The sons and daughters of Khana Rasadorn gathered at a Bangkok temple last week to commemorate the event that transformed Thailand to a constitutional monarchy and lament its unfinished mission
Thailand, called Siam at the time, saw the first of many successful coups in its history at dawn on June 24, 1932, when a group of 115 military officers and intellectuals known as the Khana Rasadorn (People's Group) brought an end to 150 years of absolute monarchy under the Chakri dynasty.
Each year on June 24 the descendants of Khana Rasadorn members, along with various pro-democracy activists, commemorate the event. But it is significant that since 1957 the governments made possible by the 1932 revolution have not officially recognised June 24 as a landmark in the development of Thai democracy. It was recognised as a national day until the 1957 coup by Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, which wished to erase the collective memory of the contributions of Khana Rasadorn, along with the legacy of Field Marshal Plaek Phibulsonggram, or Phibun, who was the last member of Khana Rasadorn active in Thai politics.
Those at the ceremony at Wat Phra Si Maha That believe the objectives of Khana Rasadorn to establish supreme civil rule in 1932 have not been fully realised in the intervening 78 years.
Puangkeo Satraprung, 68, is one of the four surviving children of Phraya Phahon Pholpayuhasena, the leader of Khana Rasadorn. Mrs Puangkeo said it was sad that the Thai people, and politicians in particular, have not expressed gratitude to those who brought them what they have today.
"The forefathers of Thai democracy greatly sacrificed not only their own lives, but also the future of their clans. If they had not succeeded, their descendants would also have been executed jed chua kote [down to the seventh tier]," said Mrs Puangkeo on the sidelines of the religious rites at Wat Phra Si Maha That.
A recent poll conducted by Rangsit University and the Pridi Institute revealed that 90% of 1,181 respondents would like June 24 reinstated as a national day.
"I don't care so much if June 24 is reinstated as a national day, but people must get the facts straight. Thailand needs to overhaul the way history is taught and preserved. Facts, not fiction, will enlighten the whole society," said Mrs Puangkeo.
She said that one of the disturbing illusions regarding Khana Rasadorn was the notion that the June 24 coup was a pre-emptive move to seize power. She was referring to attempts in recent decades to show that King Prachadhipok was already leaning toward a democratic mindset and Khana Rasadorn made their move before he could benevolently hand democracy over to the people.
''I do not agree with the ching-suk-gon-ham [premature seizure] discourse. The histories of other countries tell us that unless you fight for democracy, you will not get it. This political discourse that has been taught and repeated for decades is the first distortion of the 1932 event that needs to be rectified,'' said Mrs Puangkeo.
At 89, Chirawat Pibulsonggram Panyarachun is the oldest surviving child of Khana Rasadorn leader Phibun. She shares the opinion of her brother Nitya Pibulsonggram _ the foreign minister in the administration of Surayud Chulanont _ that the 1932 Revolution did not overrule or overthrow the works of the Chakri monarchs, which have been revered and recognised by the people for more than two centuries.
She added that other historical distortions she would like to correct are the perception that her father had created and presided over a prevailing militarism in the country, and that he and Pridi Banomyong were competing for power.
''I believe they both tried to do good things for the country. I feel irritated that there are still attempts to belittle or undermine Khana Rasadorn by saying that if there had been no June 24 coup there would be something better in place in Thailand today,'' said Mrs Chirawat.
Suthachai Yimprasert, an assistant professor of history at Chulalongkorn University, agreed that Phibun should not be labelled as a forefather of dictatorship.
''It would be a lousy analogy if you put the blame on Karl Marx for what North Korea is today. Neither Khana Rasadorn, nor Phibun should be held responsible for the troubles in contemporary politics,'' said Mr Suthachai, who was detained for eight days by the Center for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) last month because of his association with the red shirt protesters in Bangkok.
He said June 24, 1932, was the start of an incomplete mission to establish the civil and political rights of the people through representative democracy.
''We need to understand that Khana Ra sadorn's efforts to establish democracy were interrupted and finally deformed by pro-royalists military leaders after Phibun,'' said Mr Suthachai, in reference to Field Marshal Sarit, Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan, Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn and Field Marshal Prapas Charusatien.
Worachet Pakeerut, a law professor at Thammasat University, said that despite the change of political and administrative systems following the 1932 revolution, the country's core ideology was never truly transformed accordingly.
Khana Rasadorn's democratic ideology has not been expressed by the ensuing leadership, especially in the realm of the judiciary and the military, said Mr Worachet at a political science seminar at Thammasat on Thursday.
Khana Rasadorn's revolution never touched the judicial branch and therefore the concept of constitutionality was never fully established in the minds of judges and other legal personnel, said the public law expert.
Khana Rasadorn sponsored the June 27, 1932, constitution, which tried to bring the judiciary into a new power-sharing arrangement, but the constitution was rejected by King Prachadhipok. The first ''permanent'' constitution, which came six months later, gives a free hand to the judiciary, said Mr Worachet.
He added that Khana Rasadorn's vision of a limited role and status of the monarchy, which would have mostly ritual and traditional duties, was changed after the 1957 coup by Sarit, who reinstalled the royal power in the legal and political structure.
This has led to the present problems, said Mr Worachet.
He said there is still a conflict between the notion that supreme power lies with the people and the notion of totsapitrachatham [ethical royal power], and that from time to time the expectations are propped up in some quarters of the society that the King should use this power to intervene in certain political crises.
The professor said that therefore those who point out the intention of Khana Rasadorn to draw a clear constitutional line for the role of the monarchy are accused of lese majeste.
''This is an incomplete mission. The struggle between those wanting a vibrant constitutionalism and representative democracy and those looking for ethical leadership will persist in the months and years to come,'' he said.
Mr Suthachai sees the red shirt movement's aims (to reinstall their political party as head of the government) as kindred to the Khana Rasadorn spirit of the supremacy of the people.
Mrs Chirawat, while saying that the red shirts have little in common with the 1932 group, also sees justification in their struggle.
''The reds fight for justice and against double standards, which is understandable,'' said Mrs Chirawat, adding that the present and previous administrations have not followed through with Khana Rasadorn's democratic objectives. She pleaded for all groups in the country to reconcile and move forward.
Kraisi Tularak, the son of Sa-nguan Tularak _another Khana Rasadorn member _ acknowledged that in the old days there might have been ideological conflicts within Khana Rasadorn, especially during the World War II, when Pridi was allied with the US and Phibun with Japan.
''But they were not vengeful, or trying to annihilate one another _ unlike the politicians today,'' said Mr Krasi, who is in his late 70s.
He agreed that the political struggle began by his father and his colleagues is not yet finished.
''Having free education is not enough. Schools must teach principles and ethics and national unity or we will always have the reds and the yellows,'' he said.
Mrs Puangkeo agreed that until the people are properly educated, democracy will not be fully established in Thailand, but she remains optimistic. ''There's a tiny flickering light at the end of the tunnel. There's hope that the country will gradually evolve if we learn from the past.''
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