Thai Political Milestones, no. 2:14th October 1973

The events of 14th October 1973 led to the collapse of a dictatorship, followed by three years of democratic government in Thailand. The roots of the revolution can be traced back six months earlier, when a helicopter crashed in the Thung Yai wildlife sanctuary. The crash caused a national scandal, as the helicopter was part of an illegal poaching expedition organised by senior military figures.

Students from Ramkhanhaeng University published a dossier about the controversy, บันทึกลับจากทุ่งใหญ่ (‘secret notes on Thung Yai’). They were suspended from their courses, triggering protests at Democracy Monument calling for their reinstatement. Student activism increased, developing into a wider campaign against the military government led by Thanom Kittikachorn.

By 11th October 1973, around 50,000 protesters demonstrated at Thammasat University. Two days later, they marched to Democracy Monument, and the number of demonstrators swelled to 500,000. On 14th October 1973, the military opened fire on the students — killing seventy-seven people — and there were rumours that Thanom’s son Narong shot protesters from a military helicopter.

To appease the protesters, the government agreed to begin drafting a new constitution, and protest leader Seksan Prasertkul sought assurances from King Rama IX that this promise would be kept. Just as in May 1992, Bhumibol’s actions resolved the conflict, sending Thanom, Narong, and Praphas Charusathien (known as the three tyrants or สามทรราชย์) into exile.

A brief period of civilian democratic rule followed, though Thanom returned to the country three years later, and protests against his presence led to a violent coup that took place on 6th October 1976. 14th October 1973 is known in Thai as วันมหาวิปโยค (‘the day of great sorrow’).

Thai Political Milestones:

• no. 1: ‘Black May’

50 ปี 14 ตุลาเจ้าฝันถึงโลกสีใด(‘50 years of 14th Oct.’)

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the 14th October 1973 demonstration, when 500,000 people rallied at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument calling for a new constitution and an end to Thanom Kittikachorn’s dictatorial rule. The protest was successful, as Thanom was dismissed as prime minister and sent into exile — leading to a three-year period of democracy — though the military shot and killed seventy-seven protesters.

Commemorations of the massacre are surprisingly understated, despite the historic fiftieth anniversary. A commemorative exhibition earlier in the year contained no references to the incident. There is an exhibition of political billboards at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, albeit on a small scale. Most lamentably, there is an even smaller display of photocopied pages — from The Ten Days (วันมหาวิปโยค) — outside the 14 October 73 Memorial. The Commoner will release their new single Hope on the day of the anniversary, and there will be a series of film screenings at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya.

Another compact exhibition commemorating the anniversary opened today at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Organised by the publisher of Matichon (มติชน), 50 ปี 14 ตุลา เจ้าฝันถึงโลกสีใด (‘50 years of 14th Oct.: what colour world do you dream of?’) features a display of books, notably บันทึกลับจากทุ่งใหญ่ (‘secret notes on Thung Yai’), which exposed military corruption in the months before the protests. (A group of students who investigated military poaching at Thung Yai were suspended from Ramkhamhaeng University, triggering protests at Democracy Monument calling for their reinstatement.) The exhibition also includes a monitor screening the documentary อนุทินวีรชน 14 ตุลาคม (‘diary of 14th October heroes’).

The documentary will also be shown at the Thai Film Archive, on 14th October. The exhibition at QSNCC runs until 23rd October, to coincide with Book Expo Thailand 2023. The exhibition brochure folds out into a small poster with a black-and-white photo of protesters at Democracy Monument on the day before the massacre.

๕๐ ปี ๑๔ ตุลา(‘50 years of 14th Oct.’)

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the 14th October 1973 demonstration, when 500,000 people rallied at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument calling for an end to Thanom Kittikachorn’s dictatorial rule. The protest was successful, as Thanom was dismissed as prime minister and sent into exile, though the military shot and killed seventy-seven protesters. The anniversary was commemorated with an exhibition of paintings at g23 earlier in the year, and there will also be an exhibition at the forthcoming Thailand Book Expo and screenings at the Thai Film Archive later this month.

Bangkok Art and Culture Centre is also holding an exhibition to mark the anniversary, from 3rd to 15th October, with replicas of billboards created by the United Artists’ Front of Thailand (แนวร่วมศิลปินแห่งประเทศไทย). The billboards were originally displayed outdoors in 1975, and the replicas have been shown at two previous exhibitions: Political Cut-out Artworks of the October Event (ภาพศิลปะคัทเอาท์การเมืองเดือนตุลา) in 2003 and ภาพคัตเอาท์การเมืองเดือนตุลา (‘October political billboard artworks’) in 2009.

BACC will also be screening a series of short films, including Pirab (พิราบ) and the documentary The Shadow of History (เงาประวัติศาสตร์) on 8th October, and 16 ตุลา (‘16th Oct.’) on 15th October. (Pirab was previously shown at Thammasat University earlier this month, at Future Fest 2023, and at the Thai Film Archive in 2017. 16 ตุลา was previously shown online as part of Democracy.exe in 2021.)

The Shadow of History, produced by the Thai Film Archive on the fortieth anniversary of the protest, features newsreel footage of the event filmed by Chin Klaiparn and Taweesak Wiriyasiri. It was directed by Panu Aree, Kong Rithdee, and Kaweenipon Ketprasit.

Pirab, directed by Pasit Promnumpol, begins with a flashback (in sound only) to another massacre, on 6th October 1976, which took place after Thanom’s return from exile. The film dramatises a student’s anguished decision to leave his family and join the communist insurgency, allowing the audience to empathise with the young man’s dilemma.

In 16 ตุลา, three student protest leaders debate their tactics in the aftermath of the 2014 coup. (The three students could, of course, be substitutes for Arnon Nampa, Panusaya Sithjirawattanakul, and Parit Chirawak.) Aomtip Kerdplanant’s drama shows how the students’ lives have changed in the years since their initial campaign, indicating how seasoned protesters can become disillusioned. The title is a conflation of the 14th October 1973 and 6th October 1976 massacres, which have been whitewashed to such an extent that many people cannot tell them apart.

กรุงเทพ กลางแปลง(‘Bangkok open air’)

The กรุงเทพ กลางแปลง (‘Bangkok open air’) festival returns this year, with outdoor screenings around Bangkok between 7th October and 12th November. Highlights include The Moonhunter (14 ตุลา สงครามประชาชน), showing on 14th October at Lan Khon Mueang Town Square; 6ixtynin9 (เรื่องตลก 69), on 5th November at the historic Metropolitan Waterworks Authority building; and The Wizard of Oz, on 11th November at Benchakitti Forest Park.

The Moonhunter dramatises the 14th October 1973 protest that ended Thanom Kittikachorn’s military dictatorship, and the screening will take place on the fiftieth anniversary of the event. It will also be shown at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, on 15th and 19th October.

Pen-ek Ratanaruang remade his thriller 6ixtynin9 as a Netflix series last month. The film was previously shown at Bangkok Screening Room in 2017. As part of a Pen-ek retrospective in 2018, it was screened on DVD at the Jam Factory and in 35mm at House RCA, and it was also shown at Alliance Française as part of another Pen-ek retrospective that year.

The Wizard of Oz, a Hollywood classic, returned to cinemas earlier this year to celebrate the centenary of Warner Bros. It was previously shown at Bangkok Screening Room in 2018, 2019, and 2020. It has also been screened at the Scala, Cinema Winehouse, Bangkok Community Theatre, and Jam.

๕๐ ปี ๑๔ ตุลา(‘50 years of 14th Oct.’)

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the 14th October 1973 protest, when half a million people gathered at Democracy Monument in Bangkok calling for an end to Thanom Kittikachorn’s military dictatorship. After King Rama IX intervened, Thanom fled into exile, though seventy-seven protesters were shot dead by the army. A screening programme at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, ๕๐ ปี ๑๔ ตุลา (‘50 years of 14th Oct.’), will commemorate the anniversary next month.

The season includes The Moonhunter (14 ตุลา สงครามประชาชน), a prestigious biopic of protest leader Seksan Prasertkul, screening in 35mm. Now regarded as a classic, it received poor reviews on its first release for focusing entirely on Seksan, and it used CGI to represent the thousands of protesters at Democracy Monument. (Seksan, who wrote the screenplay, intended it as an autobiography, though the studio changed the title and marketed it as a film about the 14th October movement.)

Sunset at Chaophraya II (คู่กรรม ภาค ๒) is overshadowed by The Moonhunter but is arguably a better film, ending with a realistic and violent recreation of the 1973 massacre. Angel (เทพธิดาโรงแรม) features documentary footage of the protest intercut with a social realist narrative. Tongpan (ทองปาน) was produced in the brief period of political freedom after the events of 1973.

The Moonhunter will be shown on 15th and 19th October, Sunset at Chaophraya II on 13th and 25th October, Angel on 13th and 24th October, and Tongpan on 21st October. Tongpan will be screened in 16mm. (It has been shown at the Film Archive before, and at Noir Row Art Space, Cinema Oasis, and the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.)

The programme also includes two documentaries: the feature-length อนุทินวีรชน 14 ตุลาคม (‘diary of 14th October heroes’), showing on 14th October; and the short film วันมหาวิปโยค (‘the tragic day’), on 15th October. อนุทินวีรชน 14 ตุลาคม features unique colour and black-and-white footage of the massacre, while วันมหาวิปโยค includes colour footage of the atmosphere among the protesters.

Thai Cinema Uncensored includes a complete survey of films related to 14th October 1973 and its aftermath. Thai Film Archive director Chalida Uabumrungrit analysed the two documentaries in the Thai Film Journal (วารสารหนังไทย, vol. 18). Three short films — Full Moon (เดือนเพ็ญ), Tha Wall [sic] (กำแพง), and The Night of Freedom (ราตรีเสรี) — were made for the October Youth Short Film Project (โครงการผลิตหนังสั้นเดือนตุลาคม) in 2005. The Colors of October (สีสันแห่งเดือนตุลา) exhibition at g23 in Bangkok also marks the fiftieth anniversary of the event.

The Colors of October:50 Years of 14th October, 50 Artists

The Colors of October: 50 Years of 14th October, 50 Artists (สีสันแห่งเดือนตุลา ห้าสิบปีสิบสี่ตุลา ห้าสิบศิลปิน) opens at g23 in Bangkok on 29th July. The exhibition marks the fiftieth anniversary of the 14th October 1973 protest and massacre, with works by fifty contemporary artists, and runs until 30th August. Surprisingly, the participating artists (with only one exception, Chokchai Tukpoe) do not depict the events of the protest itself, nor do they refer — even symbolically — to the violence of the event. Instead, there are numerous paintings of bucolic landscapes, plants, and clouds.

In October 1973, a group of students campaigned against military corruption after a decade of dictatorial rule by Thanom Kittikachorn. A dozen campaigners were arrested, prompting a rally at Democracy Monument by 2,000 Thammasat University students calling for their release. Within a week, the number had swelled to 500,000 people, the largest mass protest in Thai history. King Rama IX indicated his support for the movement, and assured protest leader Seksan Prasertkul that their demands would be met. The protest was successful, as Thanom was dismissed as prime minister and sent into exile, though the military shot and killed seventy-seven protesters.

The last exhibition commemorating the massacre, 14 ตุลา ผ่านสายตาศิลปิน (‘14th October through artists’ eyes’), was held on the thirtieth anniversary of the event. That exhibition featured only seven artists, though several of the works on show were produced in the immediate aftermath of the massacre and commented directly on the tragedy that unfolded. These included Tang Chang’s haunting self-portrait of the artist’s bloodstained face and chest; and Pratuang Emjaroen’s Dhama and Adhama (ธรรมะ-อธรรม), which depicts bullet holes on the face of the Buddha. The ประชาธิปไตยในหัวใจของปวงชน (‘democracy in the hearts of the people’) exhibition also marked the thirtieth anniversary of the event.

Errata: Collecting Entanglements and Embodied Histories

The group exhibition Errata: Collecting Entanglements and Embodied Histories opened at MAIIAM in Chiang Mai on 30th July, and runs until 1st November (subsequently extended to 14th February 2022). Works relating to Thailand’s two notorious October massacres are included: Arin Rungjang’s And Then There Were None: Tomorrow We Will Become Thailand is a series of paintings based on news photographs from 14th October 1973, and Thasnai Sethaseree’s untitled collages feature partially obscured news photos of 6th October 1976.

Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook’s video The Class is also included. It was shown previously at two group exhibitions in Bangkok — Crossover and Dialogues — and a transcript of the video appears in Araya’s book Art and Words (ศิลปะกับถ้อยความ).

14 ตุลาคม

14 ตุลาคม: 40 ความทรงจำเดือนตุลาคม (‘14th October: forty years of memories’), a four-part Thai PBS documentary on the 40th anniversary of the 14th October 1973 massacre in Bangkok, was released on DVD in 2014. The series, broadcast in 2013, was the first substantial 14th October documentary since historian Charnvit Kasetsiri’s 14 ตุลา (‘14th Oct.’), which was released on VHS to commemorate the twentieth anniversary in 1993.

Charnvit’s hour-long documentary was later released on VCD under the English title October 14 Thai Student Uprising 1973, and repackaged with the docudrama Tongpan (ทองปาน) and the 6th October 1976 massacre documentary พ.ศ. 2519 (‘2519 B.E.’). Episodes relating to 14th October from the บันทึกเมืองไทย (‘save Thailand’) documentary series were also released on VCD in 2001.

สมุดภาพแห่งความทรงจำ

สมุดภาพแห่งความทรงจำ จารึกประวัติศาสตร์ ๑๔ ตุลา ในวาระครบร ๓๖ ปี ๑๔ ตุลา ('photobook of memories thirty-six years after 14th October') was published in 2009. The book includes more than 1,000 images (including newspaper front pages), providing a comprehensive visual archive of the 14th October 1973 demonstration and massacre in Bangkok. It also includes บันทึกไว้ในประวัติศาสตร์ ('recorded in history'), a CD with five songs inspired by the event, which was first released as a 7" EP in 1973.

Several other albums and singles have been recorded in commemoration of the 14th October incident. Phanom Suksaeng's single 14 ตุลาคม เลือดไทยสามัคคี ('14th October: Thai blood and unity') was released shortly after the event. The band Caravan contributed to the album รวมบทเพลงเพื่อชีวิต 14 ตุลาคม 16 ('compilation of songs for life: 14th October '73'), which included two Caravan songs — and one by another band, กรรมาชน (‘workers’) — that were banned by the Interior Ministry in 1975 for potentially inciting anti-government protests. Caravan's albums ตุลา-คม ('sharp October') and 30 ปี คีตนุกรม 14 ตุลา ('30 years: collection of 14th October songs') mark the twenty-fifth and thirtieth anniversaries of the protests, respectively. The album ตุลาธาร ๑๔ คน ๑๔ เพลง ต้องห้าม ('October: 14 people, 14 forbidden songs') also commemorates 14th October, though it includes one song—6 ตุลา ('6th October') by Pongsit Kampee—about the 6th October 1976 massacre. Euthana Mukdasanit adapted Kiss of the Spider Woman (จุมพิตนางพญาแมงมุม) as a stage musical in 2001, during which he projected archive footage of 14th October followed by a list of the victims.

Artists have also been inspired by the massacre. An exhibition of art inspired by the incident, 14 ตุลา ผ่านสายตาศิลปิน ('14th October through artists' eyes', 2003), included Tang Chang's self-portrait depicting the artist's bloodstained face and chest. Pratuang Emjaroen's painting Dhama and Adhama (ธรรมะ-อธรรม) (1974) depicts bullet holes on the Buddha's face. Amnard Yensabye's painting ภาพคนเดือนตุลาคม 2516 (picture of October 1973) is a semi-abstract depiction of the massacre's chaotic aftermath. Sanya Wongaram's woodcut The Ten Days, which depicts soldiers and students, was inspired by press photographs of the massacre.

The United Artists’ Front of Thailand (แนวร่วมศิลปินแห่งประเทศไทย), formed in the aftermath of 14th October, organised an outdoor exhibition of political billboards along Bangkok’s Ratchadamnoen Avenue in 1975. The group promoted socially-conscious ‘art for life’ (‘ศิลปะเพื่อชีวิต’), in parallel with the ‘songs for life’ (‘เพลงเพื่อชีวิต’) movement of bands such as Caravan. (The ‘art for life’ slogan was inspired by Chit Phumisak’s book ศิลปะเพื่อชีวิต ศิลปะเพื่อประชาชน/‘art for life and art for the people’.) Two Artists’ Front retrospective exhibitions have been held at the Pridi Banomyong Institute, both featuring newly commissioned replicas of the 1975 billboards: Political Cut-out Artworks of the October Event (ภาพศิลปะคัทเอาท์การเมืองเดือนตุลา) in 2003 (curated by Nonglak Laowor) and ภาพคัตเอาท์การเมืองเดือนตุลา (‘October political billboard artworks’) from 3rd–20th October 2009.