The 1985 Thai military coup attempt known in Thailand as the Retired Officer rebellion, 9 September rebellion and Two siblings rebellion was a military coup attempt against the government of

Prem Tinsulanonda Prem Tinsulanonda ( th, เปรม ติณสูลานนท์, , ; 26 August 1920 – 26 May 2019) was a Thai military officer, politician, and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 3 March 1980 to 4 August 1988, ...

, by former Thai military leaders on 9 September 1985, but a counter-coup by Prem government in the morning led to surrender of the coup forces.

Background

On 1 April 1981, military leaders of Class 7 led by San Jitpathima, deputy commander-in-chief of the army, staged a coup and calling themself 'Revolutional Council', to consolidate power the government of

. Prem went to army base outside of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, 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 estima ...

with

Thai Royal Family The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the ...

, included 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 ...

and setup counter-coup with an assistance from

Arthit Kamlang-ek Arthit Kamlang-ek (31 August 1925 – 19 January 2015; th, อาทิตย์ กำลังเอก, ) was a Thai general. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army from 1982 to 1986 and parallel the Supreme Commander of the R ...

. The influence of Royal Family helped Prem to get support from the second, third and forth regional armies, the

Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy ( Abrv: RTN, ทร.; th, กองทัพเรือไทย, ) is the naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known as ...

, and the

Royal Thai Air Force "Royal Thai Air Force March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 9 April 1937 (Royal Thai Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles ...

. The 21st Infantry Regiment, the Queen guards, secretly entered

on 3 April and arrested coup attempt leaders. The attempt of Arthit made him a prominent player in Thai politics. In 1982, Arthit became commander-in-chief of the army, and in 1983, chief of

Royal Thai Armed Forces The Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF) ( th, กองทัพไทย; ) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Thailand. The nominal head of the Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย; ) is the King of Thailand. The armed forces are ...

, highest position in Thai military, as Arthit had supported Prem since 1970s. Arthit led military Class 5 replaced Class 7 as the most powerful supporter of Prem, however discord between Arthit and Prem started in 1983. Thai military factions were in disharmony involving

Chavalit Yongchaiyudh Chavalit Yongchaiyudh ( th, ชวลิต ยงใจยุทธ, , ; born 15 May 1932), also known as "Big Jiew" (, , ), is a Thai politician and retired army officer. From 1986 to 1990 he was the Commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army ...

of Class 1 and Pichit Kullawanit of Class 2. On 19 March 1983, amid coup rumor, The army forced Prem to dissolve the parliament.

Prelude

Prem reinstated his premier on 18 April 1983, after

Kukrit Pramoj Mom Rajawongse Kukrit Pramoj ( th, คึกฤทธิ์ ปราโมช, , ; 20 April 1911 – 9 October 1995) was a Thai politician, scholar and professor. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand 1973–1974. He was t ...

Social Action Party The Social Action Party ( th, พรรคกิจสังคม, ) was a political party in Thailand. History The Social Action Party was formed by the more liberal members of the Democrat Party in 1974 under the leadership of Kukrit Pram ...

won the 1983 Thai general election. Prem was still backed by Arthit, whom also backed by ''Royal Elephant'' group, included Chavalit, Pichit, and Phiraphon Sanphakphisut of Class 1, Class 2, and Class 17. Class 5 leaders got a promotion in order to nullify Class 7 leaders that acted on the

1981 Thai military rebellion The 1981 Thai military rebellion was a military coup attempt to consolidate power by the government of Prem Tinsulanonda, staged by Thai military leaders of Class 7 on 1 April 1981, but a counter-coup by Prem, Arthit Kamlang-ek, and support by ...

. Amid an internal friction because the relation between Arthit and Prem had been worsen. There had been a race to get the promotion to the chief of forces as Arthit successor. The candidates were Chavalit and Pichit. Under Chavalit lead of Communist insurgency war, the

Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) ( th, สำนักงานตำรวจแห่งชาติ; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excludi ...

arrested former 22

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

members in July 1984, and Sulak Sivaraksa on

lèse-majesté Lèse-majesté () or lese-majesty () is an offence against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from the French, w ...

charge. Chavalit was blamed for the arrest, not following the communist amnesty law, the Order 66/2523. These movements were intend to discredit Chavalit by Pichit and Phiraphon side. On 3 September 1984, King

sanctioned on a military promotion, in which Pichit lost the commander position of 1st Division army, Sunthorn Kongsompong of Class 1 was promoted to commander of

Royal Thai Army Special Warfare Command The Royal Thai Army Special Warfare Command ( th, หน่วยบัญชาการสงครามพิเศษ) also known as Pa Wai Airborne ( th, พลร่มป่าหวาย) is the special forces of the Royal Thai Army. I ...

to hold the balance of power against Pichit, and Class 5 group who close to Chavalit, such as

Suchinda Kraprayoon Suchinda Kraprayoon ( th, สุจินดา คราประยูร, ; born 6 August 1933) is a Thai retired army general and politician. As the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army (1990–1992) he led the 1991 Thai coup d'état ...

was promoted to 1st Division army instead to check against Pichit. On 15 September 1984, the police arrested Manoonkrit Roopkachorn, coup attempted leader, and Bunlasak Phojaroen of Class 7 on charges of attempted assassination of

Queen Sirikit Queen Sirikit ( th, สิริกิติ์; ; ); born ''Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara ( th, สิริกิติ์ กิติยากร; ; 12 August 1932) is the queen mother of Thailand. She was Queen of Thailand as the wif ...

, Prem, and Arthit in 1982. Later with the assist from Phichit and Phiraphon, they were released with the help from Queen Sirikit and Crowd Prince

Vajiralongkorn Vajiralongkorn ( th, วชิราลงกรณ; , ; born 28 July 1952) is the King of Thailand. He is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. In 1972, at the age of 20, he was made crown prince by his father. After his ...

. Prajak Sawangjit of Class 7 condemned the conflict between Prem-Chavalit and Arthit-Pichit, claimed the arrest were staged by Class 5 against Class 7. On 6 November 1984, Arthit made a televised condemnation of Prem government's

currency devaluation In macroeconomics and modern monetary policy, a devaluation is an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange-rate system, in which a monetary authority formally sets a lower exchange rate of the national curren ...

policy. Arthit faction planned a coup but later was subdued by Prem. Before that, Prem showed he got a support from the palace, by spending ten days with

, included King

in a palace in Sakon Nakhon province from 16 to 25 November. Prem announced on 15 April 1985 that Arthit would be extended his position to 1986.

Coup

On 9 September 1985, Class 7 leaders led by Manoonkrit Roopkachorn and Manus Roopkachorn staged a coup and calling themself 'Revolutionary Council'. Manoonkrit and Manus led 500 of 4th cavalry battalion and the ground forces of the

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

to hold strategic locations. They captured chief of the

Royal Thai Air Force "Royal Thai Air Force March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 9 April 1937 (Royal Thai Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles ...

at his home and took custody of three deputy of the

, who came in the headquarter early. Serm Na Nakhorn, a former supreme commander of the

and a former army chief, headed the Revolutionary Council broadcast on TV that they had seized the government. Later

Kriangsak Chamanan Kriangsak Chamanan ( th, เกรียงศักดิ์ ชมะนันทน์, ; 17 December 191723 December 2003) served as prime minister of Thailand from 1977 to 1980. After staging a successful coup, he was asked to become Prime ...

, a former prime minister, and Yot Thephatsadin, a former deputy army chief, joined the group. The reasons of the coup were weak leadership of Prem and a failure of economic policy. The government prepared an anti-coup at 6:00 am, even King

was at a palace in the

southern Thailand Southern Thailand, Southern Siam or Tambralinga is a southernmost cultural region of Thailand, separated from Central Thailand region by the Kra Isthmus. Geography Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula, with an area of around , bounded ...

, Prem was in Indonesia, and Arthit was in Sweden. Thienchai Sirisamphan, a deputy army chief, led the government side, urged the coup forces to surrender through radio station which left unoccupied by the coup forces. Leaders of the coup eventually surrender by negotiating to allow Manoonkrit and Manus fleeing the country.

References

Citations

Sources

* {{History of Thailand (1973–2001)

Rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

Attempted coups in Thailand

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 bo ...