The Hidden Transcript of Amnesty: The 6 October 1976 Massacre and Coup in Thailand.
There were two, not one, amnesty laws passed in relation to the 6 October 1976 massacre at Thammasat University and coup in Thailand. The first amnesty law, passed on 24 December 1976, legalized the coup and prevented those who created the conditions for the coup and seized power on the evening of 6...
| Published in: | Critical Asian Studies Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 44 - 69 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Mar2015
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=101713515&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 101713515 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 14672715 BF1 jtl: Critical Asian Studies issn: 14672715 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2015 vid: 47 iid: 1 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 101713515 10.1080/14672715.2015.997344 ppf: 44 ppct: 25 formats: tig: atl: The Hidden Transcript of Amnesty: The 6 October 1976 Massacre and Coup in Thailand. aug: au: Haberkorn, Tyrell affil: Department of Political and Social Change, School of International, Political, and Strategic Studies, Australian National University, College of Asia and the Pacific, Acton, ACT, Australia su: Thailand Government policy Amnesty Coup d'état, Thailand, 1976 Massacres Impunity sug: subj: Government policy Thailand Amnesty Coup d'état, Thailand, 1976 Massacres Impunity keyword: 6 October massacre amnesty human right impunity state violence 6 October massacre amnesty human right impunity state violence ab: There were two, not one, amnesty laws passed in relation to the 6 October 1976 massacre at Thammasat University and coup in Thailand. The first amnesty law, passed on 24 December 1976, legalized the coup and prevented those who created the conditions for the coup and seized power on the evening of 6 October from being held to account. The second amnesty law, passed on 16 September 1978, freed eighteen student activists still undergoing criminal prosecution and dismissed the charges against them. Although neither amnesty mentioned the massacre, the urgency of producing and then safeguarding impunity for the state and para-state actors behind the violence at Thammasat was the absent presence in both laws. Combining a close reading of both laws with examination of archival documents about the drafting of the first amnesty law and court and other records related to the second, this article uncovers the hidden transcripts of both amnesty laws as a point of departure for examining questions about impunity, law, and history. First, what are the legal mechanics through which violent actors escape accountability? Second, what are the legal and political functions of amnesty when no crime has been committed? Third and finally, might accountability for past violence be possible, and if so, under what conditions? The answers to these questions illuminate how impunity was produced in the specific case of the 6 October 1976 massacre in Thailand as well as address broader concerns about impunity's role in state formation. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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