BBC: Eyewitnesses: Bangkok turmoil

Eyewitnesses: Bangkok turmoil
Witnesses to events in the Thai capital tell the BBC News website what they have seen.


SANAPATH, BANGKOK

The situation is very unclear at the moment and Thai people like myself cannot receive any information from the media apart from the occasional pre-recorded messages that more or less suggested that everything is under control... I think everyone is wondering now why the state of emergency was called in the first place. It is fair to say that as Thai citizens we should be the first people to hear about this, not the people who attend the UN Assembly.



ROBERTUS, BANGKOK

I was on my way to the airport from Hua Lampong Station, thereby passing through Government House. At least five tanks have blocked the roads but everything seems to be calm, restaurants are closed down and armed soldiers are patrolling on motorcycles.



NARUSS MAHAKKAPOND, BANGKOK

I was holding a meeting in downtown Bangkok and the meeting was interrupted and everyone was out of the building immediately. There are also troops of fully armed soldiers and tanks around Bangkok, including Chinatown. Now I am at my girlfriend's place. My place is next to the king's palace.



RUSSELL MILES, BANGKOK

I took a taxi to Government House, or as near to it as we could. Troops and guys dressed in Swat-style gear are strolling around. There is a tense but fairly controlled atmosphere. Tanks are lined up blocking the streets, I saw a group of blokes bundling a cameraman and another chap into a van. We are taking photos, but not out in the open.



BILL HANSON, BANGKOK

As I emerged from the subway at Rama 4 and Sathorn I heard sirens and then saw a convoy of military vehicles head on to Sathorn Road with sirens blaring and buses of troops with guns at their sides. Haven't see this for many years here.



JOE P. THAWILVEJJAKUL, BANGKOK

We are seeing a large manoeuvres of armed vehicles near Government House area. This is definitely for real!

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Are we going to cut and paste every single article of the hundreds that are certain to come out over the next hours or days? Or we all going to read the news for ourselves? I think we can all navigate successfully to CNN, BBC, etc.

'Coup' sparks Thailand emergency

Tanks took up positions outside Government House
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has declared a state of emergency in Bangkok amid reports of a coup attempt.
Soldiers have entered Government House and tanks have moved into position around the building.

Mr Thaksin, who is at the UN in New York, said he had removed the chief of the army.

National television announced that forces had taken control of Bangkok "to maintain law and order", and that they were declaring loyalty to the king.

However, the BBC's Kate McGeown in Bangkok says King Bhumibol is held in high esteem by all Thais, and the declaration of loyalty does not necessarily imply that he backs the takeover attempt.



An army-owned TV station is showing images of the royal family and songs linked in the past with military coups.

The announcement said the troops belonged to the "Council of Political Reform".

BBC World, CNN and other international news channels have been taken off the air, readers in Thailand told the BBC News website by email.

Our correspondent says low-level rumours of a possible coup have been circulating for weeks.

Thai media say that two army factions appear to be heading for a clash, with one side backing the prime minister and the other side backing military commander Lieutenant General Sonthi Boonyaratglin.

The general was sacked by the prime minister earlier in the day.

Political impasse

Our correspondent Jonathan Head said it was not clear which faction had taken the initiative and moved into Government House.

He said there has been pressure growing on the prime minister to resign, including groups close to King Bhumibol, following a political impasse in which April's general election was declared invalid.

Troops and guys dressed in Swat-style gear are strolling around

Russell Miles, Bangkok


Eyewitnesses describe turmoil

But it was thought that Thailand was making progress towards holding another election later in the year, our correspondent says.

Witnesses said several hundred troops were posted at key points around Bangkok, including at government installations and major intersections.

Russell Miles emailed the BBC News website to say there were troops "dressed in Swat-style gear strolling around" near Government House, and "a tense, but fairly controlled atmosphere".

He said: "We saw a group of blokes bundling a cameraman and another chap into a van. We are taking photos, but not out in the open."

At the United Nations, where the annual General Assembly is under way, it was announced that the agenda had been changed to allow Mr Thaksin to address it in the coming hours.

Are we going to cut and paste every single article of the hundreds that are certain to come out over the next hours or days? Or we all going to read the news for ourselves? I think we can all navigate successfully to CNN, BBC, etc.

Oh, well, I guess we are. The idiots are in control in more ways than one.

bg: If these threads about the coup annoy you, why continue to read them?

Thai army seizes Bangkok - Reuters
Tue Sep 19, 2006 6:48 PM BST



By Pracha Hariraksapitak

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Thai army took control of Bangkok on Tuesday without a shot being fired and announced a commission to reform the constitution, despite the prime minister's declaration of a state of emergency from New York.

A government spokesman with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the United Nations said the coup could not succeed and "we're in control".

Tanks and soldiers took over Government House in Thailand's first coup in 15 years and a coup spokesman said on television the army and police were in control of the capital and surrounding provinces.

The seizure would be temporary and power "returned to the people" soon, retired Lieutenant-General Prapart Sakuntanak said on all Thai television channels.

The army declared martial law, told all soldiers to report to base and banned unauthorised troop movements, suggesting the military leadership was worried that Thaksin loyalists in the armed forces might attempt a counter-coup.

Prapart said the armed forces and police had set up a body to decide on political reforms, ousting billionaire telecoms tycoon Thaksin in the midst of a political crisis stemming from accusations he had subverted Thailand's 74-year-old democracy.

"Never in Thai history have the people been so divided," Prapart said.

"The majority of people had become suspicious of this administration, which is running the country through rampant corruption," he added.

"Independent bodies have been interfered with so much they could not perform in line within the spirit of the constitution."

Weerasak Kohsurat, a deputy minister in a previous government, told Reuters he believed royal adviser Sumate Tantivejakul would head the reform commission and an interim government would be formed while political reforms were agreed.

Elections would be called soon and Thaksin would be allowed to take part, he said.

RISING PRESSURE

After mass street protests against him in Bangkok, Thaksin called a snap election in April, hoping his firm rural following would counter his metropolitan opponents.

However, opposition parties argued that Thaksin had skewed neutral bodies such as the Election Commission in his favour and boycotted the poll. That rendered the election result invalid.

Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party was widely expected to win a re-run tentatively scheduled for late November, increasing pressure on his opponents in the military and the old establishment to resort to removing him by force.

"There is no other means to solve the political deadlock," said a former senior official close to the top military brass. "It's been almost a year that the country has no democracy, no legitimate government to run the country.

"I've told foreign diplomats Thailand may need to take a step backward, if they think a coup will, in order to leap forward."

The Thai baht fell immediately after Reuters reports of tanks rolling towards Thaksin's Government House office.

In New York, Thaksin phoned a Thai television station to make a statement.

"I declare Bangkok under a severe state of emergency," he said.

The transmission stopped after 10 minutes while he was still talking.

Inside Government House, around 50 soldiers ordered police in the complex to lay down their weapons, a witness said, and tanks and soldiers were seen on many street corners although Bangkok remained quiet.

In his television statement, Thaksin ordered troops not to "move illegally" and told army commander-in-chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin to report to acting Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya.

He also ordered Armed Forces Supreme Commander Ruangroj Mahasaranond to implement the emergency order.

Moron. I'm reading news from the source faster than you and Jinks the boy wonder can copy and paste here. Who do you think you're helping, exactly?

Statement from the military reformist - The Nation

The following is the statement from the miliary reformist.


There has been social division like never before. Each side has been trying to conquer another with all possible means and the situation tends to intensify with growing doubts on the administration amid widespread reported corruption.

State units and independent organisations have been politically meddled, not able to deliver their services as specified in the Constitution.


The administration is also usually bordering on "lest majest" actions against the revered King. Despite attempts from social units for compromises, there is no way to end the conflicts.


The revolution body thus needs to seize power. We have no intention to rule but to return the power to the people as soon as possible, to preserve peace and honour the King who is the most revered to all Thais.

The coup makers order soldiers not to leave barracks - The Nation

The military reformists issued an order for all soldiers to remain in barracks. The spokesman of the coup makers announced on TVs that all military units could not be mobilized. The Nation

Wonder what the new exchange rate will be. Hope all expats remain safe, went thru a coup in Turkey as a kid in the early 60's, all was back to normal in a few days.