Narong, last of 1970s tyrannical trio, dies aged 90

Colonel Narong Kittikachorn, who was once denounced as one of the three tyrants in the 1970s, died at Bangkok’s Phramongkutklao Hospital on Tuesday morning. He was 90.

Hospital officials said the colonel was being treated in the intensive care unit.

Narong was born on October 21, 1933, and was the son of Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachorn and son-in-law of Field Marshall Praphas Charusathien.

He played a crucial part in helping both his father and father-in-law Praphas stage a coup against Thanom’s own government on November 17, 1971. The reason for this coup was to allegedly suppress a communist infiltration. Narong was then made secretary-general of a subsequent ruling committee. He was commander of the 2^nd Infantry Battalion of the 11^th Infantry Regiment at the time.

Narong, who was considered Thanom’s heir, was denounced by the student movement and labelled as one of the tyrannical trio.

After the student-led uprising on October 14, 1973, in which 77 activists were killed, overthrew Thanom’s government, the trio fled to the United States and Singapore.

Narong returned later and entered politics, winning twice as an MP for Seri Niyom Party.

It was believed that the late colonel had taken a military helicopter to shoot down student protesters with a machine gun. However, he denied this allegation.

On the 40^th anniversary of the October 14 uprising in 2023, Narong said the student activists had been wrongly talked into causing disturbances by someone.

He claimed his father-in-law had told him to arrest the activists on October 10, 1973, but he refused saying their arrest would lead to trouble. Narong was quoted as saying he felt sorry for the students and did not regard them as enemies.

“I felt sorry that they were being used as political tools,” Narong said in an interview.