Revolution in Thailand

DURING THE LONG YEARS of the Indochina War, Thailand served as a giant aircraft carrier for the United States military, providing six bases where American bombers refueled before once again bombing Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Thailand was ruled by a rightist military dictatorship--headed by Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn--that used American aid to bulwark their own positions atop Thai society.

Resistance to the Thai military has grown over the past few years. A shadowy revolutionary movement, about which virtually nothing is known, appeared in the northern jungles and began to trouble the generals. The hard-line military rule also fostered unrest among the burgeoning numbers of students in Bangkok, who were educated but not permitted a voice in the affairs of state.

Earlier this month, the students revolted unexpectedly, street-fighting the police and the military into submission and forcing Kittikachorn into exile. King Bhumibel appointed a moderate premier who was acceptable to the students, and Thailand appears to be moving somewhat to the left--away from American domination and toward a more participatory form of government.

The situation in the country is still murky. Whether the recent upheaval presages a true social revolution or is merely a shuffling of elites is still an unanswered question. Most likely, certain sections of the student movement will want to link up with the rural insurgency, but what such an alliance would lead to is unclear. At any rate, the politics in Thailand are open to change for the first time in years, and hopes are rising that the staunchest ally of the United States in Asia may finally assert its independence.