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| Story : Thanapol Eawsakul |
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Thailand's avoidance of wartime reparations despite its official alliance with the Japanese during World War II is often attributed to its "two-faced policy." The formal alliance between the government of Field Marshall Phibunsonggram and the Japanese was counterbalanced by the informal, underground alliance between the Thai popular resistance movement against the Japanese - known collectively today as the Free Thai Movement - and the Allied Powers. In either case, Thailand would still have been formally or informally allied with the victor. |
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Yet, it is important to underscore the difficulty with which that policy was conducted, to appreciate the delicate situation Thailand had found herself in. Thai popular resistance against the Japanese needed to be as genuine and as effective as it needed to be fully recognized by the Allied Powers, if they were not only to gain the trust and respect of the Allied Powers but to be able to negotiate the post-war realities with them. Fortunately enough, the Free Thai Movement, with Pridi Phanomyong at its head, through its military operations in and out of the country, its own capable army, and its unwavering political stance and exhaustive political dealings, reflected the active, sincere and strong commitment of the Thai people to the Allied Powers. |
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Thus, it was more than Ambassador Seni Pramoj's refusal to deliver the declaration of war to the United States, and more than the United States' recognition of Thailand's inability to deny the Japanese after they had literally swept through all of Southeast Asia. Thailand was spared the war's losses because of the strength and determination of its countrymen and women in fighting foreign occupation.
In this edition of Sarakadee, we invite you to revisit one instance in Thailand's proud history of resistance. Let us recount the chain of events committing Thailand to the Axis Powers, and the formation and formalization of a resistance movement against foreign occupation. We invite you also, to join Sarakadee in celebrating this 60 year anniversary of the birth of that resistance.
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