A military coup was attempted in Bangkok on March 26 but was suppressed within a few hours almost without bloodshed. The leader of the coup, General Chalard Hiranyasiri, was shot without trial on April 21, and 24 other officers and civilians were sentenced to terms ranging from five years to life imprisonment.
The situation in Bangkok had remained tense since Mr Thanin Kraivichien’a Government was installed by a mititary coup in October 1976 [see page 28103]. The Defence Minister, Admiral Sa-ngad Chaloryu, denied in a broadcast interview on Dec. 26 rumours of conflicts “between the Prime Minister's Advisory Council [i.e. the group of officers who seized power on Oct 6, 1976, and who formed the National Administrative reform Council NARC] and the National Administrative Reform Assembly [the appointed legislature], between the Government and the military, and among the various military groups”. Accusing the (illegal) Communist Party and others ...