Nawaphon
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The Nawaphon organization ( th, ขบวนการนวพล, alternatively transcribed as ''Navapol'', ''Nawapol'', ''Nawaphol'', translated variously as 'new force', 'ninth force',) or 'nine new forces' was a Thai extreme right-wing, patriotic,
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and
anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
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 The Red Gaurs ( th, กระทิงแดง, ''Krathing Daeng'') were an extreme right-wing paramilitary organization active in Thailand during the 1970s. The Red Gaurs played a key role in the 6 October 1976 massacre of students and activ ...
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 Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...
. Nawaphon was supported by the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) of the Thai military and the Ministry of Interior. 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 parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
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, 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 ...
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 Thongchai Winichakul ( th, ธงชัย วินิจจะกูล; , ; born 1957), is a Thai historian and researcher of Southeast Asian studies. He is professor emeritus of Southeast Asian history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison ...
, who pointed out that unlike the Red Gaurs and the
Village Scouts Village Scouts ( th, ลูกเสือชาวบ้าน, ) is the common name of a right-wing, ultranationalist social movement and paramilitary militia of volunteers from rural Thailand. It is a countrywide organization that the King and ...
, 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.


See also

* Buddhism and violence *
Red Gaurs The Red Gaurs ( th, กระทิงแดง, ''Krathing Daeng'') were an extreme right-wing paramilitary organization active in Thailand during the 1970s. The Red Gaurs played a key role in the 6 October 1976 massacre of students and activ ...
*
Rubbish Collection Organization The Rubbish Collection Organization (RCO; th, องค์กรเก็บขยะแผ่นดิน; ) is a Thai state-sponsored online ultra-royalist vigilante group that has been characterized as fascist. Headed by Rienthong Nanna, an ul ...
*
Village Scouts Village Scouts ( th, ลูกเสือชาวบ้าน, ) is the common name of a right-wing, ultranationalist social movement and paramilitary militia of volunteers from rural Thailand. It is a countrywide organization that the King and ...


References

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