The Nation Oct. 11 1998

Tuesday, Oct 9, 1973

Those who walked past the Tha Prachan campus of Thammasat University this morning could spot a black flag flying at half-mast over the scenic dome, the campus' symbol. The night before, the university decided to postpone examinations.

Banners and placards can be seen all over the campus. The messages read: ''Power To The People'' and ''If We Demand a Constitution, Are We Really Rebels?'' Students who later found out that the examinations were postponed stayed on at the Bo Tree Courtyard to listen to student speakers such as Seksan Prasertkul and Saowani Limmanon. They attacked the government ferociously. Medical students of Siriraj Hospital, across the Chao Praya River, also joined in.

During the preceding three days, students from various universities showed support for Thirayut Boonmee's call for immediate promulgation of a constitution. On Oct 6, Thirayut led a 20-member group march for a new constitution. At around 2 pm, when they reached the Pratunam area, special branch police arrested 11 of them and charged them with holding an illegal political assembly. The Revolutionary Decree No 4 banned meetings of more than five persons.

Meanwhile, at other campuses, students intensified mobilisation and stepped up attacks on the Thanom-Prapat regime. At Ramkhamhaeng University, student leaders demanded the immediate release of all the detainees.

In the afternoon, a heavy downpour does little to dampen the students' enthusiasm and the crowd stays on and gets larger in the late afternoon. Later on the Thammasat University Students Council holds an emergency session and decides to send a letter to Prime Minister Thanom Kittakachorn calling for the immediate release of all detainees. Their demand was followed by a letter of appeal signed by 205 Thammasat University lecturers urging the government to prevent the worsening situation from turning violent.

But the government responds by saying that the draconian Article 17 will be used in the trials of the accused. This article gives the prime minister unlimited power to detain political suspects.

As night falls, the crowd with rain-coats and umbrellas swells. Students and activists continue their speeches attacking the government, interspersed with satirical political skits. After midnight, a mass of protesters inside the university moves towards the main auditorium.

Oct. 10

EARLY in the morning, students gathering at the Bo Tree invite some 200 monks from the nearby Wat Mahathat to the university's soccer field to bless them. They make merit by offering food to the monks. Some of them are seen cleaning up the university after two nights of protest. After a brief lull, students resume the attacks on the government. Crowds keep increasing as more and more students join in.

Students from Kasetsart University, half-way to Don Muang Airport, charter 70 buses and head for Thammsat University with 7,000 students followed by 53 bus-loads of students from Chanthakasem Teachers' Training College. By midday the crowd has swollen to 50,000. A student leader announces that more people, even kindergarten children, will join the gathering.

In the afternoon Field Marshal Praphat Charusathian meets student leader Sombat Chamrongthanyawong, secretary-general of the National Student Confederation of Thailand (NSCT) and his delegation, but no agreement is reached. Sombat says the gathering at Thammasat University is aimed securing the release of the 13 detainees. The first 12 protesters have been under arrest for five days now.* But the government, through the Public Relations Department, insists that the detainees will not be released and the draconian Article 17 will be used in court. Prapat says it is hard to gauge public opinion on some twenty thousand people. In the evening the Cabinet meets in an emergency session at Suan Ruan military headquarters with Praphat chairing the meeting.

As night falls, more people flock to the campus, but this time round they come with food and donations. Thais studying in the United States, Germany and Australia have sent letters of support to the student organisers together with their donations and urged them to continue to fight tyranny.

* They were arrested on Oct 6.