 |
| Thailand (Kingdom of Thailand) |
State located in the central part of the Indochina Peninsula and the northern part of the Malacca Peninsula. Territory - 514 thousand sq. Km. Population - 46 million (1979); Thais - over 50%, Lao, Chinese, Malays, Khmers, Ting, Meo, etc. The capital is Bangkok (with the suburb of Tonburi - 5 million inhabitants, 1979). The official language is Thai. The state religion is Buddhism. The state of the Thais took shape in the XIII-XIV centuries, reaching its peak in the XVIII century. In the XIX century. Thailand became the object of the expansion of Great Britain, the USA, France, and then other capitalist states, which imposed a number of unequal treaties on the country. In 1932, as a result of a coup d'état, Thailand was declared a constitutional monarchy. In World War II, Thailand sided with Japan. In the post-war period, the influence of the United States has significantly increased in the country. In 1950, the United States entered into an agreement with Thailand on military assistance, economic and technical cooperation. Several US military, air and naval bases were established on its territory. In 1954, Thailand became a member of SEATO, whose headquarters were located in Bangkok until the dissolution of this bloc in 1977. Parts of the Thai armed forces participated in the American aggression in Indochina. In 1966, Thailand joined AZPAC, in 1967 - in ASEAN. In 1957-73. a military government was in power in the country, pursuing a policy of suppressing democratic freedoms. In October 1973, as a result of mass demonstrations by the population and students in Bangkok, the military regime was overthrown. Measures were taken in the country to strengthen its sovereignty and develop relations with all states, all American troops were withdrawn from Thai territory and US military bases were closed. This course of the civil government of the national bourgeoisie met with resistance from the right-wing military circles, which carried out a coup d'état in October 1976. However, the regime of the right forces, which took the path of conducting an anti-democratic policy, did not last long. In October 1977, another military coup took place in the country. The National Political Council, consisting of the military, came to power. The new administration came up with a program to strengthen the regulatory role of the state in the economy, carry out land reform, and fight corruption and unemployment. In 1978, the minimum wage for civil servants and workers in some industries was raised, and some measures were taken to alleviate the situation of the poorest peasantry. At the end of 1978, a new constitution came into force, according to which a number of bourgeois-democratic freedoms were restored, and restrictions on the activities of political parties were weakened. In April 1979, parliamentary elections were held. In foreign policy, the Thai government announced its desire to develop relations with all countries on the basis of the principles of peaceful coexistence, and to develop regional cooperation with the ASEAN member states. Thailand has established diplomatic relations with Vietnam. In March 1979, the first official visit of the Prime Minister of Thailand to the USSR in the history of Soviet-Thai relations (since 1941) took place . At the same time, Thailand maintains close ties with the United States, Japan and other leading capitalist countries. Under pressure from the United States and China, he refused to recognize the People's Republic of Kampuchea and co-authored a resolution at the session of the UN General Assembly (1979) aimed at interfering in the internal affairs of Kampuchea. Gangs of the Cambodian counter-revolution have settled in Thailand. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. The head of state is the king (since 1950 - Bhumibol Adulyadet (Rama IX). The highest legislative body is the National Legislature (301 members), consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Prime Minister - General Prem Tinsulanon (since March 1980). The most influential political parties: the Social Action Party - expresses the interests of large landowners, the feudal-monarchical aristocracy, the big bourgeoisie, the Chat Tai Party - represents the interests of the large local, including the Chinese, bourgeoisie. The Democratic Party - relies on the big and middle national bourgeoisie, wealthy layers of the intelligentsia, part of the middle officer corps of the armed forces. The Freedom and Justice Party unites representatives of the middle business circles, retired officers, and the intelligentsia. The Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) - founded in 1942. Except for a short period in 1946-47, it works underground. Since 1965, he has been conducting an armed anti-government struggle. Thailand is an agricultural country. About 80% of the self-employed population is employed in agriculture. There are reserves of non-ferrous metals, iron ore, antimony, manganese, etc .; in the forests (occupy about 50% of the territory) valuable species of wood (teak, yang) grow. Foreign capital (from Japan, USA, Germany, England) occupies significant positions in the economy. The growth of GNP in 1978 was 8%. Feudal landlord forms of ownership persist in the country - large landowner landownership and small peasant land use. The main agricultural and export crop is rice (area - 7.6 million hectares, harvest in 1979 - about 17 million tons). Thailand is one of the largest producers and exporters of natural rubber (production in 1979 - about 500 thousand tons). Also cultivated are corn, sugar cane (harvest in 1978 - 25 million g), cotton, jute, kenaf, tapioca, etc. Livestock raising and sea fishing are developed. The main industries are mining, textiles, engineering, chemicals and car assembly. The manufacturing industry is represented by enterprises for the production of h.-b. fabrics, jute bags, raw sugar, paper, tobacco products. Small handicraft enterprises that use manual labor are widespread. Length of rail roads - 3855 km, paved roads - 18.5 thousand km. River transport plays an important role in domestic cargo transportation. There are 22 ports in the country, the largest of them is Bangkok (it handles 90% of import and 80% of export cargo); Bangkok is a major international airport. The monetary unit is the baht. 20 baht = 1 dollar (1980). In 1979, Thailand exported 2.17 million tons of rice; It also exports tin, rubber, corn, tapioca, sugar, cement, kenaf and jute, fluorspar, and teak. It imports oil and oil products, machinery and equipment, steel and rolled products, chemical goods. Main trading partners: Japan, USA, Germany. In 1979, there were 1.3 million unemployed in the country.
){kind=link}