Thai military stages coup - The Times
Thai military stages coup while Prime Minister is in New York
By Adam Fresco, Ginny McGrath and agencies
Commentary: Richard Lloyd Parry
Thai troubles: timeline
The Thai military launched a coup against its Prime Minister today, circling his offices with tanks, seizing control of television stations and declaring a provisional authority loyal to the King.
Thai television channel 5, which is the army channel, and radio stations, 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.
"The armed forces commander and the national police commander have successfully taken over Bangkok and the surrounding area in order to maintain peace and order.
"There has been no struggle," the announcement said. "We ask for the co-operation of the public and ask your pardon for the inconvenience."
Tanks with loud speakers and sirens have been rolling around central Bangkok telling people to get off the streets. Initial reports said that army commanders loyal to the Prime Minister are holding crisis talks outside of Bangkok.
Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai Prime Minister, who is in New York for a meeting of world leaders, has declared a state of emergency.
But it seems clear that the army commander in chief, Lieutenant General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, has taken power. Military and police involved in the apparent coup claim to have taken control of all six of the kingdomтАЩs public television stations, as well as radio stations, a senior military official said.
An announcement saying that forces loyal to the king had taken control of Bangkok "to maintain law and order" was being repeatedly flashed on all television stations in between images of ThailandтАЩs revered monarch King.
At least ten armoured vehicles were seen in central Bangkok and around 50 soldiers were reported to have arrived at Government House in the Thai capital, ordering police officers to hand over their weapons.
"I declare Bangkok under a severe state of emergency," Mr Thaksin he told the country's Channel 9 TV station. He also said he was transferring the head of the army to work in the Prime MinisterтАЩs office, effectively suspending him from his military duties.
The speaking schedule for the opening of the UN's General Assembly has been altered to give Mr Thaksin a chance to speak to the body this evening.
"The Thai Prime Minister is quite calm," said one of his officials in New York ."He watched President George W. Bush speaking at the UN General Assembly from his hotel room.
"He feels that he is the elected Prime Minister and he would like to safeguard the constitution of the country," said the official.
Mr Thaksin survived an alleged assassination attempt on August 24, when a sophisticated bomb was found in car parked near his house. Five military officers were arrested and charged for the plot but last week one of Mr Thaksin's aides said the conspiracy had not been entirely broken up.
His Government has been under severe pressure since a series of large protests and a flawed election that was boycotted by the main opposition parties earlier this year.
Mr Thaksin, a telecoms billionaire, was accused by opposition groups of corruption after his family sold a ┬г1.14 billion stake in his Shin Corp business empire in January without paying taxes.
The allegation, coupled with ongoing questions over Mr Thaksin's handling of the Islamist rebellion in southern Thailand and his controversial anti-drugs campaign which has killed more than 2,500 people, led to almost daily protests in Bangkok.
Seeking to head off the demonstrations, Mr Thaksin, a former policeman, called snap elections three years early to exhibit his broad support in the rural north and centre of the country, where he is popular for job creation policies and credited with kick-starting the Thai economy. But opposition groups refused to take part, effectively ruining the contest.
Since then Mr Thaksin has refused to resign, hinting that he will try to lead his Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) Party to a third victory in general elections scheduled for November.
Although it is 15 years since the last military coup in Thailand, Bangkok has been uneasy with rumours of an army takeover this summer. Last week motorists called radio stations after tanks were spotted rolling down the streets of the capital.
That proved to be a false alarm, with the army saying it was merely soldiers returning from exercises.
Holidaymakers will continue to be flown into Thailand despite the decision by the countryтАЩs prime minister to declare a state of emergency.
British Airways has confirmed that its daily Heathrow-Bangkok flight will go ahead at 10pm this evening, as will QantasтАЩ 10.15pm and Eva AirsтАЩ 9.30pm flight.
Thai Airways has said that its flight this evening at 9.30 from Heathrow is also going ahead but if anyone wanted to cancel they could change the ticket for the next available flight.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not changed its level of travel advice for Thailand, which means tour operators will go ahead with planned holidays.
Derek Moore, chairman of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, told Times Online: "If the Foreign Office hasnтАЩt changed its advice then we will continue to operate. If the problem escalates into a political crisis we may have to think about changing itineraries, such as rerouting people directly out of Bangkok without a stopover in the city.
"However, in the absence of violence we are not too concerned about what is essentially an internal political situation."
Britons who are intending to travel to Thailand in the coming days have been advised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to monitor the situation before travelling, and once on the ground to avoid large crowds and demonstrations.
The FCO has also confirmed that it will keep its Thailand travel advice webpage updated
Around 350,000 Britons visit Thailand each year, and while the FCO warns of a high threat of terrorism throughout Thailand, most visits are trouble-free.
Caretaker PM tries to fight back - The Nation
Caretaker PM tries to fight back - The Nation
Shortly after receiving news of an attempted coup in Bangkok caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gathered reporters representing the Thai news media to his New York hotel at about 9pm Thai time.
He told them he had been informed of the coup attempt and was about to address the nation via an Internet broadcast on staterun television Channel 9. He would declare a state of emergency.
Meanwhile, in Bangkok soldiers were seen surrounding the Thaicom satellite receiving station at Khae Rai at about 9.30pm. Another group of troops seized control of staterun television staฌtion Channel 11.
Tanks and personnel carriers were observed on Rajdamnoen Avenue and its nearby vicinity surprising onlookers.
Troops were deployed at the Tevet Intersection and at the resiฌdence of Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda for his security.
By press time this morning tanks and military vehicles armed with machine guns were stationed at Government House, the Royal Plaza and government units along Rajdamnoen Avenue.
At Government House, reporters were asked to leave the building and remain outside while Cabinet secretarygeneral Prommin Lertsuridej and Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya rushed in.
As news of the attempted coup spread, senior military commanders met at Armyrun television Channel 5 headquarters. It was suspected they were preparing to announce the coup.
A group of pro-Thaksin officers, meanwhile, reportedly met at the home of Defence Minister Thamarak Isarangura.
At about 10.30pm, a bus loaded with soldiers from the 11th Military Police Battalion arrived at Government House. Their comฌmander spent about five minutes negotiating with the security staff before the troops were allowed inside without any resistance.
Sources said troops participating in the coup were from the 1st and 3rd Army Regions, the Internal Security Operations Command, the Special Warfare Centre and Army units in Nakhon Ratchasima and Prachin Buri provinces and sections of the Navy.
Before announcing his state of emergency Thaksin had decided to return home ahead of schedule and should be back in the country by tomorrow. However, his movements in the event of a successful coup remained uncertain.
Sources said Thamarak and Mass Communication Organisation of Thailand director Mingkwan Saengsuwan, who oversees television Channel 9, were detained by troops following the broadcast of Thaksin's announceฌment.
Soldiers wearing yellow identification cloth on their fatigues above the right breast seized the station.
Signs of Thai coup have been there for months - The Times
Analysis: signs of Thai coup have been there for months
By Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor of The Times
TodayтАЩs military coup in Thailand came as no surprise to the people of Bangkok, who have been anticipating a move against the Government by the army over the past five months of political turmoil.
Even before tanks rolled into the capital and sealed off Government House, the office of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, rumours had surfaced repeatedly that the generals were about to make their move.
With Mr Thaksin abroad attending a long-planned engagement at the summit of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the coup plotters seized their chance to grab power.
At a single stroke ThailandтАЩs outward appearance as a peaceful tourist destination and a growing economic power in Asia was shattered by the rumble of tanks and the sight of heavily armed soldiers patrolling the capitalтАЩs normally bustling streets.
What few outsiders appreciate about the ancient kingdom is that the military remains the most powerful institution in the country. It has repeatedly flexed its muscles, notching up no fewer than 23 coup attempts in the past 74 years.
Tim Forsyth, an expert on Thailand at the London School of Economics who was in Bangkok during the last coup in 1991, said today that it was unlikely that the coup leaders intended to hold on to power but rather to have Mr Thaksin removed and replaced by someone more acceptable.
"Historically Thailand has been ruled by the military, but I would be astounded if they tried to form a military government," he said. "My guess is that they intend to announce new elections."
Clearly the militaryтАЩs patience with the former policeman and millionaire businessman who became the countryтАЩs first populist leader, finally snapped after months of a power struggle between the army and the government.
The political turmoil was compounded by an increasingly bloody anti-insurgency campaign against Muslim militants in the south and growing doubts about the ability of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the revered but aged monarch, to rule his kingdom.
The current crisis was triggered by the aftermath of AprilтАЩs annulled elections, which were widely boycotted by the opposition, and left Mr Thaksin at the head of a caretaker government.
Soon afterwards General Sondhi Boonyaratglin, the army commander-in-chief and suspected main plotter in todayтАЩs coup, announced that the King was unhappy with the political crisis.
The following month Prem Tinsulanonda, a former general turned royal aide, put on his old cavalry uniform and reminded an assembly of military cadets that their duty was to the King and not the Government.
The generals were then suspected of trying to neutralise Mr ThaksinтАЩs supporters within 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.
Later the following month police arrested a junior officer found in a car packed with explosives near Mr ThaksinтАЩs 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," he said ominously.
As recently as last week, motorists in Bangkok was sent into a panic when tanks were seen rolling near the capital. The army insisted that it was simply troops returning from manoeuvres in the countryside.
Today the tanks were once again rolling in Bangkok, this time for real.
Thaksin cancels UN assembly speech after Thai coup - AFP
Thaksin cancels UN assembly speech after Thai coup
United Nations, USA - - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra cancelled plans to make a speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, following the coup attempt in Bangkok, the UN announced.
Agence France Presse
Re: Keep up the good work
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cedric
I am besides myself
In good company then :bounce: