Thanks Martyuk for your postings. Great to have sources all in one place.
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Thanks Martyuk for your postings. Great to have sources all in one place.
Can Homintern and geenarse please be removed from this board immediately? Their mental issues can be dealt with at a later date.
Thai military declares Wednesday holiday to announce "new policy"
BANGKOK: -- Coup leaders declared Wednesday a national holiday and called top civil servants and foreign diplomats to a meeting at military headquarters to update the situations.
The coup leaders declared Wednesday "a holiday for government, banks and the stock exchange in order to quickly restore law and order," according to a statement read on national television.
They told top civil servants, leaders of state enterprises, and university presidents around Bangkok to meet at military headquarters at 9am "to learn about the new policy," the statement said.
An informed source said Gen Sonthi Bunyaratglin, coup leader, has ordered to invite foreign diplomats to attend the meeting to update them about the current situations in the country.
--The Nation 2006-09-20
via www.thaivisa.com
can anyone get the nation or bkk post online.?
i can get the front pages very slowly...but not inside.. swamped by visitors?
Yes.
Sonthi will issue statement at 9 am
A spokesman announced on TV pool that Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the head of the Administrative Reform Council will make a statement at 9 am.
The spokesman also asks TV pool to return to normal TV programmes of each station from 8:10 am.
The Nation
No TV here in Jomtien ar 9.21 a.m.
BBC News Latest:
Thailand's military tightens grip.
Thai military leaders are looking to consolidate their hold on power after staging a coup while the prime minister was at the UN General Assembly. Martial law has been declared, and the coup leaders have announced that regional commanders will take charge of areas outside the capital, Bangkok. They have ordered provincial governors and heads of government agencies to report to them in the coming hours.
The country's stock market, banks and schools will be closed on Wednesday.
BBC World, CNN and other international TV news channels have been taken off the air, while Thai stations have broadcast footage of the royal family and patriotic songs.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra cancelled a speech he was due to give at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday evening. It is unclear whether he intends to return home.
The coup leaders insist that power will be returned to the people.
Declaration of loyalty
In Bangkok, Tuesday saw soldiers seize government offices and take up strategic positions around the city.
In a broadcast on all Thai television channels, the leadership of the armed forces said it had taken control of Bangkok, declared nationwide martial law and ordered all troops to return to their bases.
The rebels - who said they were led by Commander-in-Chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin - have visited King Bhumibol Adulyadej and declared loyalty to him. Many of the soldiers on the streets are wearing yellow armbands to signify loyalty to the king. King Bhumibol, who is highly revered by Thais, has made no comment about whether he backs the takeover attempt.
But there has been some negative reaction from abroad. The EU's Finnish presidency expressed "grave concern" at events, and the US called on Thais "to resolve their political differences in a peaceful manner".
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he deeply regretted the fact that the coup had taken place, while New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark urged politicians and military to resolve their differences democratically.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the organisation supported changes of government through democratic means rather than by the barrel of a gun.
'Unease'
Pressure had been growing on the prime minister to resign, including from groups close to King Bhumibol, following a political impasse in which April's general election was declared invalid.
But the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok reports that while many people wanted Mr Thaksin out of office, there will be unease about the way this has happened, and people will be looking to see whether the king has supported the coup. It is the first coup attempt in 15 years in a country where they used to be commonplace. There were 17 of them between 1932 and 1991.
Opposition Senator Mechai Viravaidya welcomed Mr Thaksin's departure, despite doubts about the methods used. "I'm delighted he's gone," he said. "It would have been great if he had resigned voluntarily, but apparently he was too stubborn. But at least it's better than an assassination."
Another opponent of the prime minister, Chirmsak Pinthong, suggested that Mr Thaksin's continuation in power would have been even worse.
"I would say that nothing is worse than what Thaksin has done," he said. "Thaksin has already carried out what I would call a silent coup, because he called the country as a dictatorship by using money in a corrupt way.
"Nothing is worse than the Thaksin regime."
F O Advice
Thailand map
Britons in Bangkok are being warned by the UK Foreign Office to avoid any demonstrations and large crowds, amid an attempted coup.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has declared a state of emergency and tanks have surrounded the government headquarters, Government House.
"Movements around government buildings and in public may be restricted," the Foreign Office is warning Britons.
It says the British Embassy in Bangkok is monitoring the situation closely.
The Foreign Office is also urging Britons in Bangkok - and those planning to travel there - to "monitor all available information on the local situation".
But Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent newspaper, told BBC News that would be "very, very difficult".
"It is the middle of the night there and nobody quite knows what is going on."
People who have relatives and friends in the Thai capital will be understandably concerned
Independent travel editor Simon Calder
British Airways said its service to Bangkok was "operating as normal" and that the last flight of the day to Bangkok had left.
Mr Calder told BBC News that the flights from the UK would arrive in Thailand during the afternoon local time. "Nobody quite knows what the situation will be then," he said.
There were between 10,000 and 30,000 British tourists already in Thailand - about 2,000 of them in Bangkok, he added.
"It must be very tense there, and people who have relatives and friends in the Thai capital will be understandably concerned."
The Association of British Travel Agents' head of corporate affairs Keith Betton told BBC News British flights to Thailand would be diverted to land in neighbouring countries if necessary.
Independent travellers should stay off the streets of Bangkok, he added.
I am confident I will be able to get out when I need to
Engineer Steve Cowls
A spokeswoman for travel agent Thomas Cook told BBC News there was "no apparent threat to tourists" and the main holiday resorts remained unaffected.
But the company would continue to monitor the situation "very very carefully".
Steve Cowls, 46, of Oxford, an engineer working on a Thai naval base 150km (93 miles) south-east of Bangkok told BBC News no one there was even aware of the state of emergency.
"Everyone here is doing normal things - there is no indication that anything is going down."
Mr Cowls, who had been due to fly back to the UK from Bangkok on Thursday, added he was now considering leaving Thailand by travelling overland south to Singapore rather than attempting to enter the capital.
"I will work out what is best for me - but I am confident I will be able to get out when I need to."
Are you in the area? Have you been affected by this story? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.
You can send pictures and video from Thailand to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to +44 7725 100 100.
Sattelite TV is back on but the News channels BBC and CNN are not.
I got a flight to Bangkok on friday 22nd ...... should I go?
9:16 am Sonthi holds a press conference. The first part of his statement is similar to the first statement of the ARC. He says the ARC has to seize power to solve the country's problems caused by the Thaksin admnistration.
Sonthi appears on TV along with the police chief and commanders of other armed forces in the four-minute announcement.
After Sonthi finishes reading the statement, a spokeswoman announces that the TV pool is disbanded and TV stations resume normal programmes.
The nation