Word: bangkok
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Suddenly the nightmare that Bangkok had dreaded was happening: a wild outbreak of kicking, clubbing, shooting, lynching. Youths hurled themselves into the river to keep from being shot. Then the blazing finale as a heap of gasoline-soaked bodies were set afire. Finally, over the radio came last week's terse announcement: "The government cannot govern," said a voice. "To keep Thailand from falling prey to the Communists and to uphold the monarchy, this [military] council has seized power. The country is under martial...
...first glance, the pudgy man in saffron robes begging for a bowl of rice on the streets of Bangkok seemed like just another Buddhist monk. But the man who called himself Sukittikacharo Bhikku ("Honored Everywhere") was recognized last week as Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, 65, the former dictator, who was toppled from power after a 1973 student uprising...
...humbled Thanom told it, his return from luxurious exile in Singapore was prompted by filial devotion to his ailing father, Khun Sopit, 91. Defying a request from the Thai Cabinet that he stay out of the country, Thanom underwent a head shave and instant ordination and flew to Bangkok...
Possible Coup. Suspicious that Thanom was more interested in a return to power than in piety, left-wing Thai students called for mass demonstrations. Bangkok was soon plastered with posters accusing Thanom of ordering the killing of 71 people, mostly students, during the 1973 revolution. After four days of dillydallying, the shaky government coalition led by Prime Minister Seni Pramoj, 71, decided to resign, as accusations of government indecisiveness continued to mount. But then, in a by-now characteristic move for Seni, the Prime Minister announced that he would stay on after all. The monkish former marshal continued to walk...
...Although Bangkok police detained Gauthier and found passports and belongings of the victims in his apartment, he was let go, possibly after some money changed hands. Only after low-level diplomats in Bangkok became alarmed over the pattern of deaths among visiting tourists was Interpol notified. Thai authorities have said they will seek Gauthier's extradition, but in India he first faces an array of charges, including murder, for which he could be sentenced to death by hanging...