HISTORY
Pridi in full colour

By By Pornwara Khongraktee
Special to Daily Xpress
Published on July 4, 2008

A quarter-century after his death, a new museum details Pridi Banomyong's rise, fall and enduring legacy

As you enter the new Pridi Banomyong Museum at Thammasat University, a statue of the former prime minister and senior statesman - widely revered and yet often maligned - stands before artworks representing the five pillars of his ideology.

The five white poles with depictions of social issues and class divisions are separated by gaps that symbolise inequality in Thailand.

"His thoughts and ideology have not been realised," says Siriporn Poncheewin of Rak Luk Edutex, which has established the museum.

The first room is painted black and is dimly lit, reflecting Pridi's difficult childhood as the son of a struggling Chinese rice merchant in Ayutthaya. You progress through the facility viewing artefacts and illustrations from the life of the man called the "father of Thai democracy".

There is a narrow hallway painted blood red. The colour reflects his most painful years, when he stood accused of being involved in the death of King Rama VIII in 1946.

On the walls are drawings featuring barbed wire and the abusive words hurled at Pridi, who was forced into exile. On display is a letter he wrote from China to his wife in Paris, Than Khunying Poonsuk, who died last year. It outlines his difficulties.

Pridi was to be exiled three times and experience five coups in his lifetime. He died in France in 1983 at the age of 82, having been there for 34 years.

About a thousand passport-size photos from the Thammasat archives line another wall. These are the students who were targeted in the military crackdowns at the university in the bleak Octobers of 1973 and 1976.

The museum stresses that Pridi made great contributions to the country, and that his views continue to be relevant in Thai politics.

XTRA

Lessons in statecraft

>> The museum is in the Dome Building at Thammasat, Tha Prachan campus and open Monday to Friday from 10am to 3.30pm.

>> Admission is free.