the Red Gaurs and Nawaphon, were on the rise and took on paramilitary traits.
On October 6, 1976 ('hok tula', October 6, almost everyone knows that day) the bomb burst. The above paramilitary organizations, supported by police and military personnel, moved to Thammasaat University and inflicted a massacre of unbelievable brutality.
After that, another suffocating blanket of oppression descended over Thailand, which was not largely lifted until the early XNUMXs under Democrat Chuan Leekpai.
The condition of the farmers between 1950 and 1976 in the North and a law
The economic and social situation of the vast majority of farmers in the North (and elsewhere) was very precarious. Many had no land or could not lease, and lived from hand to mouth. Thirty percent of all farmers were tenants, with rents sometimes reaching fifty percent of the harvest or more. With a bad harvest, that was fatal. In addition, there was a lot of fallow land.
In 1950, during the reign of Prime Minister Phibun Songkhraam, the Land Rent Control Act was passed, which regulated the amount of the rent and made it dependent on the harvest. If there was a small harvest, the rent was reduced.
However, its implementation was placed in the hands of the provincial authorities, which was not the case in Chiang Mai province. The peasants protested in vain. Although the peasants were referred to in various writings as 'the backbone of the nation', little was done to safeguard their interests and rights.
That changed in the turbulent years after 1973 when it became possible to organize and demonstrate. On November 19, 1974, the Farmer's Federation of Thailand (FFT) was formed during a protest in Bangkok, which would eventually grow into a mob of 50.000 farmers.
On November 29, the government gave in to a number of farmers' demands, such as the implementation of the 1950 law nationwide, in addition to granting fallow land to landless farmers and assistance with debt problems (December 1974 law, which also included executive committees were formed, half consisting of peasants). The FFT gained millions of members who paid 4 baht annual dues and was organized across the country according to the administrative division of the state.
'1974, 1974, those were the good years. It was my second year at university, but I rarely attended lectures. I spent all my time in the villages, living with and learning from the farmers.'
M., a former student at Chiang Mai University and how her life changed after October 14, 1973
Thousands of students moved to the countryside after October 14, 1973 to assist farmers in their struggle to see their legal rights realized and to raise political awareness among farmers. The peasants wanted to be treated as equals with their landowners before the law. There were massive demonstrations in all cities in Thailand. The landowners and authorities resisted, there was rarely an improvement.
The murders
The killings began as early as 1974, peaking between March and August 1974 when 24 leaders of the FFT were killed, and did not end until 1979. Killings took place across the country, from Udon, through Khorat and Chonburi to Ang Thong and Chiang Mai . They mostly happened in broad daylight, execution style. I've seen a list of 46 names but there are probably more.
Many did not dare to come forward in the repressive years after October 6, 1976, and some still testify anonymously today. Virtually no investigation has been done, let alone anyone arrested or convicted. In Thailand at that time, and sometimes still today, you could murder with impunity. Indifference, ignorance and incompetence reigned supreme, especially when it came to farming. In a climate of fear, the FFT was hardly heard from after 1976, she died in 1979.
Evaluation
These events and the massacres at Thammasaat University on October 6, 1976 are barely reflected in the historical debate in Thailand, and certainly not in school textbooks.
Where we Dutch always see our history against the background of the Revolt against Spain, the Constitution of Thorbecke and the Second World War, Thailand is denied that view of the past and Thailand cannot draw lessons from it for the present. Thai historiography has always been very selective; movements from below were hardly discussed.
In Thailand, throughout history, there have been many individuals and movements that sought to improve the social, economic and political condition of the population. They have all been suppressed, interrupted, maligned and forgotten.
The real revolution in Thailand is yet to come.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s_peasant_revolts_in_Thailand
Tyrell Haberkorn Revolution Interrupted, Farmers, Students, Law and Violence in Northern Thailand, Silkworm Books, 2011
About this blogger
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Born in 1944 in Delfzijl as the son of a simple shopkeeper. Studied in Groningen and Curacao. Worked as a doctor in Tanzania for three years, then as a general practitioner in Vlaardingen. A few years before my retirement I married a Thai lady, we had a son who speaks three languages well.
Lived in Thailand for almost 20 years, first in Chiang Kham (Phayao province) then in Chiang Mai where I liked to bother all kinds of Thai with all kinds of questions. Followed Thai extracurricular education after which a diploma of primary school and three years of secondary school. Did a lot of volunteer work. Interested in the Thai language, history and culture. Have been living in the Netherlands for 5 years now together with my son and often with his Thai girlfriend.
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Dear Tina,
Very good to read a piece from the history of Chang Mai in this case.
Those were intense years of murders and especially the impunity strikes me, after all those murders.
In neighboring Cambodia, these were also horrible years of hundreds of thousands of deaths, where the torture was especially gruesome and the killing fields under the Pol Pot regime have become an indelible chapter in history.
Reading history is a very important contribution to better understanding the population, many thanks for that with the hope that many more pieces will follow from you.
Greetings from a loyal reader of yours. Danny
And in fact, little has changed…. people are still disappearing, many murders are never solved because they are never really investigated. At that time, such people were called communists, now drug dealers or terrorists.
Unfortunately, I completely agree with the last sentence.
The current demonstrations are against corruption and nepotism, but the Democrats who organize this, among other things, are not a party that also wants to maintain this or be supported by the elite. Various leaders of the protest movement think that the "farmers" are too stupid to vote and do not realize that they make other considerations because they simply still have to provide for their basic needs and therefore find other things important just like years ago.
Next year (2015) the borders will open and I hold my breath and maybe then the real revolution as Tino wrote will really take place. But above all I hope that the contradictions that this protest also evokes, the Thai will find the MIDDLE ROAD again.
So if one actually follows the timeline and now back to the present, there are only problems and no one can solve the problem of "farmers and rice"? People are looking for all sorts of solutions that either don't work or turn out to be financially unfeasible at all. In the event of such mismanagement, the minister must resign in a normal country, in Thailand they remain comfortable and keep each other's hands above their heads. I understand very well that exports are falling massively. I sometimes say to my wife: Shall we buy some delicious Thai rice in the supermarket? That's good, she says, but when I look at the price, I come to the conclusion that for those 25 kilos of Thai rice, I can buy 62.5 kilos of very good Filipino or even Indian rice. If you don't mind bloggers, I'll leave that Thai rice on the shelves!
Moderator: comment on the article and not just each other.
Quite right Tino, the real revolution is yet to come and I don't think it will be an easy one. Because it also concerns an inner revolution, which has to do with an approach to mentality. (Something Mao must have had in mind with his cultural revolution, which was of course violently pumped in from above, which doesn't really work. It was also a feudal society there.)
It must also come from below, even if the government could help provide the tools in the form of political awareness-raising and education. But therein lies a problem, of course, because the “educators” themselves largely still have to be educated. And when I look around me, the "idealism" of the years you describe is further away than ever. Political restructuring, reform? Yes, but if the concept of democracy is not in the hearts of the people, "formal" laws are of no use. A real debate is still not possible in Thailand. (although with all those demonstrations there is certainly a lot of playing and chatting…..)
I believe that the Thai people do not need to be 'educated' to a better understanding of democracy and social justice. Most people know what's going on, they just can't say it in public. It is my humble opinion that the average Thai is more knowledgeable about these matters than many of the much-praised 'well-educated and well-educated' section of the population. The farmers in this posting knew very well what they were fighting for, they didn't have to tell the students; they came to help, not to "educate." An average taxi driver knows more about democracy than an average Suthep supporter.
If it is not the incomprehension of the population that prevents further development of democracy, then what is?
In my opinion, the years of suppression of the truth, the partiality of the judiciary, the propaganda and indoctrination with the emphasis on "Thainess", the extensive (self-)censorship of the media and the fear that the continued application of Article 112, the lese-majeste article, entails. Remove these factors and democracy and social justice will flourish. It's very simple: there is no freedom of speech in this country. If there had been, most of the serious problems in this country would have been solved long ago.
If I were to tell the truth here, highlight a certain link or a video, I would either be moderated or put in jail. That's why I admire people like Somyot Prueksakasemsuk and Sulak Sivaraksa. Their ideas have the future.
dear tina,
It was good that the students helped the farmers to support their legal rights.
Yet I do think that if a country has to be well governed, a broad knowledge of the matter is required. Knowledge of legislation and the use of legal language are generally not typical for farmers.
Political science and being able to give speeches, which knows how to convince a wide audience of just proposals that serve the people, are also qualities that an average farmer does not aspire to and this is not very everyone's profession, I think.
From this point of view, I do not think that an average taxi driver or farmer, plumber or electrician has more sense to form a democracy government than people who have studied for these conditions of good governance with a good democracy content and the qualities to lead. can give, which is widely supported by honesty and openness.
I personally noticed that the demonstrators in Bangkok have a great sense of solidarity when it comes to fighting corruption and want to stand up for openness and honesty.
In my opinion, they are not stupid followers of Suthep, but a leadership is needed to organize such large demonstrations.
You can also demonstrate in Bangkok (by many) against corruption without seeing Suthep as a new political leader.
The protests in Bangkok also demonstrate a need for free speech for a fairer system and they (most of the peace-loving protesters) are at high risk of being injured by police brutality or other Thaksin supporters.
I regret that you are sometimes moderated, because I think that you often do not play the man and do not lose sight of the subject.
I hope you will continue to be active on this blog and therefore sometimes accept the judgments of the reaction, however unfortunate that may be. Very sometimes my reaction doesn't go through either, so I know how it feels.
However, I keep in mind that most corrections are very good from the editors.
In the meantime I have become curious about Somyot and Sulak and I hope for an explanation from you about these two people.
a good greeting from Danny
Dear Danny,
Somyot was first and foremost a supporter of representative democracy and freedom of expression, he was also a supporter of Thaksin but regularly criticized his actions. Sulak is also a supporter of representative democracy and freedom of expression. He is not a supporter of Thaksin and often criticized his person ('arrogant'). Both believe that if Article 112, the lèse-majesté article, is not lifted, there can be no question of freedom of expression in this country. Somyot is in prison, Sulak has been charged four times with lèse-majeste, but probably escaped a prison sentence due to intervention by the court. Sulak is a royalist, but he believes that the role of the king should be discussed, otherwise you cannot speak of a democracy. Sulak supports Somyot in this.
I admire both for standing up, at the risk of life and liberty, for freedom of expression, an essential element of a healthy democracy. How they also think about Thaksin I find unimportant in this context.
Dear Tina,
I want to thank you for your explanation.
It is a great thing if people stand up for freedom of expression, but I do think that it should always be said that this should not mean that you may insult or swear at each other.
Freedom of expression must be characterized by respect for each other or differences with the aim of improving a society in which violence is excluded.
Proclaiming an expression of opinion that shows itself as venting without adding some form of perspective I find questionable and can result in frustration and violence.
greetings and thanks from Danny
dear tina,
Just a postscript about my question to you about Somyot and Sulak.
She differed greatly on Thaksin's politics. They were for and against each other.
The only thing they both had in common was that they had been convicted of lèse majesté.
Because they were so different from each other, I can't really place your admiration for their ideas about the future.
Maybe you can explain that.
greetings from Danny
Tino, thank you very much for this piece of history lesson, most of you will be familiar with the student revolt, but I didn't know this piece of history about the farmers. It's nice to get to know the history better, then you also get to know the country better plus the fact that the past should never be forgotten in order to hopefully prevent a recurrence of misery in the future.