The Nawaphon organization (, alternatively transcribed as ''Navapol'', ''Nawapol'', ''Nawaphol'', translated variously as 'new force', 'ninth force',) or 'nine new forces' was a Thai

extreme right-wing Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

propaganda organization active during the country's short democratic period in the mid-1970s. Nawaphon has been described as a psychological warfare unit. Its mission: to support the Red Gaurs and propagandize the Thai population. Nawaphon was set up by Wattana Keovimol in 1974. Wattana had been the head of the ''Thai Students Association in the United States'', when he studied at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

. Nawaphon was supported by the

Internal Security Operations Command Internal Security Operations Command (; ) or ISOC (; ) is the internal security agency and political arm of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. It was responsible for the suppression of leftist groups from the 1960s to the 1980s. During this period it ...

(ISOC) of the Thai military and the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

. The group was said to have links to wealthy businessmen, politicians, the National Security Council, and Thai military intelligence. Nawaphon rallied merchants, businessmen, and monks who were opposed to social change and democracy, fearing for their wealth. The organization attracted a number of Buddhist monks, the most prominent being Kittiwuttho Bhikkhu, who infamously said that killing communists was not a sin. The movement was opposed to

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...

and campaigned for the three principles of nation, religion, monarchy. Nawaphon attracted considerable support due to the common feeling that these national principles were threatened by left-wing forces. In 1976, the group was thought to have 30,000–50,000 members. Nawaphon played a key role in the anti-leftist agitation that led to the

Thammasat University massacre The 6 October 1976 massacre, also known as the 6 October event ( ) in Thailand, was a violent crackdown by Thai police and lynching by right-wing paramilitaries and bystanders against leftist protesters who had occupied Bangkok's Thammasat Un ...

on 6 October 1976, in which members of the organization were involved. After the coup re-establishing the military rule following the massacre, Nawaphon's popularity diminished due to suspicions that it had become a means of catering to the ambitions of the military clique. An alternative view on Nawaphon's membership has been given by historian Thongchai Winichakul, who pointed out that unlike the Red Gaurs and the Village Scouts, the other right-wing groups involved in the massacre, information on Nawaphon is scarce and much of it seems to derive from boasts made by Wattana. In addition, photos of large gatherings attributed to the group came from mixed crowds, not allowing different right-wing groups to be distinguished. Thongchai therefore suggested that Nawaphon may have been "a phantom organization intended to inflate the image of the right-wing movement" that had no base of its own but took credit for counterinsurgency operations by the ISOC.

References

{{reflist Organizations established in 1974 Propaganda organizations Propaganda in Thailand Political advocacy groups in Thailand Anti-communist organizations Anti-communism in Thailand Thai anti-communists Far-right politics in Thailand 1974 establishments in Thailand Monarchist organizations

See also

References