Democracy Monument
The Democracy Monument, in Thai “Anusawari Prachathipatai,” is the national symbol of Thai democracy. It was established by Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram in 1939, seven years after the conversion of the Thai government system from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. The monument commemorates the 1932 Siamese Revolution that took place on 24 June in the year 2475 in the Buddhist Era. To celebrate this momentous day, seventy-five giant canons were placed around the monument and interconnected by a chain that runs in a circle with a radius of 24 meters. A figure representing the manuscript of the Thai Constitution of 1932 sits atop on double-tiered trays with pedestals. The monument has been a venue of several great political movements in Thailand, including the 14 October Uprising in which a massacre was carried out against the students and citizens who protested against the military government. The Democracy Monument also marks as Kilometer Zero of Bangkok and Thailand.
