Military coup in Thailand

Dave!

A few weeks ago (I'm learning today), the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra survived an attempted car bomb assassination, which they say was placed by military personnel.
http://www.chiangmainews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2289&sid=8bd82bf9779765e40f35ddad42560a5d

Now he's after declaring a state of emergency and there's tanks rolling through the streets of Bangkok and parked around the king's gaf! :eek: The PM is in New York at the moment.
http://news.google.ie/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ie=UTF-8&ncl=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/19/thailand.coup.rumor/

Anyone know the background to this? I don't know a thing about Thai politics -- but I do know that I was planning on spending next summer there!

I understand that the king is really really loved by the general public, should I gather that the army don't share their sentiments?

SpAcEd OuT

they've surrounded the Prime Minister's office not the kings house, they are following the king's orders I believe

Dave!

According to this
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/19/thailand.coup.rumor/

"Around the royal palace in Bangkok, four tanks were parked as were a number of armored vehicles and Humvees, CNN's Dan Rivers reported. Soldiers appeared to be setting up roadblocks and what appeared to be members of the royal guard surrounded the palace."

Perhaps they're protecting the king, dunno.

SpAcEd OuT

dunno, they have taken control of the media and apparantly they're playing thai songs and showing footage of the king and all sky news is saying is that they have surrounded the thai government house, no mention of the kings palace, i'm pretty sure that they're only out to overthow the PM because of corruption

SpAcEd OuT

not ordered by the king, thai army and police want a new comission set up and want it to be chaired by the king, the king has not responded to the developments yet

mike65

bloomberg

A statement read out on state television by the so-called Thai Reform Council* said the council had seized control. It said the council included chiefs of the military and of the police.

Bangkok police had been bracing for prolonged political protests as Thais seeking to oust Thaksin planned to resume mass rallies tomorrow, after more than six months on the sidelines.

The army chief, Sondhi Boonyarataklin, had earlier dismissed rumors of a possible coup and a defense spokesman said Thai military leaders had pledged not to interfere in politics, the Bangkok Post reported on Sept. 14.

recent background

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0609/S00116.htm

BANGKOK, Thailand -- After surviving an alleged car bomb assassination plot, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra now faces about 10 military counter-insurgency officials charged with attempting to murder him, including a sergeant who confessed to planning the coup.

Opponents of the pro-American prime minister -- including Bangkok's wealthy elite and pampered middle-class, Thai media, white-collar business executives, students and others -- suspect the car bomb and coup plot is an dangerous charade by Mr. Thaksin to win an election scheduled for Oct. 15, while simultaneously bludgeoning his perceived enemies within the military.

The billionaire prime minister, however, is believed to be overwhelmingly popular in the countryside where most of this Southeast Asian nation's 65 million people live, thanks to populist policies which include cheap health care, soft loans, and other government giveaways.

Whether the car bomb was an attempt on the prime minister's life or not, Thailand's stability has become increasingly fragile after at least nine, possibly 13, counter-insurgency officials charged by police for involvement in the alleged coup attempt.

Mr. Thaksin immediately fired the military's Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) deputy chief, Gen. Pallop Pinmanee, on August 24 after Gen. Pallop's former driver was arrested in a bomb-laden car near the prime minister's home.

It looks like the spooks are striking first.

* Could the Thai Reform Council be a deliberate reminder of the National Administrative Reform Council which ruled as a military junta in the 70s?

Mike.

mike65

as it happens e-mail and here

Mike.

Manic Moran

The troops are claiming loyalty to the King, but the King hasn't said anything on the issue yet. That said, since he could stop this whole deal by simply raising an eyebrow, I'm inclined to think his inaction is a tacit admission of support.

NTM

Victor

There have been a lot of tensions in Thailand over the last few years with sporadic bombings. As to whether they are two spearate problems I don't know.

Manic Moran

For some reason, the first question that came to my mind is "Who is going to pay for the (ex?) PM's hotel bill in New York?"

Apparently the M-41 tanks are known as "The Golden Vote" in Thailand, as they've been used to determine governments so often.

NTM

Victor

Manic Moran wrote:

For some reason, the first question that came to my mind is "Who is going to pay for the (ex?) PM's hotel bill in New York?"

If he's quick, he can claim diplomatic immunity. If the hotel cop on, he's washing dishes until at least 2012. Of course, the government de jour can pay the bill and put him up in the Hilton.

Sgt. Sensible

Manic Moran wrote:

For some reason, the first question that came to my mind is "Who is going to pay for the (ex?) PM's hotel bill in New York?"

He's not short of a few bob.

Teh Ec0nom1st wrote:

ACCORDING to Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, his relatives' decision to sell their stake in Shin Corporation, the conglomerate he transferred to them on taking office, was an act of patriotic self-sacrifice. They hope their deal with a consortium led by Temasek, an investment arm of the Singaporean government, will put an end to the constant complaints about Mr Thaksin's conflicts of interests, and allow him to concentrate on running the country. But this noble deed also netted the family 73 billion baht ($1.85 billion), and allowed it to dispose of its telecoms empire just as the sector enters a period of regulatory uncertainty. In his explanation of the sale, at any rate, Mr Thaksin seems guilty of what his critics always accuse him of: confusing the national interest with his family's.

DaBreno

Surprised to hear he is so Popular in the contryside. Was there a couple of years ago, I asked around about him after he tried to buy out Liverpool football club and no one seemed to have a good word to say. The free press hate him. He passed in a few laws at the same time that allowed his Billionarie media buddies(GMM Grammy), as well as his own companies, to begin snapping up the Thai Papers and radio. It looked like it was heading for a total Private control on the media.
The Thais take their King very seriously. If he wanted to rule, I imagine he would be let.

ircoha

The country, surely, has learnt a lesson from the past few years of political abuse by an out-of-countrol government. Democracy is not just about free elections, nor a successful appeal to voters by an attractive party or its leader. Rather, the democratic process is a difficult, daily task of making authorities accountable to voters, and reining in the politicians who abuse the agreed, legal framework.

From http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/21Sep2006_news21.php

Ring any bells?

Manic Moran

Haughey?

NTM

spanner

DaBreno wrote:

The Thais take their King very seriously. If he wanted to rule, I imagine he would be let.

Too right, I have never seen a country adore their royal family so much. While I was in Pattaya a German guy ripped up a poster of the royal family and he was killed with a machette,

It will be intresting to see what will the King do, I think ordinary Thais have very little trust in the democraically elected government and see the king as the real rule

Dave!

Anyone know what the army's beef with the current constitution is? They're writing up a new one apparantly

Victor

DaveMcG wrote:

Anyone know what the army's beef with the current constitution is? They're writing up a new one apparantly

Apparently too many loopholes allowing the PM get away with stuff.

I don't know what format their constitution is, whether it is merely the organisation of government or whether it has a rights section.

Manic Moran

Standard operating procedure for Thai coups. It's probably in their Army Regulations.

1) Overthrow government.
2) Declare loyalty to King.
3) Re-write Constitution
4) Hand over power to interim civilian government with order to hold elections soon.

Apparently the Constitution gets re-written every time.

NTM

Mythago

Too right, I have never seen a country adore their royal family so much. While I was in Pattaya a German guy ripped up a poster of the royal family and he was killed with a machette,

It will be intresting to see what will the King do, I think ordinary Thais have very little trust in the democraically elected government and see the king as the real rule

This is very true! Once commented "even the king farts" and people weren't amused :rolleyes: He is practically a god there, little bit scary how much he is loved tbh.

In regards the coup, at least it was peaceful. Thaksin had managed to get his friends and family into every possible position of power there is, elections were due in October but were likely to be delayed due to so much corruption in the Election comission. He manages to keep the loyalty of the poor northeast by offering tidbits and pulling publicuty stunts (handing out cash to poor farmers, promising national park land for farming) but nothing long term seems to be implemented. He really is a master at what he does.

What may have pushed the military over the edge was Thaksin going back on his promise to resign. He had just started a campaign to try make himself out as a misunderstood hero of Thailand, and this really pissed people off!

Anyway, hopefully they'll sort it out, shame democracy couldn't fix it, but in my opinion it was just too broken!