The Will to Remember

A ‘blur’ portrait of Bhumibol Adulyadej, the former king of Thailand and head of the Royal Thai Army. The ‘blur’ portrait raises questions about the role of the king, who avoids smiling to create a calm, respectable self-image akin to the Buddha, in the military coups and state violence that have dominated Thai politics since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.

Archive image of the 6 October 1976 massacre in Bangkok, Thailand. Thongchai Winichakul, the student leader at the time of the massacre, reports that he saw people lying on the ground, not realizing that some of them were dead. He kept repeating the same thing over and over: “Please stop shooting. We have no weapons.”

Student protesters surrender during the 6 October 1976 massacre at Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand.

A protester is surrounded by government forces and bodies, both dead and alive, at Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand. 

Due to the strict control of the military government, the massacre is not mentioned in classrooms or textbooks. The golden scar formed by kinstugi illustrates the resilience to the suppression of knowledge and symbolises the act of transforming hope through trauma.

Protesters kneel in a row in front of government forces at Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand. The photographer tears the images as an imitation of hate and violence and then mends the breaks with gold to emulate hope for the future.

Royalist civilians pull a lifeless body through the grass in Sanam Luang, Bangkok, Thailand. Together with the military, members of royalist civilian groups lynched students, hanged them from trees and burned their bodies.

A battered corpse hangs from a tree as a man swings a folding chair into the body in Bangkok, Thailand. 

On 22 October 2018, the Thai group Rap Against Dictatorship released the song My Country Has…. The video has a scene where a man beats the corpse of a student that has been hanged from a tree. With over 100 million views, this re-enactment introduced the massacre to many more people of the younger generation. 

The bodies of protesters are burned during the 6 October 1976 massacre in Bangkok, Thailand.

A photograph of Wimonwan Rungthongbaisuri, one of the students killed in the 6 October 1976 massacre, in the Chao Phraya River. Many students were forced to retreat to the river and swim across. Some students were shot in the river by police boats, while others drowned.

Razor wire on a tree trunk in Sanam Luang, Bangkok, Thailand. This tree is one of three trees that were used to hang the bodies of protesters during the 6 October 1976 massacre.

On 6 October 2021, survivors, relatives of the deceased and hundreds of youth protesters gathered at Thammasat University for the 45th anniversary of the 6 October 1976 massacre. Containers, railway cars and razor wire were placed around Sanam Luang, the park in front of Thammasat University, where students were lynched and hanged by the military and royalist civilians.

Protesters make a three-finger salute – popularized by the Hunger Games films – in Bangkok, Thailand, on 14 October 2020. In the films, the salute is a sign of resistance against the authoritarian regime, which drew comparisons with Thailand’s military government. Authorities canceled screenings of the films and arrested people making the salute.

Legs of policemen during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand. According to the photographer, the golden scars on the images represent resilience against the suppression of knowledge, and the possibility of a more beautiful future.

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration in Bangkok, Thailand. 

The signs say “There is another way, why not go?” (L) and “Come because the people wish it” (R).

A third-year student at Thammasat University participates in a pro-democracy protest in Bangkok, Thailand. They say: “The younger generation is questioning the present and looking into the past to try and understand what happened. They want to understand what problems, limitations, and structural problems still cause issues today.”

Police sit cross-legged on the ground in order to form a barrier during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand. 

A protest in Bangkok, Thailand. When confronting the police, Thai pro-democracy protesters have adopted the tactic of sitting down to express peace and solidarity.

Protesters sing a song and shine the flashlights of their phones in the direction of police officers during a demonstration in Bangkok, Thailand. 

The flashlights symbolize “shining the light for democracy.” They also fulfill a practical purpose as police cut out public streetlights when there are protests. 

Protesters at the 45th anniversary of the 6 October 1976 massacre in Bangkok, Thailand.

Youth protesters burn mock corpses in the soccer field where students were killed during the 6 October 1976 massacre, on the 45th anniversary of the event at Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand.

A protester makes a three-finger salute - popularized by the Hunger Games films - in Bangkok, Thailand. 

In the films, the salute is a sign of resistance against the authoritarian regime, which drew comparisons with Thailand’s military government. Authorities canceled screenings of the films and arrested people performing the salute. Students in many schools all over the country express their political opinions by performing this salute during the national anthem, which is played by televisions, radios, and loudspeakers across the country daily at 08:00 and 18:00.

Southeast Asia and Oceania,Honorable Mention

Uprising in Myanmar