14 October 1973
More than 70 protesters killed by soldiers
Troops killed at least 70 students and more than 800 were injured when attempts to disperse demonstrators outside Chitralada Palace descended into chaos.
The Bangkok Post initially reported at least 400 killed as troops opened fire on the protesters. The figure was revised downward in the days following the riots. Exactly how many died is unknown, but official accounts put the number at 77, with 857 injured.
It remains unclear exactly how the bloodshed started, particularly given the apparent truce reached between the Thanom regime and student leaders the night before. Some reports said the mayhem began when tear gas was fired into the tens of thousands of protesters who had remained outside the palace. Others said troops, under the command of Col Narong Kittikachorn, opened fire around the palace and Democracy Monument, with Narong himself reportedly machine-gunning students from a helicopter.
As the conflict escalated, protesters came onto the streets in increasing numbers, and violent battles raged throughout the day. Thousands of students took refuge inside the walled campus of Thammasat University. In response, soldiers fired through the gates and from helicopters.
Groups of student ‘commandos’, meanwhile, engaged troops and police across the city, hurling Molotov cocktails, seizing vehicles and taking over and setting fire to official buildings, including the Metropolitan Police Headquarters. Running battles between fearless protesters and machinegun-wielding police raged through the night.
On the night of October 14, His Majesty the King, who had opened up the grounds of his Chitralada Palace as a refuge for fleeing students, told the ‘nation: ‘Today is a day of great sorrow, the most grievous in the history of our Thai nation.’
14 October 1973
More than 70 protesters killed by soldiers
Troops killed at least 70 students and more than 800 were injured when attempts to disperse demonstrators outside Chitralada Palace descended into chaos.
The Bangkok Post initially reported at least 400 killed as troops opened fire on the protesters. The figure was revised downward in the days following the riots. Exactly how many died is unknown, but official accounts put the number at 77, with 857 injured.
It remains unclear exactly how the bloodshed started, particularly given the apparent truce reached between the Thanom regime and student leaders the night before. Some reports said the mayhem began when tear gas was fired into the tens of thousands of protesters who had remained outside the palace. Others said troops, under the command of Col Narong Kittikachorn, opened fire around the palace and Democracy Monument, with Narong himself reportedly machine-gunning students from a helicopter.
As the conflict escalated, protesters came onto the streets in increasing numbers, and violent battles raged throughout the day. Thousands of students took refuge inside the walled campus of Thammasat University. In response, soldiers fired through the gates and from helicopters.
Groups of student ‘commandos’, meanwhile, engaged troops and police across the city, hurling Molotov cocktails, seizing vehicles and taking over and setting fire to official buildings, including the Metropolitan Police Headquarters. Running battles between fearless protesters and machinegun-wielding police raged through the night.
On the night of October 14, His Majesty the King, who had opened up the grounds of his Chitralada Palace as a refuge for fleeing students, told the ‘nation: ‘Today is a day of great sorrow, the most grievous in the history of our Thai nation.’