The Red Gaurs ( th, กระทิงแดง, ''Krathing Daeng'') were an extreme right-wing

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

organization active in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

during the 1970s. The Red Gaurs played a key role in the

6 October 1976 massacre The 6 October 1976 massacre, or the 6 October event ( th, เหตุการณ์ 6 ตุลา ) as it is known in Thailand, was a violent crackdown by Thai police and lynching by right-wing paramilitaries and bystanders against leftist p ...

of students and activists at

Thammasat University Thammasat University ( Abrv: TU th, มธ.; th, มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, , ) is a public research university in Thailand with campuses in Tha Phra Chan area of Phra Nakhon District near the Grand Pala ...

. The organization derives its name from the

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

(/ɡaʊər/, ''Bos gaurus''), also called the Indian bison, the largest extant bovine. The gaur is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

Establishment and activities

It was set up by the

Internal Security Operations Command ('Conquer evil by the power of good') , logo = , logo_width = 150 , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = 200px , seal_caption = , picture = นายกรัฐมนตรี เป็น� ...

(ISOC) of the Thai military to counter the country's students movement after the democratic revolution of October 1973. Major-General Sudsai Hasadin has been reported being its main organizer. From mid-1974 on, the paramilitary organization's units were publicly armed with firearms and grenades. Afterwards, they enjoyed practical immunity to criminal prosecution, or even warnings from police or army staff. The Red Gaurs violently attacked demonstrators at the protests against individual articles of the 1974 constitution, against U.S. military bases in Thailand, and at the protests against the return of deposed military dictators

Thanom Kittikachorn Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn ( th, ถนอม กิตติขจร, ; 11 August 1911 – 16 June 2004) was the leader of Thailand from 1963 to 1973, during which he staged a self-coup, until public protests which exploded into viol ...

and

Praphas Charusathien Praphas Charusathien ( th, ประภาส จารุเสถียร, , ; 25 November 1912 – 18 August 1997) was a Thai military officer and politician. He was a field marshal ('' chom phon'') of the Royal Thai Army and minister of int ...

. In August 1975, the group assaulted the

, trying to burn down the school building. Assassinations of labor and peasants union officials (namely of the Peasants Federation of Thailand), as well as progressive politicians, and grenade attacks on crowds have been attributed to the Red Gaurs. The organization's militants often attacked and injured photojournalists who tried to take pictures of them and their guns. The Red Gaurs interfered in the campaign for the 1976 parliamentary election by harassing candidates and attacking political parties they perceived as "leftist" (in particular the New Force Party). Besides, the Red Gaurs were also employed to guard road construction crews against attacks in areas with communist insurgents.

Membership and support

The ultra-royalist vigilante group focused its activities on

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

. Its membership consisted mainly of discontent young unemployed, vocational school students and high school drop-outs. The majority of their key cadres however, were veterans of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietna ...

or former mercenaries in

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

, and former army soldiers dismissed for disciplinary infractions. The Krathing Daeng militants were well paid, provided with free liquor, taken on drinking sprees, and to brothels paid for with public funds. They were heavily funded and backed by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

government. The US provided at least 250 million baht to help organize the Red Gaurs. Paul M. Handley, the author of ''

The King Never Smiles ''The King Never Smiles'' is an unauthorized biography of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej by Paul M. Handley, a freelance journalist who lived and worked as a foreign correspondent in Thailand. It is published by Yale University Press and was r ...

'', an unofficial biography of King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

, reports that the king also gave support to both the Red Gaurs and the " Village Scouts", another patriotic anti-leftist paramilitary organization.

References

{{reflist 20th century in Thailand Paramilitary organizations based in Thailand Anti-communism in Thailand Far-right politics in Thailand 1973 establishments in Thailand 1970s crimes in Thailand Extrajudicial killings in Thailand Political violence in Thailand Massacres in Thailand Monarchist organizations

Establishment and activities

Membership and support

See also

References