10 pics for today.
1895 - Mehnam River Bangkok
1897
1897 - King Rama 5 - Poland during his Euro tour
(Above) Siam princes and princesses in a tug-of-war 1897
1898 - expat Brits in Bangkok
(Above) 1898 - Customs House Bangkok
(Above) 1899 Tram Bangkok
1899
(Above) 1902 - Siamese Naval Academy
1902 - Visit to Chiang Mai by King Rama 5
6 October 1976 - government supporters attack and kill anti-government protestors in massacre.
The
Thammasat University Massacre, or
Massacre of 6 October 1976, was an attack on students and protesters that occurred on the campus of
Thammasat University and at
Sanam Luang in
Bangkok. Students from various universities were demonstrating against the return to Thailand of Field Marshal
Thanom Kittikachorn, a former military ruler.
By the official count, forty-six people died in the attack, during which protesters were shot, beaten and their bodies mutilated.<sup id="cite_ref-Handley236_1-0" class="reference">
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thammasat_University_massacre#cite_note-Handley236-1</sup>
After Thanom was replaced by a
civilian prime minister in
October 1973, an army faction headed by Major-General
Pramarn Adireksarn began plotting a return to military rule. Right-wing
paramilitary groups were armed and trained and a crackdown on left-wing activists was prepared. The
Communist takeover of
Indochina in
1975 at the end of the
Vietnam War convinced many that Thailand could be the next communist target and that the nation's unruly
left-wing students were aiding the enemy.
The day before the
massacre, a photo of a mock hanging by Thammasat demonstrators was published in the Bangkok press. To many, the students in the photo appeared to be hanging the Crown Prince
Vajiralongkorn in effigy. In response, outraged paramilitary forces gathered outside the university that evening.
Lieutenant-General Chumphon Lohachala, deputy director of the
national police, ordered an attack in the morning and authorized
free fire on the campus. A
junta headed by the defense minister, Admiral
Sa-ngad Chaloryu, seized power immediately after the massacre. The membership of the junta was more moderate than that of Pramarn's faction and the relationship between the factions remains poorly understood.<sup id="cite_ref-Handley236_1-1" class="reference">
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thammasat_University_massacre#cite_note-Handley236-1</sup> The junta installed
Tanin Kraivixien, a hard-line anti-communist and a royal favorite, as
prime minister.