I. INTRODUCTION
II. LAND AND RESOURCES
A. Climate
B. Natural Resources
C. Plants and Animals
III. POPULATION
A. Population Characteristics
B. Political Divisions
C. Principal Cities
D. Religion
E. Language
F. Education
G. Culture
1. Libraries and Museums
2. Literature
3. Art
4. Music and Dance
IV. ECONOMY
A. Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
B. Mining
C. Manufacturing
D. Tourism
E. Energy
F. Currency and Banking
G. Commerce and Trade
H. Labour
I. Transport
J. Communications
V. GOVERNMENT
A. Executive and Legislature
B. Political Parties
C. Judiciary
D. Local Government
E. Health and Welfare
F. Defence
G. International Organizations
VI. HISTORY
A. Sovereignty Embattled
B. World War II
C. Domestic Instability
D. Struggle for Democracy
E. Democratic Thailand
Description:-
I INTRODUCTION
Thailand, formerly Siam, officially Kingdom of Thailand, constitutional monarchy in South East Asia, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) to the north and west, by Laos to the north-east, by Cambodia and the Gulf of Thailand (Siam) to the south-east, by Malaysia to the south, and by the Andaman Sea to the south-west. The total area of Thailand is 513,115 sq km (198,115 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Bangkok.II LAND AND RESOURCES
Thailand lies within mainland South East Asia, except for the southern extremity, which occupies a portion of the Malay Peninsula. The country’s maximum dimensions are about 1,770 km (1,100 mi) from north to south and about 805 km (500 mi) from east to west. The physiography is highly diversified, but the mountain systems are the predominant feature of the terrain. A series of parallel ranges, with a north-south trend, occupy the northern and western portions of the country. Extreme elevations occur in the westernmost ranges, which extend along the Burmese frontier and rise to 2,595 m (8,514 ft) at Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand. The peninsular area, which is bordered by narrow coastal plains, reaches a high point of 1,786 m (5,860 ft) at Khao Luang. Another mountain system projects, in a northern and southern direction, through central Thailand. At its southern extremity, the system assumes an east-west trend and extends to the eastern frontier. Doi Pia Fai (1,270 m/4,167 ft) is its highest peak. The region to the north and east of this system consists largely of a low, barren plateau, called the Khorat Plateau. Making up about one-third of the country, the plateau is bordered by the Mekong River valley. Between the central and western mountains is a vast alluvial plain traversed by the Chao Phraya, the chief river of Thailand. This central plain, together with the fertile delta formed by the Chao Phraya near Bangkok, is the richest agricultural region and most densely populated section of the kingdom.
A Climate
Thailand has a moist, tropical climate, influenced chiefly by monsoon winds that vary in direction according to the season. From April to October the winds are mainly from the south-west and are moisture laden; during the rest of the year they blow from the north-east. Temperatures are higher, ranging from 25.6° to 36.7° C (78° to 98° F), while the country is under the influence of the south-west winds. During the remainder of the year the range is from 13.3° to 33.3° C (56° to 92° F). Temperatures are somewhat higher inland than they are along the coast, except at points of great elevation.
Annual rainfall is about 1,525 mm (60 in) in the northern, western, and central regions, 2,540 mm (100 in) or more on the Thai portion of the Malay Peninsula, and 1,270 mm (50 in) or less on the Khorat Plateau. Most rain falls from June to October.
B Natural Resources
Thailand is rich in natural resources. Among the known mineral deposits are coal, gold, lead, tin, tungsten, manganese, zinc, and precious stones. In addition, the country has many large forests that produce teak for export. The rich alluvial soil along the Chao Phraya and other rivers constitutes another important resource.
C Plants and Animals
Jungles and swamps, scattered through the coastal areas of Thailand, have extensive tracts of tropical trees, including mangrove, rattan, ironwood, sappanwood, ebony, and rosewood. The upland areas are also heavily wooded (though now heavily depleted), the most valuable species being agalloch and oak. In addition, a wide variety of tropical plants and fruit trees, including orchid, gardenia, hibiscus, banana, mango, and coconut, occur in Thailand. Many species of animal inhabit the jungles and forests. Elephants, widely used as beasts of burden, are abundant. Other large quadrupeds include rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, gaur, water buffalo, and gibbon. The Siamese cat is, as its name implies, indigenous to Thailand. Thailand has more than 50 species of snakes, including several poisonous varieties. Crocodiles are numerous, as are various species of fishes and birds.
III POPULATION
The inhabitants of Thailand are primarily Thai, a people who are thought to have originated in south-western China and migrated to South East Asia at the beginning of the 1st millennium ad. An ethnic distinction is often made, however, between the Thai people proper, who occupy the central regions, and the Lao people of the north-western and eastern regions, who are related more closely to the people of neighbouring Laos. The Thai people proper constitute about 53 per cent of the population; the Lao people make up about 27 per cent of the population. The largest minority group is the Chinese, who make up about 12 per cent of the total population and many of whom are Thai nationals. Other minority groups include the Malay-speaking Muslims in the south, people of the hill tribes in the north, and Cambodian (Khmer) and Vietnamese refugees in the east. The population of Thailand is about 79 per cent rural.
A Population Characteristics
Thailand has a population of 61,797,751 (2001), yielding an overall population density of about 120 people per sq km (312 per sq mi). The population is unevenly distributed, however, with the greatest concentration of people in the central region.
B Political Divisions
Thailand is divided into 76 provinces, called changwads. The provinces are further subdivided into 655 districts, called amphurs, more than 6,600 communes, called tambons, and more than 58,600 villages, known as moobans.
C Principal Cities
Bangkok is the capital, chief seaport, and largest city (population, 1998 estimate, 7,358,300); it incorporates Thon Buri. Other important towns include Chiang Mai (population, 1998 estimate, 159,000), the largest in northern Thailand; Hat Yai (population, 1992 estimate, 124,295), on the Malay Peninsula; and Nakhon Ratchasima (population, 1998 estimate, 260,500), in the north-east.
D Religion
Buddhism is the prevailing religion of Thailand. The head of the Buddhist hierarchy, called the supreme patriarch, is generally a member of the royal family. About 95 per cent of all Thais are Theravada Buddhists, and the country has approximately 18,000 Buddhist temples and 140,000 Buddhist priests. Nearly all Buddhist men in Thailand enter a wat (monastery) for at least a few days or months to temporarily join the sangha. Muslims, the majority of whom live in the area just north of Malaysia, constitute approximately 4 per cent of the population, and the country also has some small Christian and Hindu communities.
E Language
Thai, a member of the Sino-Tibetan language family, is the chief language. Four regional dialects are in use. Lao, Chinese, Mon-Khmer, and Malay are also spoken in Thailand. English is taught in some secondary schools and colleges, and is also used in commerce and government.
F Education
Education in Thailand is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 7 and 14, but the available school facilities, both public and in Buddhist monasteries, are insufficient to provide a primary education for all children. The literacy rate is nearly 99 per cent, higher than that of most other countries of South East Asia. In 1996 around 4.8 per cent of the gross national product (GNP) was spent on education.
In 1997-1998 there were 5,927,902 primary school pupils and 4,097,331 secondary school pupils. An additional 1,522,142 students were enrolled in tertiary educational institutions. Thailand has several universities, the largest of which include Chulalongkorn University (1917) and Thammasat University (1934) in Bangkok, and Chiang Mai University (1964) in the north. Other institutions include the Asian Institute of Technology (1959) in Bangkok.
G Culture
Thailand is unique in South East Asia in that the country has never been a dependency of another nation. Another notable difference is that Thai women, unlike women of some other East and South East Asian countries, are active in business affairs, the professions, and the arts. No single culture has ever dominated the entire area. The period of greatest cultural development was the Sukothai period (1238-1378), when the Thai absorbed elements of various civilizations with which they came in contact, including the Indian and the Chinese.
G1 Libraries and Museums
The largest library in Thailand is the National Library in Bangkok. In addition, important technical collections are maintained in Bangkok at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Asian Institute of Technology Library, and the Thai National Documentation Centre. Thailand has a National Museum in Bangkok, which houses a large collection of ancient artefacts illustrating the development of Thai culture.
G2 Literature
Classic Thai literature is based on tradition and history. The Ramakien, the Thai version of the Hindu epic Ramayana, is the leading classic on which Thai art and music are also based. Modern writing is more Western in style, and Thailand has many women among its authors of popular writing.
G3 Art
Among the most celebrated works of architecture in Thailand are the wats in Bangkok. Thai sculpture, dating from the 14th century, is a mixture of Chinese, Burmese, Hindu, and Khmer influences, and is best seen in the Buddhist temples and representations of Buddha. Thai religious paintings have been less well preserved; paintings are rarely older than 50 or 100 years. Thailand is known for producing beautiful silk textiles.
G4 Music and Dance
Thai music is very intricate and is a usual accompaniment of Thai drama. The instruments, primarily woodwind and percussion, are usually grouped in five- or ten-piece ensembles. Musicians sit on the floor to play, and generally play by ear. The dance in Thailand is equally intricate, following or deriving from Indian dancing and involving a series of gestures and swaying that interpret a story. Even the smallest movements reflect important story threads, carefully woven by performers dressed in elaborate costumes and headgear.
IV ECONOMY
The cultivation, processing, and export of agricultural products, especially rice, has traditionally been the mainstay of the Thai economy. Although Thailand has long been among the most prosperous of the Asian nations, its dependence on a single crop rendered it exceedingly vulnerable to fluctuations in the world price of rice and to variations in the harvest. The government has attempted to diminish this vulnerability by instituting a number of development programmes aimed at diversifying the economy and by promoting scientific methods of farming, particularly controlled flooding of the rice fields, so that the rice harvest might remain stable even in years of scanty rainfall. Spurred largely by foreign investment, Thailand industrialized rapidly during the 1980s and early 1990s, with high rates of economic growth rising to 7.5 per cent for 1993. However, from late 1996 a financial crisis across the whole region of South East Asia, triggered in part by a collapse of confidence in Thai economic policies, sharply slowed the growth rate, and brought financial and political turmoil. Tourism has become an important part of Thailand’s economy over the past decade. The gross national product (GNP) of Thailand in 1996 was US$111,376 million (World Bank figure) or US$2,960 per capita. The national budget for 1998 included revenue of about US$18,202 million and expenditure of about US$25,428 million.
A Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
Thailand is one of the world’s leading producers of rice, despite the fact that the yield per hectare is low, and is the world’s second-largest rice exporter after the United States. In 2000 Thailand produced annually approximately 23.4 million tonnes of rice, up from about 11.3 million tonnes per year in the 1960s. Other important crops in 2000 included sugar cane (51.2 million tonnes), cereals (28.2 million), cassava (18.5 million), maize (4.57 million), sorghum (165,221), coffee (80,293), Cotton (37,499), and tobacco (61,000). Livestock in 2000 totalled about 5.68 million cattle, 3 million buffalo, 7.20 million pigs, and 194 million poultry.
About 29 per cent of the total land area of Thailand is forested. The most valuable forest product is hardwood. Annual roundwood production in 1994 totalled about 36.3 million cu m (1.28 billion cu ft). Rubber is an important crop; it is grown mainly on plantations on the Malay Peninsula. In 2000 approximately 2.24 million tonnes of rubber were produced.
Fishing is also an important industry, and in 1997 the total catch was 3.49 million tonnes of prawns, fish, and shellfish.
B Mining
Tin, of which Thailand is one of the world’s largest producers, is the leading mineral; it is found chiefly on the Malay Peninsula. The country’s chief mineral products include coal (18.3 million tonnes), iron ore (45,000), zinc (27,048), lead (6,000), and tin concentrate (2,722).
C Manufacturing
Industry employs about 18 per cent of the labour force (1998). Food-processing industries, especially rice-milling and sugar-refining, textile and clothing manufacture, and the electronics industry predominate. Other important manufactured goods include cement, motor vehicles, cigarettes, and various chemicals and petroleum products.
D Tourism
Tourism is an important component of Thailand’s economy, with the country’s tropical climate, beaches, and cultural centres such as Chiang Mai and Bangkok being chief attractions. Receipts from tourism totalled US$5,760 million in 1994, while tourist arrivals totalled almost 8.65 million.
E Energy
In 1999 Thailand produced about 89 billion kWh of electricity, up from about 3 billion kWh in 1968. Consumption of electricity in 1999 amounted to 84 billion kW. More than 91 per cent was produced in thermal installations, largely burning locally produced coal or imported petroleum; the remainder was generated in hydroelectric facilities. Some hydroelectricity is imported from Laos.
F Currency and Banking
The monetary unit of Thailand is the baht of 100 satang (43.24 baht equal US$1; 2001). The Bank of Thailand, established in 1942, issues all currency. Thailand also has many commercial bank branches, as well as several foreign banks.
G Commerce and Trade
In 1999 Thai exports were valued at about US$58,392 million, and imports were valued at about US$41,526 million. Principal exports include textiles and clothing, electronic components, rice, rubber, tin, cassava, sugar, and prawns. Imports include petroleum and petroleum products, non-electrical machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, and electrical machinery. Primary trading partners include Japan, the United States, Singapore, Germany, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.
H Labour
In 1999 the labour force totalled 36.3 million, of which approximately 51 per cent was engaged in agriculture. Organized labour is represented by more than 530 trade unions with a combined total of nearly 300,000 members.
I Transport
The Thai railway system, which totals 4,044 km (2,513 mi) of track (1999), is owned and operated by the state. Consisting of a network of lines radiating from Bangkok, the system extends as far north as Chiang Mai, southwards to the frontier of Malaysia, eastwards to Ubon, and north-eastwards through Udon Thani to Vientiane in Laos. Another line extends north-westwards to the Burmese frontier. In October 2000 the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) approved plans for the Trans-Asia Railway Project, a 5,513-km (3,420-mi) rail link, costing US$2.5 billion. The link, which is scheduled for completion in 2006, will connect Thailand and six other ASEAN countries (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Vietnam) with Kunming, in Yunnan Province, China. The Chao Phraya, navigable for about 80 km (50 mi) from its mouth, is an important inland waterway. The road system has been improved since the 1970s and in 1998 included about 64,600 km (40,141 mi) of roads; Thailand had (in 1997) around 1.3 million vehicles or 104) per 1,000 people. Thai Airways operates both domestic and international services. The port of Bangkok, one of the most modern in South East Asia, also serves neighbouring landlocked Laos.
J Communications
Thailand had over 1.5 million telephones in 1994. In 1997 more than 15 million television sets and 14 million radios. There are 30 daily newspapers, including 2 in English and 7 in Chinese, with a combined circulation of approximately 4 million. Periodicals are published in Thai, English, and Chinese, and there are 320 non-daily (mainly provincial) papers.
V GOVERNMENT
A revolution in 1932 transformed Thailand into a constitutional monarchy after centuries of rule by absolute monarchs; since then the country has been intermittently controlled by the military but is now a constitutional democracy. The nation’s 15th constitution took effect in 1991 and was amended in 1992 and 1997; the last an attempt to stamp out corruption amid a financial and political crisis.
A Executive and Legislature
Under the 1991 constitution the king is Thailand’s head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The Cabinet is headed by a prime minister, who in theory is the country’s chief executive official. By the 1992 amendment to the constitution, the prime minister must be an elected member of the House of Representatives. The prime minister may take any steps necessary to preserve the stability of the throne, to maintain public order, or to ensure that the economy functions smoothly. In practice, however, high-level military officers play a major role in government.
Legislative power in Thailand is vested in the bicameral National Assembly (Rathasapha), which is made up of the House of Representatives (Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon) and the Senate (Wuthisapha). Constitutional reforms drafted in 1997 revised the number of members in these bodies. The number of members in the House of Representatives was increased from 392 to 500 in the general elections of January 2001, with members elected to four-year terms. Of these, 400 members are directly elected, and 100 are appointed from party lists. Prior to the Constitution of 1997, the king appointed all members of the Senate. However, following elections in March 2000, the Senate is now directly elected, with its 200 members serving six-year terms.
B Political Parties
Thailand has a large number of political parties, and most elections produce coalition governments. Major parties include the New Aspiration Party (NAP), the Democrat Party (DP), Chart Thai, the Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT), Chart Patthana (CP), the Social Action Party (SAP), and Palang Dharma (PD).
C Judiciary
The highest court is the supreme court, the Sarn Dika, sitting in Bangkok, which is the court of final appeal in all civil, criminal, and bankruptcy cases. A single court of appeals (Sarn Uthorn) has appellate jurisdiction in all cases. Courts of first instance include magistrates’ courts with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction, provincial courts with unlimited jurisdiction, and civil and criminal courts with exclusive jurisdiction in Bangkok and Thon Buri. Under the 1991 constitution the independence of the judiciary is recognized.
D Local Government
Each of Thailand’s 76 provinces, called changwats, are under the control of a governor appointed by the national government. District (amphur) officials are also appointed. Larger towns are governed by elected and appointed officials, and elected heads hold power at local levels.
E Health and Welfare
The Department of Public Welfare is charged with disaster relief, child welfare, and protection of the disabled and destitute. Special programmes were initiated in the 1980s to assist the hill people of the north and the refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia in the east. Private healthcare supplements the state system. In 2001 life expectancy at birth was around 66 years for men and 72 years for women, with an infant mortality rate of 30 deaths per 1,000 live births. Thailand has 1 doctor per 2,738 people and 502 people for every hospital bed. In 1998 approximately 7 per cent of Thailand’s government expenditure was spent on health care.
F Defence
Military service is compulsory for two years for all able-bodied men between the ages of 21 and 30. In 1999 the armed forces included an army of 190,000 troops (including 80,000 conscripts), an air force of 43,000, and a navy of 68,000; a total of 301,000 military personnel.
G International Organizations
Thailand is a member of the UN, the Colombo Plan, and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Thailand is a founder member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
VI HISTORY
Tai-speaking peoples, originating in western China, moved into Yunnan in the 2nd or 1st century bc. In the confusion following the collapse of the Han dynasty in ad 220, Tai leaders founded the kingdom of Nan Chao, which endured until its conquest by the Mongol Empire in the mid-13th century. Long before that time, however, the Tai had begun a southward migration that, during the following centuries, led them far down the Malay Peninsula and as far east as Cambodia. Here they were subject to Indian influences and adopted the Buddhist religion. By the end of the 13th century the Tai under Ramkhamhaeng had formed a political entity, the kingdom of Sukothai, and emerged as a nation afterwards known as the Thai. Chiang Mai also became the capital of the independent northern Lanna Thai kingdom.
In 1350 a unified Thai kingdom was established by a ruler known posthumously as Rama Tibodi. He founded the kingdom of Ayutthaya and made the city of Ayutthaya his capital. His descendants sacked Angkor, capital of the Cambodian Khmer kingdoms, in 1431, and absorbed Sukothai in 1438; from Khmer captives they absorbed Hindu culture and traditions of absolute monarchy. Theravada Buddhism increasingly became the dominant creed, with the monasteries and the Buddhist sangha becoming closely integrated into national life. Royal government became highly centralized and society carefully stratified; the highest government officials were appointees chosen on merit. The power and wealth of Ayutthaya attracted Asian merchants and, from the 16th century onwards, Portuguese, Dutch, English, Spanish, and French venturers. Despite a brief invasion in 1569 from Burma, which successfully conquered Chiang Mai, the kingdom remained strong and independent enough to establish diplomatic links with France in the 17th century. However, zealous Christian missionary work drove its rulers to cease dealing with Europeans after 1688. The main external threat to Ayutthaya remained Burma.
A Sovereignty Embattled
In 1767, following a four-year siege, Burmese troops captured and destroyed Ayutthaya. Its rich artistic heritage was destroyed, and its royal family deported. The rule of Burmese overlords in Thailand was terminated in a Thai uprising led by General Pya Taksin, who proclaimed himself king and made Thon Buri his capital. His armies took Chiang Mai, and advanced into Cambodia and Laos. However, he became unbalanced and was overthrown, and soon the crown passed to General Pya Chakri, founder of the present Chakri dynasty of Thai kings and of Bangkok, who ruled from 1782 to 1809 as Rama I. He threw off a further Burmese invasion in 1785 and sponsored a great revival of Thai culture to rebuild the glories of Ayutthaya. The British and Thai governments concluded a commercial treaty in 1826. Because of the rights and privileges obtained by this agreement, British influence increased in Thailand throughout the remainder of the 19th century. Other states pressed for similar unequal treaties, reducing Thai sovereignty.
Owing to the statesmanship of two rulers, however, Thailand was spared the fate of colonization that befell its neighbours. Interested in Western science and civilization, King Mongkut, who reigned from 1851 to 1868, invited many European advisers to assist him in modernizing the country. His son, King Chulalongkorn, who reigned during the height of the onslaught of European colonialism, continued the vigorous modernization efforts of his father and managed to maintain the country’s independence, albeit at considerable cost in territorial concessions. For example, in 1893 Thailand became embroiled in a boundary dispute with France, then the dominant power in Cochin China, Annam, Tonkin, and Cambodia. The French dispatched warships to Bangkok and forced the Thais to yield Cambodia and all of Laos east of the Mekong River. Additional Thai territory, situated west of the Mekong, was acquired by France in 1904 and 1907. Thailand gave up control over four states in the Malay Peninsula to Great Britain in 1909. In exchange, the British relinquished most of their extraterritorial rights in the rest of the kingdom. The Thai government entered World War I on the side of the Allies in July 1917. Thailand subsequently became a founding member of the League of Nations.
By the 1930s many Thais, especially in the military and commercial classes, were growing discontented with royal rule in the face of the Great Depression and sackings of officials. In June 1932, during the reign of King Prajadhipok, a small group of Thai military and political leaders organized a successful revolt against the government, until then an absolute monarchy. The insurgents, led by Pridi Phanomyong and Colonel Phibun Songgram, proclaimed a constitutional monarchy on June 27. Royalist opposition was finally overcome in October 1933. Though most Thais accepted the new constitution, they were less happy with Pridi’s economic reform proposals. In March 1935 King Prajadhipok abdicated in favour of his nephew, Prince Ananda Mahidol; Phibun became effective dictator, moving towards alliance with militarist Japan. Thailand invalidated all of its treaties with foreign nations in November 1936. Under the provisions of new treaties negotiated in the following year, the government obtained complete autonomy over its internal and external affairs. In 1938 Phibun changed the country’s official name from Siam to Thailand.
B World War II
With Japanese encouragement and support, Phibun’s government made demands on France, beginning in 1940, for the return of the territory ceded in and after 1893. The dispute was settled, with Japanese mediation, in May 1941. By the terms of the settlement, Thailand received about 54,000 sq km (21,000 sq mi) of territory, including part of western Cambodia and all of Laos west of the Mekong River. The relations between Japan and Thailand became increasingly close thereafter; Phibun distrusted Japan, but was unable to secure British or French help. On December 8, 1941, a few hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Thai government granted Japan the right to move troops across the country to the Malayan frontier after a few skirmishes with Japanese troops. Thailand declared war on the United States and Great Britain on January 25, 1942. Phibun’s pro-Japanese government, however, was overthrown in July 1944, after economic crisis and attacks by resistance groups loyal to Pridi; Pridi took over, and under his leadership considerable sympathy for the Allied cause developed among the Thai people.
Thailand concluded a treaty with Great Britain and India in January 1946, renouncing, among other things, its claims to Malayan territory obtained during the war. Diplomatic relations with the United States were resumed in the same month. In November 1946 Thailand reached an agreement with France providing for the return to France of the territory obtained in 1941. Thailand was admitted to the UN on December 15, 1946, becoming the 55th member. Meanwhile, on June 9, 1946, King Ananda Mahidol had died under mysterious circumstances. Pridi was falsely accused of regicide and driven into exile. A regency was appointed to rule during the minority of his brother and successor, King Rama IX.
C Domestic Instability
On November 9, 1947, a military junta led by Phibun seized control of the government. Except for a brief interlude early in 1948, Phibun thereafter retained control of the government until 1957. His regime, essentially a dictatorship, based its foreign policy on maintaining close relations with the United States and Britain. King Rama IX assumed the throne on May 5, 1950. After the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, Thailand assigned approximately 4,000 men to the UN forces.
On November 29, 1951, a group of army officers seized control of the government in a bloodless coup d’état and re-established the authoritarian constitution of 1932, with some changes. Phibun was retained as premier. US economic aid inaugurated Thailand’s economic boom. Meanwhile, a Free Thai movement, supported by the Chinese Communists and nominally headed by Pridi, had been formed in China. Thai representatives took part in the Geneva Conference of April 1954, which temporarily ended the war in Indochina. In September 1954, Thailand was a founding member and Bangkok became the headquarters of the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
In September 1957, Phibun’s government was overthrown by a military coup d’état led by Marshal Sarit Thanarat, commander-in-chief of the Thai armed forces. A coalition government was formed in January 1958 under the premiership of Lieutenant General Thanom Kittikachorn. Another coup in October 1958, again headed by Sarit, overthrew the Thanom government. The constitution was suspended, a state of martial law was proclaimed, and all political parties were banned. In the early 1960s the government showed increasing concern over a rapidly growing Communist guerrilla movement in the north. The increase in terrorist attacks was one of the major problems faced by Thanom, who became prime minister again on Sarit’s death in December 1963. The new government was also concerned about the deteriorating position of the pro-Western government in neighbouring Laos and about the Vietnam War.
D Struggle for Democracy
On the political front, the government took gradual steps towards the restoration of political rights suspended in 1958. Elections to municipal councils were held for the first time in a decade in December 1967. A permanent constitution was promulgated in June 1968. Parliamentary elections were held in February 1969, in which the United Thai People’s Party won a plurality of 75 seats in the house of representatives. The largest opposition group, the Democrat Party, won 56 seats. American aid and economic development were creating growing wealth but also widening the gap between rich and poor, causing particular discontent among Muslim and other minorities.
Beginning about 1969, the United States changed its role in South East Asia by gradually withdrawing its forces from Vietnam and by seeking friendly relations with China. These developments caused Thailand, which had 11,000 troops in South Vietnam, to establish a more flexible foreign policy, especially towards China and North Vietnam. At the same time, Thailand continued to face guerrilla activities in the north and along the border with Malaysia. The US withdrawal from South East Asia had an adverse effect on the Thai economy. The declining economy and guerrilla activities were given as reasons for the establishment of a military government in November 1971. The military, led by General Thanom, abolished the constitution and dissolved the parliament. In December 1972 a new constitution was proclaimed.
In 1973 a series of student-led demonstrations against the military government resulted in Thanom’s resignation in October, following the intervention of the king, and the appointment of a civilian Cabinet. In late 1974 a new constitution was approved, and a freely elected government was formed in early 1975. Stability, however, remained elusive, and new elections in April 1976 made little difference. In September of that year the return of former prime minister Thanom from exile in Singapore led to bloody battles in Bangkok between leftist students and his right-wing supporters. In early October, as disorder was spreading, a military group led by Admiral Sa-ngad Chaloryu seized control of the country and installed a conservative government. A year later, however, that government also was brought down by Sa-ngad and his group. Sa-ngad instructed a new Cabinet to try to bridge the divisions of Thai society and improve relations with the neighbouring communist regimes. Yet another constitution was promulgated in December 1978, and in April 1979 elections were held for a new House of Representatives. The military-installed government, however, remained in power until March 1980, when it was replaced by a new Cabinet, headed by General Prem Tinsulanonda. Elections in 1983 left General Prem as head of a new coalition government. He dissolved the National Assembly in 1986 and called new elections. His party won, without a majority, and he again formed a coalition government. After elections in July 1988, Chatichai Choonhavan became prime minister. A military junta ousted him in February 1991, protesting political corruption and civilian ascendancy, and installed an interim civilian government under Anand Panyarachun. After pro-military parties won the elections of March 1992, demonstrations in Bangkok in May calling for democratic reforms were violently suppressed, with up to 100 deaths. Following an unprecedented intervention by the king, Srimaung Chamlong, leader of the Buddhist Palang Dharma Party and the focus of the pro-democracy rising, was publicly reconciled on television with General Suchinda Kraprayoon, leader of the military faction: Suchinda stepped down, and constitutional amendments were introduced to reduce the power of the military.
E Democratic Thailand
New elections in September resulted in another coalition government, with a veteran politician, Chuan Leekpai, as prime minister. He successfully preserved uninterrupted democratic government through juggling coalition partners. The constitution was revised again in early 1995 to improve democratic stability. Border clashes with Burmese and Cambodian troops pursuing insurgents on to Thai territory became more frequent. In May 1995 Chuan stepped down after a record period in office (two and a half years) for a democratically elected prime minister in Thailand and called elections when faced with a no-confidence vote over state corruption in land reform. The resulting elections on July 2 produced a coalition dominated by the (formerly opposition) Chart Thai Party.
In March 1996 Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-Archa, leader of the Chart Thai-dominated ruling coalition, appointed a new Senate, the first to be democratically appointed. In May his government fought off a series of opposition no-confidence motions, mostly concerning corruption. After several partners, including the Palang Dharma Party, left the coalition over corruption scandals, Banharn was forced to resign in September 1996, and a general election was called. The November 1996 poll, characterized by observers as involving considerable corruption, returned the New Aspiration Party and Democrat Party with almost 250 seats between them, while Chart Thai and Palang Dharma’s support collapsed. The NAP and DP formed the core of a new coalition, headed by General Chaovalit Yongchaiyut of the NAP. By early 1997 the government was facing economic problems as part of a financial crisis across South East Asia, with a drop in Thailand’s formerly high growth rate, declining inward investment, a large property surplus in Bangkok, and the threat of currency devaluation.
In March 1997 the authorities temporarily suspended trading in certain stocks and announced emergency measures, as Thailand’s largest finance company, Finance One, nearly collapsed, triggering a financial panic; in May, Thailand’s bank spent some US$10,000 million to support the collapsing Thai currency and introduced exchange controls. In June 1997 the finance minister (who was also the deputy prime minister) resigned, and in July the Bank of Thailand abandoned the fixed exchange rate on the baht (the Thai currency), which promptly fell, leading to the resignation of the bank’s chairman that same month. In August an International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package was announced, together with government emergency measures. In October 1997 the new finance minister resigned, followed in November by the prime minister, General Chaovalit, and the entire Cabinet, in the face of mass street demonstrations in Bangkok. The veteran politician Chuan Leekpai resumed the premiership at the head of an eight-party coalition dominated by Chart Thai and the DP; certain terms in the IMF rescue package were subsequently relaxed. Economic problems and austerity policies continued into 1998, with most exchange controls being lifted in January of that year.
The first test of the new reformist constitution, implemented in 1997 and designed to curb corruption and vote buying, came in March 2000, when voters went to the polls to elect senators to the upper house of Parliament. It was the first time the Senate was directly elected, being previously appointed by the government. Rules had been put in place to make sure that candidates were non-partisan and political parties were banned from organizing election campaigns. However, there had already been reports of vote buying and corruption before the polls closed, especially in the remoter provinces. The election committee subsequently disqualified 78 of the winning candidates alleged to have cheated.
In January 2001, millionaire businessman, Thaksin Shinawatra, leader of the opposition Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party, was elected as prime minister of Thailand. Winning 248 seats, the Thai Rak Thai party fell short of an overall majority, but formed a three-party coalition with the Chart Thai and New Aspiration parties, to control 325 seats of the 500-seat parliament. Thaksin's future premiership remained in some doubt, however, overshadowed as it was by allegations that he had concealed the extent of his wealth; Thaksin could find himself banned from politics by the Constitutional Court, which may take months to make a decision.
thanks a lot
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