September 23, 20206 yr The Thai Enquirer today begins a series of articles looking back at the little appreciated Free Thai resistance movement during the period of occupation during the Second World War. In this installment, it discusses the roles of the United Kingdom and the United States. From The Thai Enquirer An Oral History of the Seri Thai – Part One By Pear Maneechote And Jasmine Chia There are a few watershed events in Thai history that should be celebrated, honored, and remembered. This is definitely one of them. During World War II, Thai Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkram famously allied Thailand with the Japanese and the Axis Powers and declared war against the Allies. Yet, at the end of the war, Thailand somehow emerged as a friend of the Allied Powers – not exactly a victor, but not a defeated nation by any means. Most importantly, Thailand emerged from WW2 as a free and independent nation. This was the doing of Seri Thai, Thailand’s underground ‘Free Thai’ resistance movement, which worked with the US and UK against the Japanese occupation. The movement involved people from all walks of life — from anti-royalists, to purebred royals, schoolteachers, government officials, family members, to students. It was a coordinated resistance against the multiple oppressions that Thailand faced and continues to face today: the oppression of a nationalist military government, and the imperialist occupier that the military had invited to its doorstep. Although the Seri Thai movement is well remembered, it is not often remembered correctly. It was a movement driven as much by students as by politicians, young people who put their lives on the line to stand in defiance of a military government. Today, some of Seri Thai’s descendants are on the front lines of the democracy movement, as students drive their own open resistance against the current military dictatorship. 75 years after the declaration of peace, we revisit another pivotal turning point in Thai democratic history, as told through the words of direct participants and their descendants. Continues with photos https://www.thaienquirer.com/18327/an-oral-history-of-the-seri-thai-part-one/
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