Black May (1992) - Aftermath

Aftermath

The violence resulted in 52 officially acknowledged deaths, hundreds of injuries, and many disappearances. Over 3,500 people were arrested; hundreds of them were women and children. Many arrested claimed to have been tortured; some were beaten, left to sit in sweltering sunlight, soaked in gasoline and threatened with immolation, and left to go hungry.

A House of Representatives Special Committee and a Fact-Finding Committee led by Sophon Rattanakorn shared the same conclusion: the government of General Suchinda used excessive force to crack down on the rally. Some facts from the investigation, such as names of military officers and military units responsible for rounding up, killing, and torturing of protesters were revealed to the public. It is believed these facts were recorded on the report of the Defense Ministry's Fact Finding Committee led by General Pichit Kullawanit, and is still kept from the Thai public.

The military constitution of 1992 remained in place until 1997, when a replacement was drafted and promulgated.

Chamlong later apologized for his role in the events: "I wanted a peaceful rally," he said. "I can’t deny some responsibility for the damage and loss of life. I feel deeply sorry for those families whose members were killed in the incident, for those people who were injured and their families." Nevertheless, he noted that "we were right in what we have done." He then retired from politics.

Suchinda was later appointed Chairman of Telecom Asia (today known as True), a company which received a concession to install 2 million telephone lines in Bangkok during the Anand government. Anand became Chairman of Saha-Union Group, which had received an Independent Power Producer concession during his government.