History Daily - The Thammasat University Massacre

Episode Date: October 6, 2026

October 6, 1976. Thai police and right-wing mobs violently suppress student protests at a Bangkok university. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more. History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

It's just after dawn on October 6, 1976 in Bangkok, Thailand. In the courtyard of Thomasot University, Tongchai Winichuckle stands at a lectern in front of thousands of students. He squints at the crowd as the rising sun bounces light off the river that runs along the campus. Tongchai is a 19-year-old activist and one of the leaders of a pro-democracy student group that has organized the protest that's taken over the campus this morning. The target of their anger is former Prime Minister Tanam Kitakachorn. He ruled Thailand as a military dictator for a decade until he was forced into exile three years ago.

But now he's back in the country, and although he stated he has no intention of re-entering politics, students have gathered at the university to protest his return. They've been occupying this courtyard all night, chanting, singing, and listening to speeches. but for a while now, uniformed men have begun gathering outside the university gates at the edge of the square. And as Tang Chai begins to speak, he senses a change in the atmosphere. There's a sudden ripple of tension running through the crowd.

Then he hears gunshots. The crowd surges away, but there's nowhere for them to run. A bus then smashes through the gates. The uniformed men storm in, firing indiscriminately. Tang Chai watches it forward, grabbing them. microphone. He takes cover behind the lectern and pleads with the men to stop firing, but no one's listening. And the massacre has only just begun. Throughout the rest of the morning, Thai police and a mob of supporters of the old military regime attack, sexually assault, and lynch the university protesters.

The official death toll will be listed at 46, but according to many witnesses, the true number of victims is more than double that, and worse is to come. Soon, military leaders, in Thailand used the events at the university as part of their justification for a coup. Parliament is dissolved. The Constitution is suspended. And the country's brief experiment with democracy appears to be over following the horrifying massacre at Thomassette University on October 6, 1976. Hello, History Daily listeners. The live show I've been telling you about for a few weeks has a new date, October 23rd at the Plaza Theater in Garland, Texas. This is my Days that Made America Tour, a thrilling evening of history, storytelling, and music with me and a band live on stage.

So if you're in the North Texas area or anywhere close, be sure to come out and see me live. More shows will be announced soon, too. So for information on tickets and upcoming dates, go to HistoryDailyLive.com. That's HistoryDailyLive.com. Come see my Days at Made America Tour live on stage. Go to History Daily Live.com. From Noisor and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham. And this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is October 6, 1976, the Thomasot University Massacre. It's December 15, 1972 in Bangkok, Thailand, four years before the massacre. 22-year-old engineering student Tirayut-Bunni strides down one of the city's main boulevards at the head of a crowd of around 2,000 student protesters. Traffic comes to a halt as the marchers pass, beating drums, chanting, and holding flags and banners. These young people are marching across the city to urge the government to reverse its latest attack on freedom and democracy.

Since the end of Thailand's absolute monarchy in 1932, the country has experienced repeated coups and long stretches of military rule. Four years ago, a new and more democratic constitution was in. introduced that gave the people more of a say and who governed them. The new Senate was still appointed and dominated by the military, but even this modest set of reforms was too much for the country's authoritarian prime minister, field-martial Tanam Kiddikakar. In November of 1971, he launched a coup of his own. He dissolved parliament, suspended the Constitution, and declared martial law. He justified his grab for power by claiming that the country was at risk of a communist takeover and needed strong leadership to protect it. He promised that democracy would

be restored once the threat had faded. But more than a year later, there's no sign of him giving up power. Instead, he seems to be trying to tighten his grip. Three days ago, the government issued decree number 299. This expands executive power over the Thai judiciary by giving Tanam's Justice Minister personal authority over judges. But the announcement has been met by protests all across the country, many of them led by the country's younger citizens. The National Student Center of Thailand is at the forefront of these demonstrations. It was founded in 1968 to promote community and student rights on campuses, but when Tiroubunmi was elected as the group's secretary general only a few months ago, he immediately changed

the organization's focus. Students had become an increasingly important political constituency in Thailand, and the numbers enrolled in universities had increased tenfold over the past decade, from just 15,000 in 1961 to 150,000 in 1972. That gave Tirayut an enormous pool of potential supporters, and under his leadership, the NSCT began coordinating anti-government protests, and now he's determined to stop this latest power grab by the Prime Minister. So as the students march across Bangkok, they carry signs saying, give us back the court, and justice supports the world. Their numbers steadily swell as more and more people join them in the streets. Law students at Chulalongkorn University, along with the Lawyers Association of Thailand, announced their support for the protest,

and the rallies continue to spread from school to school. Soon, representatives from nearly every university in the country are petitioning Prime Minister Thunam to repeal the decree, and with unrest threatening to spread even further, the government relents. It retracts decree number 299, only days after it was issued. So the demonstration has showcased the growing political influence of Thailand's young people. But Thunam and his authoritarian government have no interest in sharing power with anyone, so they crack down hard. Six months after the march across Bangkok,

nine students are expelled from another university for publishing a satire about Thinam and his deputy prime minister. And when the NSCT then organizes a rally in support of the students, the government closes the universities and sends police officers. in to subdue the crowns. But closing the schools turns out to be a mistake. Students who would have gone to class end up joining the demonstrations, and a small protest turns into a rally of 50,000 people. The government is forced to back down again,

and the nine expelled students are soon reinstated. Spurred on by these successive victories, the NSCT and other protest groups will continue to call for an end to the military dictatorship and the restoration of democracy in Thailand. The Prime Minister Thanaam will not give up power without a fight, and in the fall of 1973, the clashes between students and their government will turn violent. It's October 6, 1973 in Bangkok, about 10 months after the successful student protest against decree number 299.

In a crowded city square, Tirayut-Bunmi hands out pamphlets to members of the public. His term as Secretary General of the National Student Center of Thailand is now over, but Tirayut hasn't abandoned politics. Since leaving the NSCT, he's helped establish a new organization known as the Constitution Calling Group. Thailand is still governed by the military regime of Prime Minister Thunam Kittukacharn, but Tyraute and his fellow campaigners have gathered the support of 100 prominent politicians and intellectuals for a petition demanding change. And today, they're distributing pamphlets all over the city

that call on the government to introduce a permanent democratic constitution as soon as possible. Tiriute thrusts a leaflet into the hands of an elderly passerby, but as he does, he feels someone grab his shoulder. Before he knows what's happening, government security men are escorting him out of the square. He's under arrest. Tiriute and ten others are taken to police headquarters and charged with violating a ban on political gatherings. The next day, a 12th activist is arrested.

The protesters are denied bail, with the government accusing them of plotting an insurrection. These arrests are meant to suppress the campaign for a new constitution, but again they backfire and ignite a national uprising. On October 9th, more than 2,000 students gather at Thomasot University to demand the prisoner's release. The government responds by arresting a 13th campaigner. The authorities refuse to allow the prisoners any visitors, and rumors spread that they have been tortured or even killed, so the protests grow. Students from other universities join the demonstrations, while members of the public bring money, food, and other supplies to support the protesters.

By October 11th, the crowd at Thomassat has grown to around 50,000 people. So the following day, the government offers to release the 13 prisoners on bail. But the protesters reject this proposal. They will accept nothing less than their unconditional release. Meanwhile, day by day, the demonstration swells, and on our own. October 13th, several hundred thousand people marched through the streets of Bangkok. Faced with the largest public protest in modern Thai history, the government finally relents, and agrees to release the 13 prisoners unconditionally and promises that a permanent

constitution will be introduced within a year. The protest leaders declare victory and ask the crowd to disperse. Many people begin returning home, but approximately 200,000 demonstrators remain. They march toward the royal palace. Thailand is formerly a constitutional monarchy ruled by a king who possesses enormous personal prestige and significant influence among the country's political and military leaders. So the protesters hope that he might intervene on their behalf

and hold the government to its promises. But on early October 14th, royal representatives convey the king's request that the demonstrators disperse peacefully, and they agree. But moving such an enormous crowd through the narrow streets around the palace proves difficult. Police erect barricades, an attempt to channel the demonstrators along a single route. Requests to open additional exits are refused and tensions begin to rise. Exactly how the violence begins will be disputed, but once it starts, the confrontation rapidly escalates. Government forces fire into the crowds and protesters fight back.

By the afternoon, the capital is in chaos. Witnessing this, the king summons Prime Minister Thunnam and other senior officials to the palace, and at approximately 7.15 that evening, the king addresses the country on television and radio, announcing that Thinam has resigned, and a respected former judge has been appointed in his place. But the violence does not immediately end. Thonam remains supreme commander of the Thai armed forces, and fighting continues around police headquarters as demonstrators demand that the NAM surrender his remaining military. authority. It's only when Thanam, his son, and the deputy prime minister go into exile that the

violence finally begins to subside. By then, according to an official count, 77 people have been killed and over 800 injured. But in the aftermath, the new prime minister praises the student movement for bringing down a dictatorship, and he promises a new constitution and democratic elections. So for a time, the country appears to be moving toward a more open and democratic future. But the new freedom exposes deep rifts within Thai society. Coalition governments prove unstable and political violence increases. Then events beyond Thailand's borders intensify the divisions. Communist forces take power in Cambodia and South Vietnam, and the monarchy in Laos is deposed. So within the Thai military, and among royalists and much of the urban middle class,

fears grow that Thailand could be next. Then, on September 19, 1976, Thinam returns. The former dictator arrives wearing the robes of a Buddhist monk and claims he has no desire to return to politics, but many students believe that his presence is a test and attempt to discover whether the military can restore the old order. So protests spread through Bangkok's universities again and eventually concentrate at Thamasson.

But a right-wing newspaper, an army-controlled, radio stations spread false rumors that the students there are insulting the monarchy and plotting a communist revolution. So police and right-wing paramilitary groups gather around the university, and around dawn on October 6th, they attack. That evening, military leaders used the massacre at the university as justification for a coup. They placed the prime minister in protective custody, abolish the Constitution, ban political parties, and declare martial law. Thailand's three-year experiment with democracy is swiftly over. No one who carried out the massacre will ever be successfully prosecuted.

There will be no comprehensive official investigation, and the violence will be minimized in government accounts, but it will not be forgotten. And some survivors, journalists, and historians will keep fighting to tell the world what really happened on that October morning at Thomasat University. It's late morning on October 6, 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand, exactly. Exactly 40 years after the massacre at Thomas Sut University. In the courtyard where the violence took place, Surichhard Bamrungsuk lays a wreath at a memorial commemorating the massacre.

He stares for a moment, lost and thawed. He's now a political science professor, but he was there that day and survived the massacre. He's returned to the scene to share his story. Around 200 other people have gathered today to pay their respects, and once all the flowers have been laid, Surichard addresses the students to explain why younger generations must learn from what happened here. On the day of the massacre, he was among more than 3,000 students and civilians arrested by authorities.

Most were quickly released without charge, but Superchart and 17 others remained in prison and were put on trial by Thailand's new ultra-conservative government. This regime censored the press and purged left-wing voices from universities and public life. thousands of students, intellectuals, and activists were forced to flee. Many joined the Communist Party guerrillas in remote parts of the country, while others left Thailand entirely. Surichard was eventually released under an amnesty, but it did not bring justice for the massacre. That same amnesty helped shield those responsible for the violence

and reinforced the official portrayal of the imprisoned activists as offenders rather than victims. So Sirichart tells the students that remembering what happened, that Thomasot is especially important now because Thailand has, in his words, come full circle. In the decades since the massacre, the country has alternated between elected governments and military junta's, and with the most recent coup in 2014, Thailand is now under military rule once again. That will formally end in 2019. The generals will retain considerable power, though, and in Thailand, additional coups can never be ruled out.

But a new generation of students will also take to the streets to defend their freedoms, and in doing so, they will carry forward the spirit of those who face terrible violence at Tamasat University on October 6, 1976. Next on History Daily, October 7, 1571. A coalition of Catholic states defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto. From Noisor and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham. Audio editing by Muhammad Shazim, sound design by Molly Bog, music by Throm. This episode is written and researched by Arjun Kumar, edited by William Simpson, managing producer Emily Byr. Executive producers are William Simpson for airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.