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An uncivil state of affairs: Fascism and anti-Catholicism in Thailand, 1940–1944

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2011

Shane Strate
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Abstract

The 1940 Franco-Thai border conflict coincided with the beginning of a four-year campaign to weaken the Catholic Church's position in Thailand. The government closed down schools, confiscated property and imprisoned clergy. Angry mobs looted and burned churches, while the local populace boycotted businesses owned by Catholic Thais. The state-led persecution was part of a broad effort to deal with the legacy of western imperialism in Thailand. Catholicism's strong association with French colonialism, combined with France's decline, made the Church the ideal target for anti-imperialist forces. This overlooked incident provides strong evidence that Phibun Songkhram's strategy was not simply to survive the war, as historians have often claimed. The anti-Catholic campaign, which complicated the country's post-war status, was part of an attempt to re-position the country vis-à-vis the West and provide complete independence for Thailand.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , Volume 42 , Issue 1 , February 2011 , pp. 59 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © The National University of Singapore 2011

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References

1 National Archives of Thailand (NAT) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Bishop Pasotti to the Ministry of the Interior, 24 Aug. 1942.

2 The issue of sources deserves further treatment here. Admittedly, this article relies more heavily on Catholic perspectives than those representing the Thai government. There are a number of reasons for this, the most obvious being that they are more readily available and describe the incidents in richer detail. I have included several eyewitness accounts of Catholics faced with various forms of violence and discrimination, and these voices speak with a power that cannot be equalled by any government memo. Bishop Pasotti's letters of appeal also figure prominently in this narrative. While they technically represent a Catholic perspective, they are part of the government record stored within the files of the Ministry of the Interior.

With regards to the Thai government's perspective, I was able to uncover three main groups of documents. These sources come almost exclusively from the archives of the Ministry of the Interior, since this department had jurisdiction of religious affairs. The first involved the Ministry of the Interior's responses to Pasotti. These letters were usually denials of Pasotti's requests, for example, a refusal to return church property or end the government's ban on Catholic meetings. Although the memos did not explain government policy in sufficient detail, they indirectly confirm Pasotti's accusations that confiscations and meeting bans were in force.

The second group of Interior Ministry documents included correspondence from the provinces. The Ministry's original directives regarding the Catholic Church were not available, but a few letters from provincial governors charged with enforcing that policy are still on file. This correspondence provides important details regarding the Ministry's Anti-Catholic policies, and also indicates that local bureaucrats exerted a great deal of influence over implementation.

The final cache of government memos outlines the reversal of anti-Catholic policies. There are plenty of directives from the Interior Ministry, beginning after July 1944, requesting that local authorities make every effort to restore the pre-war status of the Church.

Thus, despite the fact that Catholic sources appear more visible in the subsequent narrative, every possible effort has been made to consult all available documentation from both sides and provide (to the extent that this is possible) a balanced interpretation of these events.

3 Flood, Thadeus E., ‘The 1940 Franco-Thai conflict and Phibun Songkhram's commitment to Japan’, Journal of Southeast Asian History, 10, 2 (1969): 304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

4 Numnonda, Thamsook, Thailand and the Japanese presence, 1941–1945 (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1977).Google Scholar

5 This fact is confirmed by an interview with former King Prajadhipok, who attested that Thailand's obsession with the lost territories was not a product of Japanese influence, but that it had been a perpetual concern of the Chakri monarchs. NAT ก.ต. 1.2/8. Singapore Free Press interview, 26 Feb. 1941.

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9 Tuck, Patrick, French Catholic missionaries and the politics of imperialism in Vietnam, 1857–1914: A documentary survey (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1987), p. 228.Google Scholar

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12 Ibid., p. 256.

13 Ibid., p. 262.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid., p. 256.

16 Ibid., p. 257.

17 Ibid., p. 263.

18 Ibid., p. 264.

19 Ibid., p. 265.

20 Jules Harmand, French Consul General in Siam, to Charles Le Myre de Villers, governor of Indochina (Bangkok, 4 Mar. 1882). Cited in Tuck, French Catholic missionaries, p. 232.

21 Monseignor Vey, Bishop of Geraza, Vicar Apostolic of Siam, to the Directors of the Société des Missions Etrangères (Bangkok, 27 Sept. 1881). Cited in Tuck, French Catholic missionaries, p. 231.

22 The 250,000 francs was a portion of the indemnity received from Siam following the Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893. Tuck, French Catholic missionaries, p. 239.

23 NAT มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Memo 1331/2485, 17 Sept. 1942.

24 NAT มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Letter from Joseph Forlazini to Pasotti, 8 July 1942.

25 ‘Khana Luead Thai Phanat Nikhom’ [The Thai Blood Party of Phanat Nikhom], 24 Jan. 1941. Phanat Nikhom is now a district of Chon Buri province east of Bangkok. The pamphlet/handbill was distributed in this region, and apparently Catholics kept a copy of this pamphlet as part of their documentation of the anti-Catholic campaign of the 1940s. The handbill encourages Thais to refuse to do any business with Catholics, as Thais in other parts of the country are already doing. A copy of this handbill appears on p. 159 of En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents [Thailand from 1940 to 1945] (unpublished manuscript, Assumption Cathedral Printing Office Library, Bangkok).

26 Ibid.

27 ‘Khana Luead Thai Phrapradaeng’, En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

28 Ibid.

29 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/6. Pasotti to Charoenporn Phana, 26 Oct. 1942.

30 Ibid.

31 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Suk Anchanand to the Ministry of the Interior, 19 July 1942.

32 The official used the phrase, ‘Khonthai doei thaeching’ [Authentic Thai]. NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Ministry of the Interior to the governor of Nakhon Phanom province, 26 Aug. 1942.

33 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Governor of Nakhon Phanom to the Ministry of the Interior, 31 July 1942, p. 82.

34 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Ministry of the Interior to Isan and other governors, 13 Feb. 1941, p. 207.

35 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. ‘Sanoe bladkrasuang’ [Memo to Undersecretary of Ministry of Interior], p. 18.

36 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Letter from Nakhon Phanom provincial office to the Ministry of the Interior, 14 March 1943, p. 55.

37 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.19/10. Pasotti to the Ministry of the Interior, 10 Sept. 1944, p. 7.

38 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Letter from Nakhon Phanom provincial office to the Ministry of the Interior, 14 March 1943, p. 55.

39 Memo 1517/2486. ‘Athibidi Krom Tamruad to phukamkabkan lae phubangkhabkong nai Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, lae Samut Songkhram’ [Memo from Police Department Chief to provincial and district police officials in Kanchanaburi, Rathcaburi, and Samut Songkhram provinces], 5 Oct. 1943, cited in En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

40 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/13. Governor of Nong Khai to the Ministry of the Interior, 23 Feb. 1944.

41 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. ‘Baebkham hai kan nang aw yim’ [The statement of Ms Aw Yim], 2 Jan. 1941, p. 163.

42 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Pasotti to the Ministry of the Interior, 20 July 1942.

43 NAT มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Ministry of the Interior to Isan and other governors, 13 Feb. 1941, p. 207.

44 The Vichy government signed the Tokyo Peace Accord in 1941, granting Thailand four border territories. At the conclusion of the Second World War, the new French government disregarded the treaty and informed Thailand that a state of war would exist between the two governments until the four provinces transferred to Thailand in 1941 were returned to French Indochina.

45 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Pasotti to the Ministry of the Interior, 20 July 1942.

46 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/7. Governor of Nakhon Phanom to the Ministry of the Interior, 4 Sept. 1944, p. 12.

47 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/6. Pasotti to the Ministry of the Interior, 26 Oct. 1942, ‘bai samkhan thi baed’.

48 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Governor of Nakhon Phanom to the Ministry of the Interior, 31 July 1942, p. 75.

49 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/3. Petition from citizens of Tha Rae to the Ministry of the Interior, 25 Aug. 1942.

50 Gostae, Robert, Prawad kanphoeiphrae Khritasasana nai Siam lae Lao [A history of the Catholic Mission in Siam and Laos] (Bangkok: Suemueanchon Catholic Prathedthai, 2006), p. 659.Google Scholar

51 ‘Temoignage de Monsieur klang kham, catechiste du Diocese d'Ubon (Thailand) [The testimony of Mr Klang Kham, a Catechist in the Ubon Diocese]’, En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

52 Ibid.

53 ‘Vexations contre la mission Catholique [Harassment of the Catholic Mission]’, En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents, p. 145.

54 Following the arrest of two priests, soldiers ransacked the church in nearby Lamkhot. Ibid.

55 Gostae, Prawad kanphoeiphrae, p. 659.

56 Ibid., pp. 663–7.

57 Ibid., p. 660.

58 Ibid., p. 663.

59 Archbishop Lawrence Khai to Father Laraque, 1 May 1984, En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

60 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Pasotti to the Ministry of the Interior, 20 July 1942.

61 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/6. Pasotti to Charoenporn, 26 Oct. 1942.

62 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Nai Blang Thatsanapradit to the Ministry of the Interior, 12 June 1942, p. 118.

63 Ibid.

64 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Nai Suphakidwilaekan to the Ministry of the Interior, 2 Aug. 1943, p. 206.

65 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. R.P. Stocker to Monseigneur Drapier, pp. 229–30.

66 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Guido Crolla to Nai Wichit, 29 June 1942, p. 200.

67 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Correspondence from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of the Interior, 20 June 1942, p. 198.

68 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Governor of Sakon Nakhon to the Ministry of the Interior, 23 Oct. 1943, p. 223.

69 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. ‘Bai banthuk’ [Document], 21 July 1942, p. 124.

70 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Guido Crolla to Wichit, 20 June 1942, p. 123.

71 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Thai Ambassador to Italy writing to Thailand's Foreign Affairs Office, 10 Sept. 1942, p. 22. This memo reflects Thai concerns as to the level of independence Japan would grant Thailand once the Axis countries were victorious.

72 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Pasotti to the Ministry of the Interior, 20 July 1942, ‘bai samkhan thi hok’ [Important document #6].

73 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/6. Pasotti to Charoenphorn Phana, 26 Oct. 1942, p. 3.

74 Ibid.

75 Bangkok Times, 20 Oct. 1940.

76 ‘Khamboklaw khong Nai Sanan Diawsiri’ [Testimony of Mr Sanan Diawsiri], En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

77 ‘Khamboklaw khong Nai Thongma Phonprasoedmak’ [Testimony of Mr Thongma Phonprasoedmak], En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

78 Ibid.

79 Ibid. Ka fak is a fungus that destroys mango trees.

80 ‘Khamboklaw khong Nai Sanan Diawsiri’ [Testimony of Mr Sanan Diawsiri], En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

81 ‘Khamboklaw khong Nang Sawnklin Phonprasoedmak’ [Testimony of Ms Sawnklin Phonprasoedmak], En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

82 Ibid.

83 ‘Khamboklaw khong Nai Thongma Phonprasoedmak’ [Testimony of Mr Thongma Phonprasoedmak], En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

84 ‘Khian thi ban Tha Kwian amphoe Phanom Sarakham’ [Recorded at Tha Kwian in Phanom Sarakham district], En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

85 ‘Raingan hedkan thi thuk thamrai’ [A record of events of persecution], En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

86 Ibid.

87 ‘Khamboklaw khong Nai Thongma Phonprasoedmak’ [Testimony of Mr Thongma Phonprasoedmak], En Thailande de 1940 à 1945. Documents.

88 Ibid.

89 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.5/19. Letter from the governor of Chachoengsao to the Ministry of the Interior, 14 Dec. 1944.

90 Phibun's fall marked the ascendancy of Pridi Banamyong as the most powerful figure in Thai politics. Although he was very pro-Western and tried to restore democracy to Thailand, Pridi was no friend of French imperialism, as evidence by his secret support of the Viet Minh. See Christopher E. Goscha, Thailand and the Southeast Asia networks of the Vietnamese revolution, 1885–1954 (Richmond, Surrey: Routledge Curzon, 1999).

91 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/7. Secretary of the Interior Ministry to Pasotti, 22 Aug. 1944, p. 20.

92 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/7. Pasotti to the governor of Loei province, 2 Jan. 1945.

93 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/7. Governor of Nakhon Phanom to district officials and police, 14 Nov. 1944, p. 19.

94 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/9. Nai Roen Trisathan to the governor of Phitsanulok, 16 Sept. 1944.

95 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.4.9/18. Pasotti to the Ministry of the Interior, 10 Dec. 1944.

96 Government communications clearly distinguish between Catholics (Khristang) and Protestants (Khristian). Catholics were also referred to as ‘Roman Catholics’, or ‘those who worship the Catholic religion’. During re-education meetings, local officials sometimes derided Catholicism as a ‘European religion’, or a ‘religion for farangs’. The Thai Blood propaganda went even further, denouncing Catholicism as ‘the religion of our enemies’, meaning the French. The important thing to remember is that Thais understood Christian sects were not all the same.

97 NAT (1) มท. 3.1.2.10/6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of the Interior, 30 Sept. 1942, p. 20.