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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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 Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:06 am Post subject: Coup in Thailand |
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Not good news for Thailand:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/09/19/D8K821J80.html
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BANGKOK, Thailand
The Thai military launched a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday night, circling his offices with tanks, seizing control of TV stations and declaring a provisional authority pledging loyalty to the king.
An announcement on Thai television 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.
Thaksin, who has faced calls to step down amid allegations of corruption and abuse of power, was in New York at the U.N. General Assembly, and he declared a state of emergency via a government-owned TV station.
At least 14 tanks surrounded Government House, Thaksin's office.
A convoy of four tanks rigged with loudspeakers and sirens rolled through a busy commercial district of Bangkok, warning people to get off the street for their own safety.
A senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin had used the military to take over power from the prime minister.
Massive rallies earlier this year forced Thaksin to dissolve Parliament and call an election in April, three years ahead of schedule. The poll was boycotted by opposition parties and later annulled by Thailand's top courts, leaving the country without a working legislature.
Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party twice won landslide election victories, in 2001 and 2005 and had been expected to win the next vote on Oct. 15, bolstered by its widespread support in the country's rural areas.
In March, Boonyaratkalin, sought to ease speculation that the military might join the political fray, as it last did in 1992 and more than a dozen other times during earlier crises.
"The army will not get involved in the political conflict. Political troubles should be resolved by politicians," Boonyaratkalin said at the time, echoing comments of other top military officials. "Military coups are a thing of the past."
Thaksin, who had been scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday night, switched his speech to Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT.
On Monday, Thaksin had said he may step down as leader of Thailand after the upcoming elections but would remain at the helm of his party, despite calls for him to give up the post.
In Bangkok, several hundred soldiers were deployed at government installations and major intersections, according to an Associated Press reporter.
Army-owned TV channel 5 interrupted regular broadcasts with patriotic music and showed pictures of the king. At least some radio and television stations monitored in Bangkok suspended programming.
The cable television station of the Nation newspaper reported that tanks were parked at the Rachadamnoen Road and royal plaza close to the royal palace and government offices.
"The prime minister with the approval of the cabinet declares serious emergency law in Bangkok from now on" Thaksin said by television from New York. He said he was ordering the transfer of the nation's army chief to work in the prime minister's office, effectively suspending him from his military duties.
Thaksin's critics want to jettison his policies promoting privatization, free trade agreements and CEO-style administration.
Opposition to Thaksin gained momentum in January when his family announced it had sold its controlling stake in telecommunications company Shin Corp. to Singapore's state-owned Temasek Holdings for a tax-free $1.9 billion. Critics allege the sale involved insider trading and complain a key national asset is now in foreign hands.
Thaksin also has been accused of stifling the media and mishandling a Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand that flared under his rule.
In Thailand's mostly Muslim south, separatist insurgents have waged a bloody campaign that has left at least 1,700 dead, mostly civilians, since 2004. Citizens there have complained of rights abuses by soldiers and discrimination by the country's Buddhist majority.
Bhumibol, a 78-year-old constitutional monarch with limited powers, has used his high prestige to pressure opposing parties to compromise during political crises. He is credited with helping keep Thailand more stable than many of its Southeast Asian neighbors.
He is the world's longest-serving monarch, celebrated his 60th year on the throne with lavish festivities in mid-June that were attended by royalty from around the world.
Many Thais are counting on him to pull the country through its current political crisis, which has left it with no functioning legislature and only a caretaker government after a divisive, inconclusive election.
Bhumibol was born in Cambridge, Mass. He became the ninth king of Thailand's Chakri dynasty on June 9, 1946, succeeding his older brother, Ananda, killed by an unexplained shooting.
Since then, the beloved king has reigned through a score of governments, democratic and dictatorial. He has taken an especially active role in rural development.
In 1992, demonstrators against a military strongman were gunned down before the king stepped in to end the fighting and usher in a period of stability.
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:16 am Post subject: |
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why thailand, why?
proof that people are illogical and/or way too short-sighted. |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:29 am Post subject: |
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The recent bombings in the south may have been the last straw--opposition to Thaksin's policies there is significant. The way he handled divesting himself (and his family) of their telecoms company has been a particularly odious affair to Thais as well.
Let's hope it doesn't get too messy--military coups were supposed to be a thing of the past  |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:30 am Post subject: |
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yay?
I believe traditionalists are generally supportive of this approach.
| bucheon bum wrote: |
| why thailand, why? |
Yes indeedy! Why there? Is there no hope for the RoK?  |
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Keepongoing
Joined: 13 Feb 2003
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:46 am Post subject: well |
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maybe things will get back to the way they were. One thing is the baht fell, so you will get a better exchange. I imagine in a few weeks things will work out for the better. Lots of ppl did not like Thaksin; especially the bar owners and the sex industry. I promise you that no coup happenned without the King's blessing, if not request.
I just hope the won does not react to it and weaken. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:29 am Post subject: Re: well |
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| MASH4077 wrote: |
| Lots of ppl did not like Thaksin; especially the bar owners and the sex industry. |
Ha! I mean, God love Thailand, and I guarantee you know more about it than me. But jeez, can you name a serious country where that would matter? Because I can't!
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| I promise you that no coup happenned without the King's blessing, if not request. |
That's what they always say. And they're probably right. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:33 am Post subject: Re: well |
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| MASH4077 wrote: |
maybe things will get back to the way they were. One thing is the baht fell, so you will get a better exchange. I imagine in a few weeks things will work out for the better. Lots of ppl did not like Thaksin; especially the bar owners and the sex industry. I promise you that no coup happenned without the King's blessing, if not request.
I just hope the won does not react to it and weaken. |
that being said, his party did win the most seats in parliment. There was no voting fraud. He was the legitimate PM.
He was quite popular with the rural poor.
Sure, he was no angel and had some questionable policies but you can't deny he had an electoral mandate. |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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that being said, his party did win the most seats in parliment. There was no voting fraud. He was the legitimate PM.
He was quite popular with the rural poor.
Sure, he was no angel and had some questionable policies but you can't deny he had an electoral mandate. |
I was going to say the same thing. You are definitely right and it points to a trend , the last 10 years, where more and more democracies are being cut down by the sword rather than institutions of discussion/dialogue.
Why? Well I don't think at all, Bush and his policies have been any help at all of fostering a climate of democracy in the world. Rather the opposite. "installing" democracy gives others the thought that they too can "install" ......... Thailand just another example, many more on the horizon and still no end to the number of weapons, guns, bombs in the world..........
Amazing how a few tanks and armed men can "rule " a country....reminds me of that one famous line of "give me a few good men and I can rule the world.".
DD |
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brento1138
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 3:07 pm Post subject: Re: Coup in Thailand |
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| Coups are just part of the culture in SE Asia. |
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