Military Coup in Thailand

[Ibby]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14906669/

BANGKOK, Thailand - In the dead of night and without firing a shot, Thailand’s military overthrew popularly elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday amid mounting criticism that he had undermined democracy.

The sudden, well-orchestrated coup — the first in 15 years and a throwback to an unsettled era in Thailand — was likely to spark both enthusiasm and criticism at home and abroad. The military said it would soon return power to a democratic government but did not say when.

Striking when Thaksin was in New York at the U.N. General Assembly, army commander Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin sent tanks and troops into the drizzly, nighttime streets of Bangkok. The military ringed Thaksin’s offices, seized control of television stations and declared a provisional authority loyal to the king.

The coup leaders declared martial law, revoked the constitution and ordered all troops not to leave duty stations without permission from their commanders. The stock exchange was to be closed Wednesday, along with schools, banks and government offices.

Empty streets
Bangkok’s normally bustling streets emptied out early Wednesday, from shopping stalls to red light districts, as Thais and tourists learned of the coup.

Across the capital, Thais who trickled out onto barren streets welcomed the surprise turn of events as a necessary climax to months of demands for Thaksin to resign amid allegations of corruption, electoral skullduggery and a worsening Muslim insurgency. Many people were surprised, but few in Bangkok seemed disappointed.

A few dozen people raced over to the prime minister’s office to take pictures of tanks surrounding the area. “This is exciting. Someone had to do this. It’s the right thing,” said Somboon Sukheviriya, 45, a software developer snapping pictures of the armored vehicles with his cell phone.

U.S. concerns
The U.S. State Department said it was uneasy about the military takeover and hopes political differences can be resolved through democratic principles. “We are monitoring the situation with concern,” a statement said. “We continue to hope that the Thai people will resolve their political differences in accord with democratic principles and the rule of law.”

Australia used stronger language, saying it was concerned to see democracy “destroyed.”

Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Thinawatra waves to a crowd in Havana, Cuba, on Sept. 14. Thaksin was in New York to address the U.N. on Tuesday when a coup broke out in Bangkok.

“We deeply regret the fact that such a coup has taken place; obviously to see democracy destroyed in that way is a matter for grave concern to us,” Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio by telephone from New York.

Thaksin recently alienated a segment of the military by claiming senior officers had tried to assassinate him in a failed bombing attempt. He also attempted to remove officers loyal to Sondhi from key positions.

Sondhi, who is known to be close to Thailand’s revered constitutional monarch, will serve as acting prime minister, army spokesman Col. Akarat Chitroj said. Sondhi, well-regarded within the military, is a Muslim in this Buddhist-dominated nation.

Sondhi, 59, was selected last year to head the army partly because it was felt he could better deal with the Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand, where 1,700 people have been killed since 2004. Recently, Sondhi urged negotiations with the separatists in contrast to Thaksin’s hard-fisted approach. Many analysts have said that with Thaksin in power, peace in the south was unlikely.

Thaksin sets state of emergency
In New York, Thaksin declared a state of emergency in an audio statement via a government-owned TV station in Bangkok — a vain attempt to stave off the coup. He later canceled a scheduled address to the U.N. General Assembly.

A Foreign Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said Thaksin tentatively planned to return to Thailand quickly. The official said he could not comment on the possibility of his being arrested if he returned.

Government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee, who was with Thaksin, said the coup leaders “cannot succeed” and was confident they would fail “because democracy in Thailand has developed to some ... measure of maturity.”

However, Sondhi’s troops appeared to be in full control and clearly enjoyed the support of the monarch.
CONTINUED