Red Barrels Historical Memorial

Near this site, and throughout southern Thailand in the early 1970s, there occurred an extremely horrific series of events which few persons outside of Thailand are aware of, and often falls upon deaf ears within. It was here that suspected members of the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT), were executed by being burnt in 200-liter red petroleum barrels (drums).

In Thailand, the years from 1971 to 1973 were characterized by the violent suppression of the communist movement in areas deemed as strongholds of the “Red Insurgency”. The Lamsin community in the southern province of Phatthalung was one such area. The state actors that implemented the suppressive polices were believed to be the Communist Suppression Operations Command (CSOC).

In Lamsin alone, near the memorial site, over 200 “communist suspects” were incinerated in red petroleum barrels - the total number in all districts and provinces involved was 3008.

The “Red Barrel” incident, as it is referred to as in the acts of state violence in southern Thailand in the early 1970’s, included the incineration of suspected communists or people accused of providing assistance to the CPT. The acts usually began with arrest and interrogation. The victims were then “knocked” unconscious after the interrogation and then incinerated in petroleum barrels that were usually red. Some victims were killed prior to incineration but others woke up while being burnt alive and screamed in agony. To drown out the cries of the victims, the officials started their truck engines. The victims ashes were later thrown into a canal near the site.

The 200-litter petroleum drums had an iron grille divider; the victim would be placed on the grille and about 20 liters of gasoline would be poured over them to collect on the bottom. The barrels were chosen to both conceal the evidence of the crimes and as well because they could be reused; the strong scent of the fuel would cover up the smell of the dead. Some victims were simply burned after being beaten without any form of interrogation.

The Red Barrel Memorial, or Thang Daeng Memorial, was constructed in 1980 after the reconciliation process began when members of the CPT were allowed to return home. The relatives of victims of the Red Barrel killings requested a “merit” making ceremony for the dead and consequently construction of the monument was proposed. The memorial was erected near the location of the burnings in an area where a temporary military camp had been located. The 200-liter red petroleum barrel is set as the symbol of the incinerations; the monument stands on an elevated base with the names of the victims engraved in the base and includes in it an array of the tools used by the state for the executions. The front wall of the memorial states in Thai: The Red Barrel incident should be a lesson to the community that extrajudicial violence should no longer happen in Thai society.

The “Red Tank Historical Park”, as is written in Thai on the red sign on Highway 4122 at the entrance road, is not only a memorial to the burnt victims. It is as well now a historical learning center that portrays the struggle for justice and community life and also serves as a learning center for the philosophy of sufficiency economy. Homestays, arranged by the Sin Phra Thong network group, are available to all. It can be visited at any time, there are no set hours.