[Tlc] T-obituary

[justinm at ucr.edu]

Forwarded from Dr. Charnvit Kasetsiri.
Thanks,
justin


http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/02/16/politics/politics_30095789.php
 
OBITUARY
Supoj Dantrakul - a committed political writer
By Subhatra Bhumiprabhas
Special to The Nation
Published on February 16, 2009


Political writer Supoj Dantrakul, who passed away on Friday due to lymphoma at the age of 86, left behind a great anthology on Thailand's modern political history.

He was widely known for his writings about the 1932 Revolution and the death of His Majesty the King Ananda Mahidol. He tirelessly searched for truths to be told about the revolution led by senior statesman Pridi Banomyong and the People Party in 1932.
Pridi lived in exile until his last breath in 1983 after an allegation of involvement in the death of HM King Ananda Mahidol. Supoj's writings in defending Pridi's reputation appeared to the public long before he first met Pridi in France when the senior statesman was 80.
Supoj's magnum opus is a book titled "Life and Work of Pridi Banomyong", published first in 1971.
"His research for this piece became an important academic base for him to be able to "evacuate, restore and renovate" [the true image of] Pridi," wrote noted historian Charnvit Kasetsiri in the book "80 years of Supoj Dantrakul" published in 2003.
His book "June 9, 2006: [It was 60 years] that the Beloved King left his people" won the Sathirakoses-Nagapradjpa Foundation Award in 1996. 
Supoj was born in a rural family in the Southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat's Pakpanang district. He left school in 1940 before completing secondary school. He later joined the Free Thai Movement to fight against Japan during World War II.
After the war, Supoj started working as a political reporter, getting increasingly involved in politics. As a journalist who wrote against dictatorship, he was arrested twice, including in a well-known case of "Peace Rebellion" and on Communist charges.
When released, Supoj devoted his time to reading, studying and research about history of the 1932 revolution.
Supoj's funeral rite is to be held until tomorrow at Sala 4, Wat Cholpratan Rangsarit in Nonthaburi province. 
______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu