Surachai Danwattananusorn ( th, สุรชัย ด่านวัฒนานุสรณ์; born 24 December 1942, disappeared 10 December 2018) is a Thai political activist and former

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

. He was the last

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

to be pardoned in Thailand, and after his release he entered mainstream politics, becoming a committee member of the

Thai Rak Thai Party The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; th, พรรคไทยรักไทย, , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawat ...

and founding the Red Siam political movement. Surachai is known for his anti-monarchist views, which have resulted in a past arrest under Thailand's lèse majesté laws. Surachai has been in exile in neighbouring

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

since the Thai military coup of 2014. He disappeared after the murder of two other anti-monarchist activists in December 2018.

Political career

Surachai became well known after 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 ...

, as he was a prominent member of the

Communist Party of Thailand The Communist Party of Thailand ( Abrv: CPT; th, พรรคคอมมิวนิสต์แห่งประเทศไทย, ) was a communist party in Thailand active from 1942 until the 1990s. Initially known as the Communist Party ...

. He was sentenced to death for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

and his participation in a

train robbery Train robbery is a type of robbery, in which the goal is to steal money or other valuables being carried aboard trains. History Train robberies were more common in the past when trains were slower, and often occurred in the American Old West. Tr ...

but received a

royal pardon In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons (informally known as a royal pardon) to convicted persons. The royal preroga ...

in 1988. After his release, Surachai entered mainstream politics, first as a member of the

New Aspiration Party The New Aspiration Party (''Phak Khwam Wang Mai th, พรรคความหวังใหม่'') is a political party in Thailand. The party was established in 1990 by General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh after his retirement as Commander-In-Chie ...

under the leadership of

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 ...

, and later as a

candidate for the House of Representatives. He also ran for the senate seat of Nakhon Si Thammarat, but was never elected to any office. In 2006, Surachai participated in protests to oust the

Council for National Security The Council for National Security ( th, คณะมนตรีความมั่นคงแห่งชาติ; ) or CNS ( th, คมช.), formerly known as the Council for Democratic Reform ( th, คณะปฏิรูปการป ...

junta. Afterwards, he established the Red Siam political movement with Jakrapob Penkair. On 6 August 2007, while on stage at a

United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) ( th, แนวร่วมประชาธิปไตยต่อต้านเผด็จการแห่งชาติ; นปช., alternatively translated as National Demo ...

rally, Surachai allegedly insulted then-Prime Minister

Chuan Leekpai Chuan Leekpai ( th, ชวน หลีกภัย, , ; ; born 28 July 1938) is a Thai politician who is the current President of the National Assembly of Thailand as well as the incumbent Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives. Previou ...

. He was found guilty by a criminal court and was fined 50,000

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...

, but the fine was later reduced by half after Surachai confessed to the crime. Surachai was arrested again on 22 February 2011, this time according to the arrest warrant of the Criminal Court 27/2554, for committing lèse majesté at a speech near

Sanam Luang Sanam Luang ( th, สนามหลวง, ; lit: 'royal turf') is a open field and public square in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand. Sanam Luang is in the Phra Nakhon District, the historic center of Bangkok. ...

. On 28 February 2012, The Criminal Court sentenced him to 7 years and 6 months in prison. However, Surachai received a royal pardon on 3 October 2013.

Personal life

Surachai Danwattananusorn was born Surachai Saedan ( th, สุรชัย แซ่ด่าน; zh, 陳嘉前) on 24 December 1942 in Thaphaya Tumbol, Pak Phanang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. He was the son of Yokyuan and Somchao Saedan. Surachai graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from

Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University or STOU () is the only open university in Thailand. History Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University was officially established by royal charter on 5 September 1978 as Thailand's eleventh state university to ...

. He has married three times, and has three sons and a daughter.

Disappearance

Surachai disappeared from

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

, in December 2018. His spouse last heard from him on 10 December. Thai Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha visited Vientiane on December 13. Two of his aides, Chatchan "Phoo Chana" Boonphawal and Kraidet "Kasalong" Luelert, also in exile in Vientiane, were last seen in Laos on 11 December before they too disappeared. On 26 and 27 December 2018, the bodies of the two aides were discovered floating in the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annuall ...

near

Nakhon Phanom Nakhon Phanom ( th, นครพนม, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northeastern Thailand, capital of Nakhon Phanom Province. The town covers ''tambons'' Nai Mueang and Nong Saeng and parts of ''tambons'' At Samat and Nong Yat, all in ...

. Reports of a third body being found have been denied by Thai authorities. Surachai remains missing. Some in the Thai media see the

forced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

s and murders as a warning to anti-monarchists.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

has documented the disappearance of two other Thai activists in Laos, one in 2016 and another in 2017. The number of "disappeared" Thai activists exiled in Laos may be as high as five since 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danwattananusorn, Surachai 1942 births 2010s missing person cases Living people Missing people Surachai Danwattananusorn Enforced disappearances Surachai Danwattananusorn Surachai Danwattananusorn Political prisoners Surachai Danwattananusorn Surachai Danwattananusorn Surachai Danwattananusorn Surachai Danwattananusorn Surachai Danwattananusorn Surachai Danwattananusorn Surachai Danwattananusorn

Political career

Personal life

Disappearance

See also

References