Moments of Silence: The Unforgetting of the October 6, 1976, Massacre in Bangkok

by Thongchai Winichakul

The massacre on October 6, 1976, in Bangkok was brutal and violent, its savagery unprecedented in modern Thai history. Four decades later there has been no investigation into the atrocity; information remains limited, the truth unknown. There has been no collective coming to terms with what happened or who is responsible. Thai society still refuses to confront this dark page in its history. Moments of Silence focuses on the silence that surrounds the October 6 massacre. Silence, the book argues, is not forgetting. Rather it signals an inability to forget or remember—or to articulate a socially meaningful memory. It is the “unforgetting,” the liminal domain between remembering and forgetting. Historian Thongchai Winichakul, a participant in the events of that day, gives the silence both a voice and a history by highlighting the factors that contributed to the unforgetting amidst changing memories of the massacre over the decades that followed. They include shifting political conditions and context, the influence of Buddhism, the royal-nationalist narrative of history, the role played by the monarchy as moral authority and arbiter of justice, and a widespread perception that the truth might have devastating ramifications for Thai society. The unforgetting impacted both victims and perpetrators in different ways. It produced a collective false memory of an incident that never took place, but it also produced silence that is filled with hope and counter-history. Moments of Silence tells the story of a tragedy in Thailand—its victims and survivors—and how Thai people coped when closure was unavailable in the wake of atrocity. But it also illuminates the unforgetting as a phenomenon common to other times and places where authoritarian governments flourish, where atrocities go unexamined, and where censorship (imposed or self-directed) limits public discourse. The tensions inherent in the author’s dual role offer a riveting story, as well as a rare and intriguing perspective. Most of all, this provocative book makes clear the need to provide a place for past wrongs in the public memory.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

297 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2020

About the author

Thai: ธงชัย วินิจจะกูล

Thongchai Winichakul is a Professor of Southeast Asian History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is of Sino Thai descent. Thongchai has had a major impact on the concept of Thai nationalism. His best-known academic work is his book, Siam Mapped, which critiqued existing theories of Thai historiography. In its Japanese translation, the book won the Grand Prize of the 16th Asian Pacific Awards from the Asian Affairs Research Council. Thongchai was named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003. He is the Vice President for the Association for Asian Studies

Reviews

[Edwin Pietersma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The work Moments of Silence is unique in its nature, and somewhat hard to assess. The author, who himself was involved in the student protests and has been traumatized by the event, openly admits his bias, his reasons, and his conclusions prior to the research of this work. One can read his pain in the first pages. However, he diverts from this by not focusing on the atrocity itself, but rather on trying to understand how these event remains painful in Thailand, and how it is dealt with, repressed and kept irrational in contemporary times. The notions and theoretical framework provided on chrono politics is, thereby, essential. For people who are interested in modern Thai history, or politics of memory an the politicization of remembering, it is a must. However, there are parts that require more explanation, which is for instance the role of the monarchy and sangha in the politics of remembering, as it is mentioned they are partly responsible for the massacre, but then their chrono politics are rather scarely analyzed and discussed.
His conclusions are saddening and makes us question how we can deal with traumatizing events as a society, and what we can learn from other countries who have dealt with it, Germany being the obvious example. As the author writes at the end: "it is present but not recognized. It is mentioned but not understood, apparent but not meaningful, and unforgettable but not remembered."

[Krissada Tun · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice and pretty insightful book regarding a monumental and tragic event of Thai history. As a Thai, it is pretty tough to read especially the review and the aftermath of events. However, the book stimulates questions and really makes me wonder about the current situation in Thailand. Ps. The Thai translated version was recently launched with an extra chapter and introduction.

[Thanyanuch Tantikul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reflective and poignant. Extremely readable and full of careful reflections about the fluidity of memories, particularly those of traumatic and controversial past, under the influence of the changing socio-political contexts.

[Dhevarajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An emotional part-memoir part-history from one of Thailand's greatest academics.

[Pae Ponsiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

จะลืมก็ไม่ได้ แต่จะจำก็ไม่ลง คือสภาวะของคนที่ได้รับผลกระทบจากเหตุการณ์ 6 ตุลา 2519 ซึ่งผลกระทบของเรื่องนี้ไม่ใช่แค่ต่อตัวนักศึกษาที่ถูกถล่มวันนั้น แต่มันยังผลไปถึงพ่อแม่ เพื่อน หรือคนรอบตัวของผู้ที่เกี่ยวข้อง รวมถึงตัวผู้ก่อเหตุนั้นด้วย. ที่น่าสนใจก็คือแล้วคนที่มีส่วนสนับสนุนความรุนแรงในวันนั้นตอนนั้นเขารู้สึกยังไง และทุกวันนี้เขาจะรู้สึกยังไง ความเงียบของทั้งหลายฝ่ายมันจะสามารถบอกอะไรเราได้บ้าง. ทำไม 6 ตุลาฯ (และพฤษภา 53) ถึง(เคย)​ถูกพูดถึงน้อยกว่า 14 ตุลาฯ และพฤษภา 35. แล้วทำไมภาพบนหน้าปกหนังสือถึงฉายแสงไปที่พระบรมหาราชวัง