Tribute to the Thai King: We have lost our father
It is difficult to explain to outsiders what a huge hole last week's death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej has left in the lives of the Thai people, whom he reigned over for the past 70 years as the soul and heart of the nation. He was 88.
October 18, 2016
ASCENDING the throne in June 1946, he rebuilt a weak monarchy into the center of Thai life and identity and became an indispensable referee in the political conflicts that still plague the kingdom.
Even as a constitutional monarch, he was forced to intervene openly in the 1973 student-led uprising against military rule and two subsequent coup attemptsin 1981 and 1992to prevent a potential civil war.
Thailand will now go into a year-long mourning p
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