Word: thanom
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...martial law and rule by a firm if benevolent military oligarchy, last week Thais voted in a general election. The balloting was to choose 219 deputies for the lower house of Thailand's National Assembly. The election did not change the texture of the government of Premier Thanom Kittikachorn, a field marshal in the Royal Thai Army, nor did it appreciably crimp its powers. But in creating a legal opposition, it heralded a return to more representative and more responsive rule...
...regime had taken the first, cautious step toward political liberalization last June with the proclamation of a new constitution. The document provided for elections within 240 days, but it also safeguarded the Thanom government by stipulating that no-confidence motions could only come from a majority of members of the upper and lower houses. Such a negative vote would be unlikely, to say the least, since the upper house is entirely appointed by the regime. Said Opposition Leader Seni Pramoj, an articulate and outspoken lawyer who was Premier in 1945-46: "The constitution of 1968 almost achieves immortality...
Coping with Questions. To compete in the lower house elections, Thanom and the regime's strongman, Interior Minister Praphas Charusathien, who is also Deputy Premier and army commander, constructed their own political organization, the United Thai People's Party. Seni's Democrat Party, attractive to urban and educated Thais, formed the main opposition. Also opposing the government were a dozen smaller groups with little nationwide appeal. Despite long years of political apathy and a lack of distinctive platforms, the campaign was fairly spirited. In Bangkok, a Democrat Party stronghold, U.T.P.P. rallies were interrupted by hecklers. Moreover...
...Bangkok's resplendent Temple of the Emerald Buddha last week, 1,500 soldiers of the Thai Black Panther Di vision worshiped before leaving for Viet Nam to become part of a Thai fighting force that will soon total 10,000 men. Addressing them, Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn made it clear that they were going off to fight for Thailand, which he believes is "the next victim" of Communism in Southeast Asia. "Even today," he said, "the Communists are infiltrating Thailand and increasing their subversive actions against our country." In fact, at least 2,000 guerrillas are busy spreading terror...
Thieu's position, of course, would doom the talks before they started. Nonetheless, Johnson went out of his way during the week to assure Saigon-and other nervous allied capitals such as Seoul and Bangkok-that the U.S. was seeking what Thailand's Thanom called "a genuine peace which is not a facade covering a surrender." In a joint communique after two days of talks with Thanom, the U.S. and Thailand emphasized "their determination that the South Vietnamese people shall not be conquered by aggression and shall enjoy their inherent right to decide their own form of government...