Student Protest and Political Change in Thailand

Abstract

S TUDENT PROTEST and political activism have exerted major changes in the political systems of many nations in Asia. Student riots in i96o led to the overthrow of Syngman Rhee in South Korea, and student demonstrations at the same time were important factors in the retirement of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi in Japan. Agitation by student organizations in i965 was a major influence in the demise of the Sukarno era in Indonesia, and violent tactics by student groups in the Philippines during the late i96o's helped to induce the authoritarian counter-action by President Ferdinand Marcos. Both peaceful and violent protests by university students have had political repercussions in India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon, Malaysia, and Singapore. With only one exception, students in Thailand exerted no significant political influence until the early i970's. A group of Thai students led by Pridi Phanomyong in Paris were instrumental in providing the rationale and motivation which led to the overthrow of the absolute monarchy in June I932, and student support emanating from the University of Moral and Political Science (the predecessor of Thammasat University) in Bangkok provided some popular support for Pridi and civilian political leaders during the early difficult years of the constitutional monarchy.' Student activism completely disappeared with the emergence of authoritarian military rule after I938. Two thousand students at Chulalongkorn University staged a protest rally in February I957 against corruption in the general elections held by the Phibun Songkram government, and with the connivance of the army chief-of-staff, General Sarit Thanarat, they engaged in a mass demonstration in front of the Prime Minister's office demanding that he resign.2 However, the students were again cowed, awed, and co-opted by the highly centralized