The Red Barrel Memorial, also known as the Thang Daeng Memorial, stands in Lamsin, in Thailand’s southern province of Phatthalung. It commemorates victims of a campaign of state violence in which suspected members of the Communist Party of Thailand and people accused of assisting it were burned in 200-liter red petroleum barrels.
The violence took place between 1971 and 1973, during the suppression of communist activity in areas considered strongholds of the “Red Insurgency.” The operations were believed to have been carried out by the Communist Suppression Operations Command. More than 200 suspected communists were reportedly incinerated near the Lamsin memorial site, while the total recorded across the affected districts and provinces was 3,008.
According to the memorial’s historical account, victims were commonly arrested and interrogated before being rendered unconscious and placed inside the barrels. Some were killed before being burned, while others were burned alive. Officials reportedly started truck engines to mask their screams, and the victims’ ashes were later thrown into a nearby canal.
The barrels contained an iron grille on which the victim was placed. Approximately 20 liters of gasoline were poured over the person, collecting beneath the grille. The method was described as a way to conceal evidence, while allowing the containers to be reused and the fuel’s smell to obscure the odor of death. Some victims were burned after being beaten without an interrogation.
Construction of the memorial was proposed in 1980, after a reconciliation process allowed members of the Communist Party of Thailand to return home. Relatives of those killed requested a merit-making ceremony, leading to the creation of a monument near the site of a former temporary military camp.
A red 200-liter petroleum barrel serves as the memorial’s central symbol. The monument stands on an elevated base bearing victims’ names and includes representations of tools associated with the executions. Its front wall carries a message in Thai stating that the Red Barrel incident should teach the community that extrajudicial violence must no longer occur in Thai society.
The site is also identified as the Red Tank Historical Park. Beyond commemorating the victims, it functions as a historical learning center focused on the struggle for justice, community life and the philosophy of sufficiency economy. Homestays are available through the Sin Phra Thong network group, and the site can be visited without fixed opening hours.
The memorial is reached from Highway 4122, shortly before the Yai River bridge when traveling from Highway 4. Its entrance is marked by a red sign set in brick and topped with Thai flags. The site’s sign carries the message: “friendship begins at Tang Daeng Memorial.”
Sources: Atlas Obscura.