Coup in Thailand
Coup in Thailand
With Premier at U.N., Thai Military Stages Coup. The moves came while Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was in New York preparing to address the United Nations. He declared a state of emergency on Thai television, but was cut off in midspeech. Later, he canceled his address to the General Assembly.
The coup, led by the army chief, Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, also “terminated” both houses of Parliament, the cabinet and the Constitutional Court.
The events on Tuesday returned Thailand to a time that most experts here thought was finally past, raising questions about the future of Thai democracy and the stability of a country that is a prime tourist destination with strong economic links to the West.
The coup came at the height of a drawn-out political crisis. In April, Mr. Thaksin was forced by huge street protests to step aside despite an overwhelming electoral mandate. In fact, though, he continued to lead the government and to wage political battles against his opponents.
After a long break, demonstrations against the prime minister had been due to resume this week, bringing with them the danger of violent clashes between his supporters and opponents.
Late Tuesday night, General Sondhi was shown on television in an audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a clear indication that the highly revered constitutional monarch endorsed the move.
On a military-controlled television station, a general in civilian clothes said a “council of administrative reform” had seized power in the name of the king.
Speaking for General Sondhi, who has publicly feuded with the prime minister, Gen. Prapas Sakultanak said that the military did not intend to rule the country and that it would “hand power back to the people.” He gave no timetable.
The military has a long history of political involvement, staging 18 coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. The last one, in 1991, installed a military leader who was pushed from power by a popular uprising the next year.
Under heavy rain, tanks and armored personnel carriers took up positions blocking the entrance to the prime minister’s office on Tuesday night. Other tanks arrived at government offices and major intersections. Witnesses reported that roadblocks had been set up on roads leading into the city. The streets were quiet, and even at the prime minister’s office there was little tension. Some bystanders photographed one another standing near the tanks.
Kitichai Songkeattisi, 40, a commercial photographer, said: “The last time was much more intense. People were more afraid.”
Mr. Thaksin is one of the most popular — and unpopular — prime ministers in recent Thai history. Thais’ different viewpoints demonstrate a sharp social divide that he has played on during the crisis.
Mr. Thaksin’s party, Thai Rak Thai, or Thais Love Thais, has won three elections by landslides, in 2001, 2005 and again in April. Because of his broad support among rural voters, he was widely expected to win any new election.
But as he has tightened his grip over much of the political scene, opposition to him has swelled among the elite, mostly in Bangkok. Public indignation rose after his family’s tax-free sale of its $1.9 billion stake in a giant telecommunications company to a Singapore company.
On television, the military spokesman, General Prapas, accused Mr. Thaksin of corruption and constant interference with the legislature and the courts. He apologized to the public for any inconvenience caused by the coup.
In an effort to end the demonstrations and reassert control, Mr. Thaksin called an early election in April, which he won in a landslide. But the opposition boycotted the vote and a court annulled the result, in a severe setback for the prime minister.
An election commission loyal to Mr. Thaksin set a new vote for Oct. 15, but its members were removed and jailed by a court for malfeasance. A new commission has said that election would be delayed.
The televised announcement on Tuesday was made after reports of large-scale military movements around the capital. The military has been sharply divided between officers loyal to the prime minister — some of them his relatives — and others who oppose him.
There has been tension over an impending military shuffle that would determine which faction would dominate.
Interviewed in New York by CNN soon after early reports of a coup, Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said, “We hope that the situation should return to normal soon because the prime minister is constitutionally and legally elected prime minister and this is an elected government, so we have to do everything we can to uphold the principle of democracy.”
General Prapas, speaking in Thailand, laid out the rationale for the military’s move.
“The government’s performance destroyed harmony in society,” he said. “Everyone tried to win over each other, and the situation continued to worsen. Most people don’t trust the government because there are many signs of corruption.”
He said the prime minister had hobbled independent bodies created by the 1997 Constitution to provide checks and balances. A leading demand of the prime minister’s opponents is the writing of a new constitution that would temper executive power.
General Prapas said many attempts had been made at compromise but had failed. “That is why we, the Party for the Reform of Governance under the Constitutional Democracy, which consists of the army commanders and national police commander, have to seize power.”
He added: “We would like to insist that we have no intention of governing the country. We will return the power of constitutional monarchy back to Thai people as soon as possible to maintain peace and stability.”
Coup leaders promise swift return of power to people
Thailand has a long tradition of military coups, suffering 23 attempted seizures in just 74 years.
THE coup came as no surprise to the people of Bangkok, who have been expecting the army to move against the Government for five months.
Even before tanks rolled into Bangkok and sealed off Government House and the office of Thaksin Shinawatra, the Prime Minister, rumours had surfaced that the generals were planning something.
With Mr Thaksin abroad attending the summit of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the plotters seized their chance to grab power.
The military’s patience with Mr Thaksin, the former policeman and millionaire businessman who became the country’s first populist leader, snapped after months of a power struggle between the army and the Government.
The political turmoil had also been compounded by an increasingly bloody campaign against Muslim militants in the south and growing doubts about the ability of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand’s revered but aged monarch, to rule his kingdom.
The crisis began after the general election in April, which opposition parties widely boycotted, was annulled. Mr Thaksin was left at the head of a caretaker government, a situation the army soon took issue with.
General Sondhi Boonyaratglin, the army commander-in-chief and suspected main plotter in the coup, announced that the King was unhappy with the political crisis. The next month a former general turned royal aide, Prem Tinsulanonda, put on his old cavalry uniform and reminded an assembly of cadets that their duty was to the King and not the Government.
The generals were then suspected of trying to neutralise Mr Thaksin’s supporters in the armed forces, when more than 100 middle-ranking officers allied to the Prime Minister were removed from key posts in the capital in July.
Last month police arrested a junior officer found in a car packed with explosives near Mr Thaksin’s home. The Prime Minister responded by sacking General Pallop Pinmanee, the deputy chief of the powerful Internal Security Operations Command.
The general remained defiant: “If I had wanted to kill him, the Prime Minister would not have escaped.”
As recently as last week, motorists in Bangkok were sent into a panic when tanks were seen rolling near the capital. The army insisted that this was simply troops returning from manoeuvres in the countryside.
The tanks were once again rolling in Bangkok yesterday, this time for real.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin arrives in London
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, overthrown in a military coup late Tuesday, arrived at London's Gatwick airport on a chartered Thai Airlines flight from New York on Wednesday.
The deposed premier and his entourage disembarked the plane -- which, according to airport officials, touched down at 5:35 p.m. -- and were hastily driven away in a small cavalcade of blacked-out vehicles without any word to the assembled media representatives.
Earlier in the day, a spokesperson from Britain's Foreign Office confirmed the expected arrival of Thaksin in the capital for a ''private visit,'' adding he had not requested to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair or any other government ministers and no further details of his trip were available.
''It is not for us to give out details, but he is free to come here on a personal basis. He often comes here as he has relatives in the U.K.,'' the spokesperson told Kyodo News.
Thaksin forewent a speech he was to give to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday following announcement of the coup, and later departed for London where he owns a residence.
It is believed Thaksin was accompanied by other government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, when he left the United States.
Members of his family are thought to have already fled to London where one of his daughters is a student.
Thaksin declared Thailand to be in a state of emergency Tuesday after army commander-in-chief Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin assumed power in a move to ''unite the country'' following an annulled general election and months of protests and growing tension.
Latest information was coming from a television address by Sonthi in Thailand that Thaksin was welcome to return to his homeland, but he may face arrest and criminal charges should he choose to do so.
It is not known what Thaksin's immediate plans are or how long he intends to remain in London after his arrival.
A spokesperson at the Royal Thai Embassy in London told Kyodo News they had not received any information and were as yet unaware of the premier's movements.
The general leading the coup also announced plans to appoint a new civilian prime minister and withdraw military control within two weeks, with a view to drafting a new constitution and holding fresh general elections in a year.
''There are armed soldiers down our road and all our international news channels have been cut...there is limited mobile phone coverage and all the Thai TV channels are full of propaganda,'' Cerys Vaughan, a Briton teaching at an international school in Bangkok, told Kyodo News.
''Today we have the day off, who knows about tomorrow?'' she added, revealing there had been warnings issued to foreign nationals in particular advising against leaving their houses and that the streets of the Thai capital were remarkably quiet.
Malaysia, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi expressed shock over the ouster of his Thai counterpart, Thaksin Shinawatra, in a military coup yesterday, saying "that was not the proper way to change a government".
Abdullah said he had not had the chance to meet Thaksin, who was also here to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
He said as a democratic country, any change of government should appropriately be made through an election process.
Thaksin was scheduled to address the General Assembly but reports said he had left New York for London.
He was ousted in a bloodless coup by the Thai military and police forces on Tuesday.
Abdullah said he was made to understand that the parties who seized power in Thailand had promised to return the nation to democracy as soon as possible.
"I hope this would be done quickly," he said.
There was no official travel warnings issued by the Malaysian government on Thailand as yet, although Abdullah said Kuala Lumpur was monitoring the situation closely since Thaksin had earlier declared a state of emergency and fired the Thai army chief.
"Should there be any curfews imposed in Thailand, I think it would be best to avoid travelling there for now. We have to wait and see."
A Thai Rak Thai Party member, speaking to Thai Cabinet members in New York, earlier said the prime minister had not given up power and that he was not seeking asylum.
Malaysia has right formula, says Clinton
FORMER US President Bill Clinton and a group of community and non-governmental organisation leaders in New York view Malaysia as a successful model in managing a society of diverse culture, race and religion.
The group met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday in a meeting focused on seeking ways to narrow the gap between the West and Islam. Abdullah is in New York to attend the United Nations general assembly.
Speaking to reporters later, Abdullah said he related Malaysia’s experience in managing a multi-racial and multi-religious society to the group.
"I told them that in Malaysia, there is even the Sedition Act which prevents all actions that can incite racial and religious hatred among the population and of the various activities the government promotes to foster closer relations between the different races," he said.
"They see Malaysia as a successful nation in that aspect and feel that the country’s experience has to be studied and applied elsewhere."
In his meeting with the Asean- US Council later, Abdullah said the American businessmen expressed their commitment to continue investing in Malaysia. "They appreciated our recent move to lower the corporate tax," he said.
Malaysia announced that it will reduce corporate tax by one per cent next year and another one per cent in 2008.
Commenting on the speech by US President George W. Bush to the general assembly on Tuesday, Abdullah said what Bush said was in line with the US’ stance towards many of the present global issues.
Bush’s speech, however, was not as confrontational as earlier expected. While defending America’s policies, particularly in West Asia, Bush offered Iran an olive branch, saying the US was ready to return to the negotiating table if Teheran abandons its nuclear programme.
The President also criticised the UN’s inaction in solving the security and humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
Thailand Coup BANGKOK Thaksin Shinawatra King Bhumibol Adulyadej General Sondhi
With Premier at U.N., Thai Military Stages Coup. The moves came while Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was in New York preparing to address the United Nations. He declared a state of emergency on Thai television, but was cut off in midspeech. Later, he canceled his address to the General Assembly.
The coup, led by the army chief, Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, also “terminated” both houses of Parliament, the cabinet and the Constitutional Court.
The events on Tuesday returned Thailand to a time that most experts here thought was finally past, raising questions about the future of Thai democracy and the stability of a country that is a prime tourist destination with strong economic links to the West.
The coup came at the height of a drawn-out political crisis. In April, Mr. Thaksin was forced by huge street protests to step aside despite an overwhelming electoral mandate. In fact, though, he continued to lead the government and to wage political battles against his opponents.
After a long break, demonstrations against the prime minister had been due to resume this week, bringing with them the danger of violent clashes between his supporters and opponents.
Late Tuesday night, General Sondhi was shown on television in an audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a clear indication that the highly revered constitutional monarch endorsed the move.
On a military-controlled television station, a general in civilian clothes said a “council of administrative reform” had seized power in the name of the king.
Speaking for General Sondhi, who has publicly feuded with the prime minister, Gen. Prapas Sakultanak said that the military did not intend to rule the country and that it would “hand power back to the people.” He gave no timetable.
The military has a long history of political involvement, staging 18 coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. The last one, in 1991, installed a military leader who was pushed from power by a popular uprising the next year.
Under heavy rain, tanks and armored personnel carriers took up positions blocking the entrance to the prime minister’s office on Tuesday night. Other tanks arrived at government offices and major intersections. Witnesses reported that roadblocks had been set up on roads leading into the city. The streets were quiet, and even at the prime minister’s office there was little tension. Some bystanders photographed one another standing near the tanks.
Kitichai Songkeattisi, 40, a commercial photographer, said: “The last time was much more intense. People were more afraid.”
Mr. Thaksin is one of the most popular — and unpopular — prime ministers in recent Thai history. Thais’ different viewpoints demonstrate a sharp social divide that he has played on during the crisis.
Mr. Thaksin’s party, Thai Rak Thai, or Thais Love Thais, has won three elections by landslides, in 2001, 2005 and again in April. Because of his broad support among rural voters, he was widely expected to win any new election.
But as he has tightened his grip over much of the political scene, opposition to him has swelled among the elite, mostly in Bangkok. Public indignation rose after his family’s tax-free sale of its $1.9 billion stake in a giant telecommunications company to a Singapore company.
On television, the military spokesman, General Prapas, accused Mr. Thaksin of corruption and constant interference with the legislature and the courts. He apologized to the public for any inconvenience caused by the coup.
In an effort to end the demonstrations and reassert control, Mr. Thaksin called an early election in April, which he won in a landslide. But the opposition boycotted the vote and a court annulled the result, in a severe setback for the prime minister.
An election commission loyal to Mr. Thaksin set a new vote for Oct. 15, but its members were removed and jailed by a court for malfeasance. A new commission has said that election would be delayed.
The televised announcement on Tuesday was made after reports of large-scale military movements around the capital. The military has been sharply divided between officers loyal to the prime minister — some of them his relatives — and others who oppose him.
There has been tension over an impending military shuffle that would determine which faction would dominate.
Interviewed in New York by CNN soon after early reports of a coup, Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said, “We hope that the situation should return to normal soon because the prime minister is constitutionally and legally elected prime minister and this is an elected government, so we have to do everything we can to uphold the principle of democracy.”
General Prapas, speaking in Thailand, laid out the rationale for the military’s move.
“The government’s performance destroyed harmony in society,” he said. “Everyone tried to win over each other, and the situation continued to worsen. Most people don’t trust the government because there are many signs of corruption.”
He said the prime minister had hobbled independent bodies created by the 1997 Constitution to provide checks and balances. A leading demand of the prime minister’s opponents is the writing of a new constitution that would temper executive power.
General Prapas said many attempts had been made at compromise but had failed. “That is why we, the Party for the Reform of Governance under the Constitutional Democracy, which consists of the army commanders and national police commander, have to seize power.”
He added: “We would like to insist that we have no intention of governing the country. We will return the power of constitutional monarchy back to Thai people as soon as possible to maintain peace and stability.”
Coup leaders promise swift return of power to people
Thailand has a long tradition of military coups, suffering 23 attempted seizures in just 74 years.
THE coup came as no surprise to the people of Bangkok, who have been expecting the army to move against the Government for five months.
Even before tanks rolled into Bangkok and sealed off Government House and the office of Thaksin Shinawatra, the Prime Minister, rumours had surfaced that the generals were planning something.
With Mr Thaksin abroad attending the summit of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the plotters seized their chance to grab power.
The military’s patience with Mr Thaksin, the former policeman and millionaire businessman who became the country’s first populist leader, snapped after months of a power struggle between the army and the Government.
The political turmoil had also been compounded by an increasingly bloody campaign against Muslim militants in the south and growing doubts about the ability of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand’s revered but aged monarch, to rule his kingdom.
The crisis began after the general election in April, which opposition parties widely boycotted, was annulled. Mr Thaksin was left at the head of a caretaker government, a situation the army soon took issue with.
General Sondhi Boonyaratglin, the army commander-in-chief and suspected main plotter in the coup, announced that the King was unhappy with the political crisis. The next month a former general turned royal aide, Prem Tinsulanonda, put on his old cavalry uniform and reminded an assembly of cadets that their duty was to the King and not the Government.
The generals were then suspected of trying to neutralise Mr Thaksin’s supporters in the armed forces, when more than 100 middle-ranking officers allied to the Prime Minister were removed from key posts in the capital in July.
Last month police arrested a junior officer found in a car packed with explosives near Mr Thaksin’s home. The Prime Minister responded by sacking General Pallop Pinmanee, the deputy chief of the powerful Internal Security Operations Command.
The general remained defiant: “If I had wanted to kill him, the Prime Minister would not have escaped.”
As recently as last week, motorists in Bangkok were sent into a panic when tanks were seen rolling near the capital. The army insisted that this was simply troops returning from manoeuvres in the countryside.
The tanks were once again rolling in Bangkok yesterday, this time for real.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin arrives in London
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, overthrown in a military coup late Tuesday, arrived at London's Gatwick airport on a chartered Thai Airlines flight from New York on Wednesday.
The deposed premier and his entourage disembarked the plane -- which, according to airport officials, touched down at 5:35 p.m. -- and were hastily driven away in a small cavalcade of blacked-out vehicles without any word to the assembled media representatives.
Earlier in the day, a spokesperson from Britain's Foreign Office confirmed the expected arrival of Thaksin in the capital for a ''private visit,'' adding he had not requested to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair or any other government ministers and no further details of his trip were available.
''It is not for us to give out details, but he is free to come here on a personal basis. He often comes here as he has relatives in the U.K.,'' the spokesperson told Kyodo News.
Thaksin forewent a speech he was to give to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday following announcement of the coup, and later departed for London where he owns a residence.
It is believed Thaksin was accompanied by other government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, when he left the United States.
Members of his family are thought to have already fled to London where one of his daughters is a student.
Thaksin declared Thailand to be in a state of emergency Tuesday after army commander-in-chief Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin assumed power in a move to ''unite the country'' following an annulled general election and months of protests and growing tension.
Latest information was coming from a television address by Sonthi in Thailand that Thaksin was welcome to return to his homeland, but he may face arrest and criminal charges should he choose to do so.
It is not known what Thaksin's immediate plans are or how long he intends to remain in London after his arrival.
A spokesperson at the Royal Thai Embassy in London told Kyodo News they had not received any information and were as yet unaware of the premier's movements.
The general leading the coup also announced plans to appoint a new civilian prime minister and withdraw military control within two weeks, with a view to drafting a new constitution and holding fresh general elections in a year.
''There are armed soldiers down our road and all our international news channels have been cut...there is limited mobile phone coverage and all the Thai TV channels are full of propaganda,'' Cerys Vaughan, a Briton teaching at an international school in Bangkok, told Kyodo News.
''Today we have the day off, who knows about tomorrow?'' she added, revealing there had been warnings issued to foreign nationals in particular advising against leaving their houses and that the streets of the Thai capital were remarkably quiet.
Malaysia, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi expressed shock over the ouster of his Thai counterpart, Thaksin Shinawatra, in a military coup yesterday, saying "that was not the proper way to change a government".
Abdullah said he had not had the chance to meet Thaksin, who was also here to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
He said as a democratic country, any change of government should appropriately be made through an election process.
Thaksin was scheduled to address the General Assembly but reports said he had left New York for London.
He was ousted in a bloodless coup by the Thai military and police forces on Tuesday.
Abdullah said he was made to understand that the parties who seized power in Thailand had promised to return the nation to democracy as soon as possible.
"I hope this would be done quickly," he said.
There was no official travel warnings issued by the Malaysian government on Thailand as yet, although Abdullah said Kuala Lumpur was monitoring the situation closely since Thaksin had earlier declared a state of emergency and fired the Thai army chief.
"Should there be any curfews imposed in Thailand, I think it would be best to avoid travelling there for now. We have to wait and see."
A Thai Rak Thai Party member, speaking to Thai Cabinet members in New York, earlier said the prime minister had not given up power and that he was not seeking asylum.
**********
Malaysia has right formula, says Clinton
FORMER US President Bill Clinton and a group of community and non-governmental organisation leaders in New York view Malaysia as a successful model in managing a society of diverse culture, race and religion.
The group met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday in a meeting focused on seeking ways to narrow the gap between the West and Islam. Abdullah is in New York to attend the United Nations general assembly.
Speaking to reporters later, Abdullah said he related Malaysia’s experience in managing a multi-racial and multi-religious society to the group.
"I told them that in Malaysia, there is even the Sedition Act which prevents all actions that can incite racial and religious hatred among the population and of the various activities the government promotes to foster closer relations between the different races," he said.
"They see Malaysia as a successful nation in that aspect and feel that the country’s experience has to be studied and applied elsewhere."
In his meeting with the Asean- US Council later, Abdullah said the American businessmen expressed their commitment to continue investing in Malaysia. "They appreciated our recent move to lower the corporate tax," he said.
Malaysia announced that it will reduce corporate tax by one per cent next year and another one per cent in 2008.
Commenting on the speech by US President George W. Bush to the general assembly on Tuesday, Abdullah said what Bush said was in line with the US’ stance towards many of the present global issues.
Bush’s speech, however, was not as confrontational as earlier expected. While defending America’s policies, particularly in West Asia, Bush offered Iran an olive branch, saying the US was ready to return to the negotiating table if Teheran abandons its nuclear programme.
The President also criticised the UN’s inaction in solving the security and humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
Thailand Coup BANGKOK Thaksin Shinawatra King Bhumibol Adulyadej General Sondhi
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