Black May (1992)

On 17 May 1992, Chamlong led a protest at Sanam Luang, the rally was the biggest since the popular uprising in 1973. At its peak, 200,000 people filled Sanam Luang, overflowing onto the encircling streets.[10][13] At about 20:30, Chamlong, Sudarat Keyuraphan, and Sant Hatthirat led the protesters on a two-kilometre march to the Government House to demand Suchinda's resignation.[14] The protesters were halted at Phan Fa Lilat Bridge, which had been barricaded with razor wire by the police. At 11.00 pm, a group of demonstrators attempted to break through the barricade, but were repulsed by water cannons from four fire trucks blocking the way. The protesters then tried to take over two of some ten fire engines stationed nearby,[15] but were beaten back by riot police armed with batons and shot by water cannons. Soon, the protesters replied with stones and Molotov cocktails.[10][14] Chamlong used a loudspeaker to urge the marchers not to attack the police, but his words were ignored. In this initial clash, about 100 protesters and 21 policemen were injured.[10] By midnight, two fire engines had been set on fire, and the situation was spiralling out of control. Some 700 troops had been called in and the fighting fanned out from Phan Fa Lilat Bridge.

At 0.30 am, Suchinda declared a state of emergency, making gatherings of more than ten people illegal. The government urged the people to go home but the protesters still continued until morning of 18 May. Presses "that endanger public security or cause public unrest" were banned. Three newspapers, the English-language The Nation, and Thai language dailies Naew Na and The Manager were ordered to close for three days, but the order was revoked a few hours after.[16]

The army fired M16 rifles directly at the crowd at 4.15 am, after initially firing in the air to disperse the protesters. At least five people believed to have been killed in this shooting, with others injured by baton attacks.[16] Hospitals in the area were already receiving the injured, including four with gunshot wounds who died that night.[10] Government buildings and police vehicles were set on fire, a "third party" was involved in initiating violence on Phan Fa Bridge, according to Chamlong.[16]

Chamlong and protesters remained near Phan Fa Lilat Bridge and nearby Democracy Monument. At around 6 am, the army began firing in the air again, which injured dozens of people.[16] The government brought in more troops and crowds grew larger in other sections of the city.

Early on the afternoon of 18 May, Suchinda publicly accused Chamlong of fomenting violence and defended the government's use of force. Shortly thereafter, troops firing continuously in the air moved in to surround Chamlong. He was handcuffed and arrested, and was taken away to Bangkhen Police Academy, where political prisoners were usually detained. The rest of CFD leaders were also arrested.[17] However, the crowds still did not disperse, and violence escalated.

In the evening of 18 May, more than tens of thousands protesters still gathered around Democracy Monument and Ratchadamnoen Avenue. Buses filled with unarmed protesters were positioned in front of the barricade between 7.30 pm and 9.30 pm. The army fixed bayonets at 9.30 pm, caused some demonstrators to raise their arms in confrontation to dare the forces to shoot. At 10.30 pm one bus moved quickly and another was pushed slowly into the barricade.[18] At approximately 10.30 pm, The army, receiving an order from a major general to the 2nd Infantry Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment of the Kanchanaburi-based 9th Infantry Division in full military gear fired directly into the crowd again at head height at the top of Ratchadamnoen Avenue. The police also shot protesters point blank into the crowd. Members of Task Force 90, an anti-terrorist force, mixed in the crowd and shot several protesters with pistols. At least 20 people were believed to be killed and 100 injured by gun shots, many were shot or attacked from behind while fleeing.[19]

On the early morning of 19 May, the army, firing rifles into the air, stormed the Royal Hotel where demonstrators were hiding, and arrested around 700 people in the hotel. Protesters were kicked and beaten by rifle butts on the head and back, and were pointed loaded guns at them. 2,500 - 3,000 people were detained in a detention center, they were kicked and beaten while being transported in army trucks. There were reports of gunmen shooting protesters in various areas in Bangkok,[20] presuming to be the Royal Thai Police official.[21] Hospitals were instructed by the official not to release information of fatality number. Presses were controlled by the Royal Thai Armed Forces to report only the military's version of the information. In 1992, official statements reported that 52 people were dead, and almost 700 people were injured from beatings and gunshot wounds.[20]

When government troops secured the area around Phan Fa Lilat Bridge and the Democracy Monument, protests shifted to Ramkhamhaeng University in the east of the city. By the evening of 19 May, about 50,000 people had gathered there. In the evening of 20 May, a 9 pm to 4 am curfew was announced. Bangkok's streets were deserted.

From 17 to 20 May, official statements had reported that 52 people were killed, 696 were injured, and 175 had "disappeared", but unofficial sources reported higher.[22] Medical volunteers reported more than 100 people were killed across Bangkok, according to the New York Times.[23] There were eyewitness reports of a truck filled with bodies leaving the city.[24] Many of those arrested are alleged to have been tortured. The army indicated that 150,000 or 1 million rounds of live ammunition were fired during the operation.[25] The New York Times dubbed the events as the bloodiest popular uprising in the modern history of Thailand,[6] only to be replaced by the 2010 Thai political protests.

Royal intervention on the night of 20 May. Left to right: Chamlong Srimuang, Suchinda Kraprayoon, and King Bhumibol Adulyadej (seated).

On 20 May, Princess Sirindhorn addressed the country on television in the morning, calling for an end to the violence. Her appeal was rebroadcast throughout the day. That evening, her brother, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, broadcast a similar appeal. At 21:30, a television broadcast of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Suchinda, and Chamlong was shown, in which the King demanded that the two men put an end to their confrontation and work together through parliamentary procedures.[26]

On 23 May, King Bhumibol signed Suchinda's amnesty decree that applied to both side of a conflict, with the reason to protect the security and unity of the country.[27] Academics and pro-democracy activists opposed the decree's legal status almost immediately. Legal experts commented that the decree was invalid because the decree needed to be signed by a meeting of the cabinet, as per the constitution. The decree was issued in the name of the King, and on 25 May was referred by parliament to a constitutional tribunal for judgement.[28]

Suchinda agreed to support an amendment requiring the Prime Minister to be reelected. Chamlong asked the demonstrators to disperse, which they did. On 24 May 1992, Suchinda resigned as Prime Minister of Thailand.

A House of Representatives Special Committee and a fact-finding committee led by Sophon Rattanakorn shared the same conclusion: the government of General Suchinda used excessive force to crack down on the rally. Some facts from the investigation, such as names of military officers and military units responsible for rounding up, killing, and torturing of protesters were revealed to the public.[24] It is believed these facts were recorded in the report of the Ministry of Defense's Fact Finding Committee led by General Pichit Kullawanit, but it is still kept from the Thai public. The military constitution of 1992 remained in place until 1997, when a replacement was drafted and promulgated.

The government denied using excessive force during the crackdown. Kaset Rojananil, Supreme Commander of the armed forces and director of the National Peace Keeping Council, stated that the army and the police shot protesters in the lower part of the body only. Army Intelligence Chief, Tirawat Pattamanonda claimed that the army and the police who fired directly at demonstrators did so without orders and were poorly trained.[29]

Street art memorial near Khaosan Road

Chamlong later apologized for his role in the events: "I wanted a peaceful rally," he said. "I can't deny some responsibility for the damage and loss of life. I feel deeply sorry for those families whose members were killed in the incident, for those people who were injured and their families." Nevertheless, he noted, "We were right in what we have done."[30] He then retired from politics, eventually to return during the protests against the government of Thaksin Shinawatra.

Suchinda was later appointed chairman of Telecom Asia (today known as True Corporation), a company which received a concession to install two million telephone lines in Bangkok during the Anand Panyarachun government.[31]

In September 2001, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra started a committee to investigate the massacres, headed by former Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun. The committee met and interviewed the victims' families but there were no significant result. In May 2002, the UN Working Group accepted 31 of 34 cases of people who 'disappeared' during the massacres. These cases were transmitted to the Thai Government.[32]

After the events of 1992 ended, the 1997 constitution was introduced as the first constitution to be drafted by a popularly elected Constitutional Drafting Assembly, hence was popularly called the People's Constitution. The new constitution created a bicameral legislature. For the first time in Thai history, both houses were directly elected. Many human rights are explicitly acknowledged in the text, and measures were established to increase the stability of elected governments, paving the way to Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai Party ascending to a premiership in 2001 and developing another conflict with military-monarchy nexus, culminating in the 2006 Thai coup d'état 14 years later.

• "นิรโทษกรรมผู้กระทำผิดเนื่องในการชุมนุมกัน" [Amnesty Decree]. Royal Gazette No. 109 of 23 May 1992 (PDF) (in Thai). Royal Thai Government Gazette. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2020. Archived 24 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine
• Asia Watch and Physicians for Human Rights (1992). "Bloody May: Excessive Use of Lethal Force In Bangkok the Events Of May 17-20, 1992" (PDF). Physicians for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Amnesty International (1992). "Thailand: The massacre in Bangkok". Amnesty International. ASA 39/010/1992.
• Maisrikrod, Surin (1993). "THAILAND 1992: Repression and Return of Democracy". Southeast Asian Affairs. ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. 1993: 327–349. doi:10.1355/SEAA93S. ISSN 0377-5437. JSTOR 27912083.
• McCargo, Duncan (1997). Chamlong Srimuang and the New Thai Politics. Hurst & Company. ISBN 9781850652885.
• Murray, David, M.A. (2000). Angels and devils : Thai politics from February 1991 to September 1992, a struggle for democracy?. Bangkok: White Orchid Press. ISBN 9748299333.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Ockey, James (2001). McVey, Ruth (ed.). Money and Power in Provincial Thailand. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2273-6.
• Moreira, John (2011). Thailand's Struggle for Democracy (thesis). Washington D.C.: Georgetown University.
• Katsiaficas, George (2013). Asia's Unknown Uprisings: People Power in the Philippines, Burma, Tibet, China, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand and Indonesia, 1947-2009. PM Press. ISBN 9781604864885.