Thai PM 'overthrown in army coup'

[Nick F]

Military leaders in Thailand say they have overthrown the country's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Soldiers seized government offices and took up strategic positions around the capital, Bangkok. Parliament and the constitution have been suspended.

The head of the army, Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, will assume prime ministerial powers, the army said.

Pretty big news I guess. I have a couple of mates out there that have emailed me to let me know everything is okay but things are mental.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/5361512.stm

[Dav0s]

when a leader loses the loyalty of the army, the country wont last very long

[UpTheToon]

ah crap...

My wife and I are travelling through Thailand in January, hopefully it will all have settled down by then.

The UK govenment is telling people to be careful but is stopping short of advising people to leave Thailand.

[BEANFro Elite]

Just a matter of time for the UK / USA then even if it would be about 50 years down the line...

But all empires and unified countries fall apart at some point history has a troublesome habit of repeating itself...


Some handy-pants links...

Robert Fisk, "the Conquest of the Middle East". ( comes in four parts )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OBZU...elated&search=

This man is very clever indeed but even still what he is saying is his own informed opinion and so you may want to conduct some further research...

[iranu]

Thailand used to suffer from this quite alot, the last one being in 1990 if I remember. They are a very friendly, relaxed people who have great respect for their king so I doubt that this will turn violent as the leaders of the coup have promised allegiance to the king.

The two big questions will be, what will they do with the ousted premier and how long will it be until elections are organised.

Thailand has been a success story and I really don't think that the Thais will throw all that away.

[chuckskull]

All seems to have gone off without any bloodshed. Seems well planned and peacful from the news reports. Which can only be a good thing.

Looks like the next move is waiting for the king to state his allegience.

[Nick]

Hmmm, let me see, if I was the King, which way would I go?

Should I go with the guy who's out of the country and has just been publicly deposed or should I side with the guy who has several thousand armed men in the streets, tanks on every corner and rocket launchers sticking out of the windows of parliament?

Hmmm, a knotty problem....

[steve threlfall]

The millitary have said they will retain control for 2 weeks.

[MSIC]

It's a wierd irony.
"We demand democracy and we'll use force to get it" (under the assumption that the current PM was not democratically elected).
Wouldnt it be interesting if the US did that with the Al Gore / George Bush elections?

I find this whole thing upsetting, although understand the points of view.
It's a bit like fighting a war in order to attain peace.

[YorkieBen]

such a thing is far more likely here than in the USA imo; apparently there were plans in the late seventies for such an event in the UK if a far left govt got in?

In the USA if the armed forces/CIA etc tried to sieze power it would cause problems due to individual states having their own armed forces (national guard) and each state having extensive powers - it would lead to a civil war

[chuckskull]

Though democratically elected(funny how the richest most powerful man in the country won the election eh?), his rule was despotic and murderous. It turns out he fired the general in charge hours before the revolution.

Sounds like he was given an ultimatum to leave and decided to call their bluff, note here, dont call the bluff of a man who controls your army, while you're a few thousand miles away with no control of anything.

[UKMuFFiN]

Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin <--- That is such a cool name though.

[chuckskull]

Looks like the king is backing the coup. Scary looking guy btw. Seems to be a genuine attempt to better the country. Only time will tell though.

[iranu]

Hmmm, let me see, if I was the King, which way would I go?

Should I go with the guy who's out of the country and has just been publicly deposed or should I side with the guy who has several thousand armed men in the streets, tanks on every corner and rocket launchers sticking out of the windows of parliament?

Hmmm, a knotty problem....

Oh for the love of God. I read this tripe and had to slap my head hard and then once again just to wake myself up.

This kind of statement truly shows the appalling state of comment these days but atleast I guess that by allowing you freedom of comment then you can be educated. I doubt you could even locate Thailand on a map let alone understand its political history. Pay attention, raps knuckles...sigh.

The king is probably one of the most revered people within his own nation. If the king turned around and ordered his own troops to detain and execute those that were at the heart of the coup then this would happen within 12 hrs. Why do you think that the troops on the ground are flying the yellow bunting? It's to show their allegiance to the king and if you had had the fortune to visit Thailand and speak to it's people then you would understand that the king is where the true heart and loyalty of the people lie.

Democracy has been a success in Thailand and it's people realise the benefits that this brings. It is one of the most stable and economically successful countries within SE Asia. The king, who has very few powers constitutionally, has the faith of the country and there is no way that this coup could have succeeded without gaining his support.

Any coup would have to ultimately have the backing of teh people with regards to these circumstances or the country would have to degenerate into marshal law and civil war, which would destroy it economically.

The military have already stated that they wish fresh and free elections and it seems that the king is backing that outcome.

Whilst I think that it is remarkable how a man has managed to build up such wealth and suport to become prime minister I also find it remarkable that he can be deposed with not a shot fired. I have deep respect for the Thais and I wish them well with the outcome for I hope that they find a peaceful solution that benefits everyone within their country. After the tsunami I vowed that would return asap for a holiday, this event makes me want to even more.

[nichomach]

iranu, I'd agree with your assessment of the level of royal and popular support, and also the likely outcome. It appears to be the epitome of the "bloodless coup". That said, as a general rule, most coups are not bloodless, and the point about whom you support in the event of a coup is generally a valid one; perhaps you could have made your point about the specific local conditions obtaining in this case without being quite so patronising.