59 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
59 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
The **Civil Rights Movement in Thailand** was a small [civil rights
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movement](Civil_Rights_Movements "wikilink") which occurred in
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[Thailand](Thailand "wikilink") from
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[1975](Revolutions_of_1967_-_1975 "wikilink") to
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[1976](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Southeast_Asia "wikilink")
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as the countries [Muslim](Islam "wikilink") minority demanded equality
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with the [Buddhist](Buddhism "wikilink") majority.
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## Background
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Thailand had experienced a large amount of racial tension between the
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Buddhist majority and the Muslim minority which mainly lived in the
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south. In late 1975 six young Muslims were traveling in a car through
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Pattani when they were stopped by soldiers. They were arrested,
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apparently for further questioning, but in fact were taken to a bridge,
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stabbed, and their bodies were thrown into the river. A fifteen year-old
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boy survived and swam ashore. The boy told other Muslims what had
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happened.
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Residents of the boy’s village were incensed and filed a petition
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against the government. In this petition they recounted the story that
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the boy had told. They also claimed that government officials had bribed
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doctors at the hospital where the boy was taken for treatment to poison
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him in order to silence him. The villagers went on to state in the
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petition that if the government failed to acknowledge the incident they
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would protest.
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## Events
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When the government failed to respond, students from Thammasat,
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Chulalongkorn, Ramkhamhaeng, Mahidon, and Chiang Mai universities
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organized a protest with a list of five demands.
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1. Murder suspects investigated and prosecuted if found guilty
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2. Families of the victims to be compensated
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3. Soldiers removed from the three southern provinces of Thailand
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4. Facts of the killings to be released to the public.
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5. The prime minister to meet the protesters and ensure their demands
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were met.
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Protesters and activists threatened to be violence, and on the 13th of
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December and explosive was thrown into a crowd of protesters, killing
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between 11 and 25 people. The leader of the protests ran onto a stage
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after the explosion and pleaded with people not to leave before being
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shot to death. It is unknown if soldiers or Buddhist extremists
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organised the attacks. Of course, this led to the paradox of repression,
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and more protests came, lasting 47 days of continuous protests.
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## Results
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By the 27th of January, the government agreed to all the demands of the
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protesters.
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## References
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[Global Nonviolent Action
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Database](Global_Nonviolent_Action_Database "wikilink") - [Thai Muslims
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campaign for civil
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rights, 1975](https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/thai-muslims-campaign-civil-rights-1975) |