 | |
| Author | Rayne Kruger |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Crime, Politics, Psychology, History |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Cassell & Co., Ltd. |
Publication date | 1964, Second Edition 2009 |
| Media type | Print Hardcover/Paperback (Second Edition) |
| Pages | 260 p. |
| ISBN | 978-988-97752-5-4 (Paperback, Second Edition) |
The Devil's Discus is an investigation into the death of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) of Siam (later Thailand) by English-South African author Rayne Kruger. [1]
The book comprises four main sections which are each further divided into chapters. The section "Before" serves as an introduction to King Ananda's death, to Siam and to King Ananda's background.
The next section "The Life and Death of Ananda" is ten chapters in length and details the main events of King Ananda's life, from his birth in Heidelberg in 1925 to his death by a single gunshot in mysterious circumstances at Bangkok's Royal Palace on 9 June 1946. This section introduces the main characters surrounding Ananda throughout his life and who subsequently become subjects for investigation following his death.
The third section "The Trial" has eight chapters and summarises the events and arguments of the subsequent regicide trial against three Palace officials, including two appeals the trial lasted more than six years and resulted in the execution of all three defendants in 1955.
The final section "Who Killed Ananda?" is Kruger's own analysis of the evidence surrounding Ananda's death, leading him to the conclusion that the only satisfactory explanation is suicide. He supports this theory with the revelation of a love affair between the young King and a fellow law student in Switzerland, Marylene Ferrari, a relationship which would not have been acceptable to Siam's royalist institutions.
The Devil's Discus was first published in 1964 by Cassell. The Thai government banned the book as soon as it was published and Kruger was banned from further entry to Thailand. [2]
A Thai translation of the book titled Kongchak Pisat (Thai: กงจักรปีศาจ) by Chalit Chaisithiwet (Thai: ร.อ.ชลิต ชัยสิทธิเวช) was produced for submission as evidence in a 1970 defamation lawsuit brought by Pridi Banomyong against MR Kukrit Pramoj and his newspaper Siam Rath. The translator was the elder brother of Pridi's secretary, Vacharachai Chaisithiwet. It was secretly published by two Thammasat students in 1974 and reprinted in 1977, and circulated behind closed doors in Thailand. A local printing house involved with this Thai edition was burnt down. [3] This translation was eventually officially banned in May 2006. [4] In 2016, the Supreme Court of Thailand ruled that selling this book constituted an offence of lèse-majesté under section 112 of the Thai Penal Code and sentenced a 67-year-old man to two-year imprisonment on account thereof. [5]
Through the organisation Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT), [6] the English text was reprinted in November 2009 by DMP Publications, Hong Kong.
In 2011, journalist Andrew MacGregor Marshall published an online article in which he describes the genesis of The Devil's Discus: [7] "Krueger wrote it on the suggestion of Prince Subhasvasti, brother of Prajadhipok’s wife Queen Rambhai..... [Subhasvasti] came to trust and respect Pridi as a result of their wartime cooperation...... He believed – that Pridi did something to do with Ananda’s death. The Devil’s Discus was envisaged as a way of rehabilitating Pridi’s reputation in the hope that he would be able to return from exile and play a leading role in Thai politics once again."
Marshall's view is that an explanation of Ananda's death is by Pridi, hence he goes on to say "Krueger’s book, published in 1964 after extensive research and considerable assistance from Subhasvasti, in his opinion had the purpose of demolishing the case against Pridi. The problem was that an alternative explanation for Ananda’s death had to be provided. And to conclude that Bhumibol was responsible was, of course, totally unacceptable to the royalist establishment – the book was supposed to enable détente between Rama IX and Pridi, not to declare full-scale war. So Krueger had to find a way to discard the likeliest explanation – that Bhumibol shot his brother – and promote the only credible alternative conclusion, suicide."
The Tai ethnic group migrated into mainland Southeast Asia over a period of centuries. The word Siam may have originated from Pali, Sanskrit श्याम, or Mon ရာမည, with likely the same root as Shan and Ahom. Xianluo was the Chinese name for the Ayutthaya Kingdom, merged from Suphannaphum city-state, centered in modern-day Suphan Buri; and Lavo city-state, centered in modern-day Lop Buri. To the Thai, the name of their country has mostly been Mueang Thai.
The Chakri dynasty 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 Rattanakosin Era and the city of Bangkok in 1782; following the end of Taksin Thonburi's reign, when the capital of Siam shifted to Bangkok. The royal house was founded by Rama I, an Ayutthaya military leader of Sino-Mon descent.
Ananda Mahidol was the eighth King of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.
Bhumibol Adulyadej, conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great, was the ninth King of Thailand from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IX. Reigning from 1946 until his death in 2016, he is the third-longest verified reigning sovereign monarch in world history after King Louis XIV and Queen Elizabeth II, reigning for 70 years and 126 days. His reign of over 70 years is the longest reign of any Thai monarch, and the longest native rule of any Asian sovereign.
Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, locally known as Marshal P., and contemporarily known as Phibun (Pibul) in the West, was a Thai military officer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957.
Pridi Banomyong, also known by his noble title Luang Praditmanutham, was a Thai statesman and professor. He led Thailand while serving in multiple ministerial posts, as regent, and as prime minister. He led the civilian wing of Khana Ratsadon, and helped found the University of Moral and Political Sciences and the Bank of Thailand.
The Democrat Party is a Thai political party. The oldest party in Thailand, it was founded as a royalist party; it now upholds a conservative and pro-market position.
The history of Thailand from 1932 to 1973 was dominated by military dictatorships which were in power for much of the period. The main personalities of the period were the dictator Luang Phibunsongkhram, who allied the country with Japan during the Second World War, and the civilian politician Pridi Phanomyong, who founded Thammasat University and was briefly prime minister after the war.
Phraya Phahonphonphayuhasena, born as Phot Phahonyothin, was a Thai military leader and politician. He became the second prime minister of Siam in 1933 after ousting his predecessor in a coup d'état. He retired in 1938 after serving five years as prime minister.
Rangsit Prayurasakdi, Prince of Chai Nat was the Thai Founder of the Public Health Ministry and as Regent of Thailand.
The King Never Smiles is an unauthorized biography of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej by Paul M. Handley, a freelance journalist who lived and worked as a foreign correspondent in Thailand. It is published by Yale University Press and was released in 2006. The book was banned in Thailand before publication, and the Thai authorities have blocked local access to websites advertising the book.
Censorship in Thailand involves the strict control of political news under successive governments, including by harassment and manipulation.
Rambai Barni, formerly Rambai Barni Svastivatana, was Queen of Siam as the wife of King Prajadhipok of Siam.
The Palace Law of Succession, Buddhist Era 2467 (1924) governs succession to the Throne of the Kingdom of Thailand, under the ruling House of Chakri. Succession matters prior to the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 could be contentious, especially during the Ayutthaya period from the 14th to 18th centuries. In 1924, King Vajiravudh attempted to clarify the succession process by laying down the Palace Law of Succession. It was promulgated and came into effect in November 1924 as, in part, an attempt to eliminate the vagueness relating to succession within the Thai monarchical regime and to systematically resolve previous controversies. In 1932, after Siam became a constitutional monarchy, various amendments relating to succession were introduced. The 1997 Constitution of Thailand relied on the law with regards to succession, but the 2006 Interim Constitution made no mention of succession, leaving it to "constitutional practice". The 2007 Constitution again relied on the Palace Law. The preamble of the 2014 interim constitution of Thailand abrogated the 2007 Constitution, with the exception of chapter 2, concerning the monarchy and the succession.
The Boworadet rebellion was a 1933 Thai rebellion led by royalist Prince Boworadet, as a result of the conflicts between the previous royalist regime and the succeeding constitutional regime led by Khana Ratsadon, following the Revolution of 1932. The Boworadet rebellion was eventually defeated by the Siamese Government.
The Siamese revolution of 1932 or Siamese coup d'état of 1932 was a coup d'état by Khana Ratsadon which occurred in Siam on 24 June 1932. It ended Siam's centuries-long absolute monarchy rule under the Chakri dynasty and resulted in a bloodless transition of Siam into a constitutional monarchy, the introduction of democracy and the first constitution, and the creation of the National Assembly. Dissatisfaction caused by the economic crisis, the lack of a competent government, and the rise of Western-educated commoners fueled the revolution.
The coup d'état of 8 November 1947 was a military coup d'état that took place in Thailand on the evening of 8 November 1947, ending in the early morning hours of 9 November. The coup ousted the government of Pridi Banomyong front man, Luang Thamrong, who was replaced by Khuang Aphaiwong, royalist supporter, as Prime Minister of Thailand. The coup was led by military supreme leader, Phibun, and Phin Choonhavan and Kat Katsongkhram, allied with the royalists to regain their political power and Crown Property back from the reforms of the Siamese revolution of 1932. The influence of the People Party ended as Pridi left the country on exile.
Andrew MacGregor Marshall is a Scottish journalist and author, focusing mainly on human rights, conflict, politics and crime, mostly in Asia and the Middle East. A noted critic of the Thai monarchy and government, in June 2011, Marshall resigned from Reuters in controversial circumstances after the news agency refused to publish exclusive stories he was writing on the Thai monarchy. His 2014 book A Kingdom in Crisis was banned in Thailand and a prominent Thai royalist made a formal complaint to police accusing Marshall of several crimes including lèse majesté.
Somsak Jeamteerasakul is a former history lecturer at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University. His academic field is contemporary political history, especially recent Thai history from 1930. He is a critic of Thailand's monarchy and its lèse majesté law. He has lived in self-imposed exile in France since the 2014 Thai coup d'état, following violent attacks and lèse majesté charges.
The year 1946 was the 165th year of the Rattanakosin Kingdom of Thailand. It was the twelfth and last year in the reign of King Ananda Mahidol, the first year in the reign of Bhumibol Adulyadej, and is reckoned as year 2489 in the Buddhist Era.