ABSTRACT
Since the early 1970s doctors and other health professionals have played an important public role in political activities in Thailand. The medical profession was involved in the political protest movement associated with the events of 1973 and 1976, the community development and primary health care (PHC) movements of the 1970s and 1980s, the events of ‘Black May’ 1992, when the army and police opened fire on demonstrators in Bangkok, and the electoral watchdog group PollWatch and the Confederation for Democracy (CFD), both major organisations working for democratic reform. Doctors associated with the activist movement have attained prominent positions in public life. Among the better-known of these are Dr Prawet Wasi, a Magsaysay Award winner, and editor of the popular Folk Doctor magazine, and Dr Krasae Chanawongse, also a Magsaysay Award winner, an MP for the socialist-oriented Palang Mai (New Force) Party and formerly head of the ASEAN Training Centre for Primary Health Care Development (now the ASEAN Institute for Health Development).
