Thai military launches coup against PM

[Karl Marx's Camel]

Thai military launches coup against PM


By GRANT PECK, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago

BANGKOK, Thailand - The Thai military launched a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday night, circling his offices with tanks, seizing control of TV stations and declaring a provisional authority pledging loyalty to the king.

An announcement on Thai television declared that a "Council of Administrative Reform" with King Bhumibol Adulyadej as head of state had seized power in Bangkok and nearby provinces without any resistance.

At least 14 tanks surrounded Government House, Thaksin's office. Thaksin was in New York at the U.N. General Assembly and declared a state of emergency via a government-owned TV station.

A convoy of four tanks rigged with loudspeakers and sirens rolled through a busy commercial district warning people to get off the street for their own safety.

A senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin had used the military to take over power from the prime minister.

Thaksin has faced calls to step down amid allegations of corruption and abuse of power.

Massive rallies earlier this year forced Thaksin to dissolve Parliament and call an election in April, three years ahead of schedule. The poll was boycotted by opposition parties and later annulled by Thailand's top courts, leaving the country without a working legislature.

Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party twice won landslide election victories, in 2001 and 2005 and had been expected to win the next vote on Oct. 15, bolstered by its widespread support in the country's rural areas.

In 1992, demonstrators against a military strongman were gunned down before the king stepped in to end the fighting and usher in a period of stability.

On Monday, Thaksin had said he may step down as leader of the country after upcoming elections, but he will remain at the helm of his party, despite calls for him to give up the post.

On Tuesday night, several hundred soldiers were deployed at government installations and major intersections in the capital of Bangkok, according to an Associated Press reporter.

Army-owned TV channel 5 interrupted regular broadcasts with patriotic music and showed pictures of the king. At least some radio and television stations monitored in Bangkok suspended programming.

The cable television station of the Nation newspaper reported that tanks were parked at the Rachadamnoen Road and royal plaza close to the royal palace and government offices.

"The prime minister with the approval of the cabinet declares serious emergency law in Bangkok from now on" Thaksin said on Channel 9 from New York. He said he was ordering the transfer of the nation's army chief to work in the prime minister's office, effectively suspending him from his military duties.

Thaksin's critics want to jettison his policies promoting privatization, free trade agreements and CEO-style administration.

Opposition to Thaksin gained momentum in January when his family announced it had sold its controlling stake in telecommunications company Shin Corp. to Singapore's state-owned Temasek Holdings for a tax-free $1.9 billion. Critics allege the sale involved insider trading and complain a key national asset is now in foreign hands.

Thaksin also has been accused of stifling the media and mishandling a Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand that flared under his rule.

In Thailand's mostly Muslim south, separatist insurgents have waged a bloody campaign that has left at least 1,700 dead, mostly civilians, since 2004. Citizens there have complained of rights abuses by soldiers and discrimination by the country's Buddhist majority.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_on_re_as/thailand

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Anyone familiar with the situation in Thailand knew this was coming. Infact, I thought it would have happened much earlier, around the time martial law was declared in the Philippines earlier in the year..

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Sorry.. forgot to say, that the timing does actually make sense though since Taksin (which is how it's usually spelled in English language media in Thailand) is in New York for the UN.

Pic of the late-nate coup attached.

[Guerrilla22]

It will be interesting to see what the US government's response to this will be, most likely they won't say too much.

[Tekun]

So, apparently the coup was executed in order to remove the PM and return power to the king?

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Nah.. That was only temporary. It was to oust the PM. The king will now appoint a new PM until elections are held, which will be soon.

[Janus]

I think it was good that the corrupt PM was ousted but I don't agree with the method and the fact that the military leaders organized this.

I'm really interested as to what will happen now and whether the coup leaders will deliver on what they promised rather than just seize power for themselves.

[red_che]

It is most likely that a temporary military junta will be established to replace the existing governement in Thailand. Until things have settled down can the King appoint a new Prime Minister.

I think this is almost similar with what the Philippine rebels planned earlier (last year and early this year) when they moved to oust their President and install a transition council to replace their government. the only difference is that the Thai coup players rallied around their King while the Filipinos would want to install a new form of government.

The Thais were a little faster than the Filipinos this time. The Philippine President is so beholden to her generals that's why she still is in power.

[Esplin]

The PM being removed from power would be good, considering the accusations of corruption. Hopefully the new PM will try to fix the problems the country faces right now. But things may not be as they seem. The King has supposed full control over the situation according to the military, and that is something to be considered, as well as the fact the Military could not be true to their word.

To me!

[Kamraten]

Well since i have lived for a year in thailand, you have to understand how the situation is over there. Millitary coups are nothing new over the recent 60 years i think its been around 19 coups.
The king in Thailand is a god for his people, he is supported 100% by his people, it is unbelievable how loved he is, and how much he has done for his people. Without him the country would fall apart, and nobody would dare to do anyhting without the kings supports. And as you see the millitary have his collors around their arms "Yellow" wich is the color of monday the day the king was born.

The corruption is deep and this coup comes as no surprise, the people have long called for the king to use his right to take controll over the country and end the corruption he has answered that it would be un democratic to do such thing to someone the people have appointed to lead the country. But as he has such deep love for his people he can not stand to see them suffer, and if he is indeed behind this it will be supported by all his people and it will be done in a peacefull way.
Nobody have any power in Thailand without the kings approval = the peoples.

[The Grey Blur]

So you're a monarchist?

[Kamraten]

haha lol no but the thai people are. 100% , if you have not been there you will not understand. He is everything for them.

[The Grey Blur]

if you have not been there you will not understand
Excuse the nazi analogy but I don't need to have experienced Auschwitz to know it was a hellhole (not that I'm calling Thailand a hell-hole). There's a word for that logical fallacy which I can't remember.


100%
100%? I'm sure there is an anti-monarchist movement no matter how small

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Yeah, of course there is. That's like saying 100% of Germans loved Hitler. There are communists in Thailand.. not as many as in the 70s, but there are some. The FPM actually has a few supporters there.

[Kamraten]

ofcourse there are communism, i have met some and i was wrong in saying that 100% are monarchs but they all have deep respect nomather politics for that person.
A person who has devoted his entire life to his people especialy the poor. thats a good person. no mather if he is king or not, without him that people and that country would of been in ruins in the hands of military facism dictatorship. and thats a fact.
I dont supports monarchs across the globe and especialy not my own, but i can not deny what this man have done.
My first thought when i came to thailand was, theese people are brainwashed and ya they probably are a bit, but i still can understand why he is so supported and who am i too judge them. (hes been at the throne for 60 years)
If there is one thing i could critise it would be his wealth but still he is a good man. a light in the dark for a people who have been threw violence and millitary regimes since 1948 until present time. (Thailands political history is quite fascinating)


But back to the topic, like i said if the king is supporting this coup it will be a peacefull one. but i still believe you have to visit the country and speak to its people to fully understand the situation.

[Guerrilla22]

Has there been any new news on the current situation? Does the military indeed have full control of the country? The PM is claiming he's still in power, from New York, of course.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Yeah they are in full control and have been. The only one saying Taksin is in control is Taksin himself.

[Severian]

Originally posted by [email protected] 20 2006, 04:53 AM
The corruption is deep and this coup comes as no surprise, the people have long called for the king to use his right to take controll over the country and end the corruption
Which "people" is that? 'Cause a large majority of the voters keep returning Thaksin to office, despite the opposition of the urban middle class. (Maybe you've taken Brecht's suggestion, and dissolved that people and chosen another one?)

Thaksin's reportedly popular with the "rural poor" because their incomes have risen during his time in office.

And "corruption" is not going to be resolved by a military government. The only answer to bribery, theft of public funds, etc., is accountability to the people and press freedom so the public can be aware of all the workings of government; obviously military government is a step backwards for that.

This should help illustrate that there's nothing inherently progressive about complaining about "corruption" in government; it's a standard complaint of the right, used to mobilize support for a strongman who will supposedly clean everything up.

Musharraf's coup in Pakistan was associated with all the same rhetoric as this one. That rhetoric's proved to be a sham, and it's likely the same will happen in Thailand.

Even if civilian, parliamentary government is restored in relatively short order - it remains a "democracy" whose elected head can be removed whenever the king and army please.

***

It's not entirely clear to me, from reading the bourgeois press, what each of the major organized forces in Thai politics really represents. Probably none is qualitatively better than the others.

But bourgeois democracy, a parliamentary system, definitely provides more space for workers to discuss, organize, and fight than a military regime. That's enough reason to oppose the coup, and the removal of the elected prime minister.

The "international community" has been hypocritically lukewarm on this. While "diappointed" in the coup, and calling for the restoration of (abstract, undefined) democracy - Washington and others have not called for the restoration of the elected prime minister.

[Tekun]

This just in....


Thailand's new leaders have banned all meetings and other activities by political parties, two days after taking power in a military coup.
A statement read on TV said the action was taken to maintain order, but would be reversed when normality returned.

Meanwhile opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva challenged the military with a call for elections in six months.

Coup leader Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin has proposed a year-long transitional period as a constitution is drafted.

People returned to work for the first time on Thursday since PM Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in Tuesday's bloodless takeover.


So until these military leader deem that "normality" has returned, political institutions and activities are banned?
Great, another military regime in power

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Yeah, but I mean that's usually what occurs. There's going to be at least a short period of that until they feel elections can be held without "problems". The main question is whether they will keep delaying it ala Nigeria... but my comrades there tell me they think it's likely that they will indeed transfer power.

[Patchd]

ofcourse there are communism

Of course there are, I'm living proof that there are Thai communists, although my grandparents came over from China to Thailand during the civil war.


A person who has devoted his entire life to his people especialy the poor. thats a good person. no mather if he is king or not,

Crap, devoted his entire life??? To what did you say, the people??? Ha, all he does is attend a few festivals a year and sow some seeds. Then goes back to his grand palace in Hua Hin, Bangkok, or any other palaces he and the royal family own. The very image of a King is oppressive itself.


without him that people and that country would of been in ruins in the hands of military facism dictatorship. and thats a fact.

That is NOT a fact. In fact, the CPT (Communist Party of Thailand) was very strong, having its own "people's army" and a base at Phitsanulok. They had control of a hell of a lot of territory, mainly in the countryside, in Isaan and the south. It was because of the King that the CPT lost its power, the King gave amnesty to any of the CPT members who wanted to come back and live as a civilian, the majority did, only because they were fed up of the ongoing war, otherwise they would have continued the fight and the fate of Thailand may well have been different.

Nationalism in Thailand is disgusting, people worship the King and the royal family blindly and have done so since the creation of the Thai Kingdom. And yes, they worship him, not so much as believing him to be a God. But one of the words for King in Thai is "Phra Jao pan din", which means the God/Buddha of the earth. They hang pictures of him and other notable Kings up in their houses, shops etc. When I last went back to Thailand and I was discussing communism with one of my more liberal aunties and I was talking about how bad the King was, she would hush me up in fear that we were heard, and this was in our own house. My family told me that if you disrepect or criticise the Royal family you could get done for by the police, and when the present King dies, the situation will worsen as his son is much much much worse.
Oh and I grew up in Thailand for about 6 years, go back there every 2 years so I also know the situation.

[Janus]

They have delayed general elections for another year and have placed restrictions on political organizing in the form of protests and political parties as well as censoring the Internet. This looks quite suspicious even though they have stated that a civilian gov. will retake power in a few weeks. Right now, it seems that many Thai do support the coup so we'll have to see how this turns out.

[Cheung Mo]

I support the coup: Early in his career, Chavez attempted the same thing against the corrupt rightist government in Venezuela, and Thaksin -- who is wealthy, powerful, and corrupt enough to make former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi look like an honest street urchin -- is even worse than those bastards were.

[Wanted Man]

Lol, so you support a military coup in the name of "anti-corruption"? Some libertarian. :lol:

[getoutofhere]

the latest news (or at least latest to me) is that the Thai military has banned any form of assembly of at least five people, banned any incoming and outgoing electronic data (i.e. news, etc.), restricted local media/news and banned the use of cellular or mobile gadgets to gather and relay news, and banned live news reports.

the king already acknowledged and recognized the legitimacy of the military junta until the next election is held (when will it be, no one knows exactly but the military authorities say next year.)

is the king loved by the Thai people? I don't know exactly cause i don't live in Thailand, but my guess is that the military backs up the king and the king in return have always relied on the military whenever the political situation in Thailand is "not good" hence, the 19 coups since the king reigned.

[Karl Marx's Camel]

is the king loved by the Thai people?

I hear so, from the mainstream western media.
But what could we expect, in a nation where you can get sentenced for 15 years in prison for criticizing the monarchy...

[Phalanx]

This may be a little late, but here's an example of how the media treats the king:

Bangkok Post (http://www.bangkokpost.com/60yrsthrone/)

[Keyser]

When the military coup took place, the new Thai military junta stated that it would restore power to a civilian government within 14 days of the military coup. They also claimed that the new interim regime would hand back power to a capitalist parliamentary 'democracy' within the space of a year and that new elections would be held then.

Well it now looks like that the Thai military junta's initial statement was just propaganda gloss for their takeover, as the Thai military junta has now stated that their 'interim' prime minister will now be a retired army general, Gen. Surayud Culanont.

It looks like the Thai military junta could opt for the tactic of staying in power for the long run, in the same manner as past Thai military dictatorships and the military dictatorship next door in Myanmar (Burma). The only short lived dictatorship in Thai history was the 1991-1992 military junta, which only left office and gave up power under massive and sustained opposition from the ruling political and economic class and the King of Thailand, as well as huge street protests, political violence and many demonstrators shot dead in the streets of Bangkok. Such was the bloodshed and the threat of social instability that in 1992, the previous Thai military junta gave up power.

However, given the ease at which the new military regime has in running Thailand and given that the current military junta has the support of the King, it looks like the military will be in power for some time (5 years or more I personally reckon).

Here is the newslink on the new military ruler of Thailand, selected by the ruling junta:

Thailand's new military ruler, Gen. Surayud Culanont (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060929/ap_on_re_as/thailand_coup;_ylt=ArTEM0iYCEerS_5MY5w6tvIBxg8F;_y lu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--)

[Patchd]

Originally posted by [email protected] 28 2006, 02:03 PM

is the king loved by the Thai people?

I hear so, from the mainstream western media.
But what could we expect, in a nation where you can get sentenced for 15 years in prison for criticizing the monarchy...
He is by most people. However, they love him blindly, they love him without proper reason to, they love him because the Thai media exaggerates (sp?) his mediocre exploits. And yes, also because of the sentence given to those who criticise the monarchy.
However, this King is almost dead and his son is an arsehole. If he dies soon and the military junta does not keep their promises to restore "democracy", then angry civilians may take up arms once again to fight on the side of the communists and you never know what will happen next.