Photo by Flickr user goshen42.
What do you do when your government is tainted with corruption and cronyism? Perform a coup d'etat, of course. That's what the Thailand military did last night. From BBC News:
Thai military leaders have begun consolidating their hold on power after staging a coup while Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was abroad.Flickr user goshen42 took a series of photos during the first two hours of the coup. He said, "Trying to provide a real picture of what is going on here. The thing to remember is that everything is calm and the soldiers are for the most part friendly and relaxed. Everything would seem as normal to an outsider...if you didn't notice all the tanks that is."
Martial law has been declared, with large gatherings of people and critical news reporting banned.
Mr Thaksin's deputy and chief aide, Chidchai Vanasathidya, has been taken into army custody.
Army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin said in a TV address that the coup was necessary to unite the country.
The military had no intention of holding onto power, he added.
The coup leaders have announced that regional army commanders will take charge of areas outside the capital, Bangkok.
They have also ordered provincial governors and heads of government agencies to report to them.
You can view his Flickr set of the Thai coup here. Bangkok Post has all the updates.
I guess now isn't a good time for a holiday in Thailand unless you have a thing for martial law and friendly soldiers and tanks moving around while you shop the streets of Bangkok.
17 comments:
Thaksin must be peeing in his pants when he heard of the coup.
IZ: I'll go with you to Thailand anytime.
:o)
;o)
Hehe.
I like Martial Law.
*looks at Myra
Mr Big: I heard they had to call in the cleaner at the UN Assembly in UN HQ in NY to clean up his pee.
i would like to see a coup d'etat in sillypore.
i hope the military do not capture all the bangkok girls or else no more tigershow.
Myra Leong: No. You can't!
IZ: Pack your bags. We'll leave tomorrow!
dun think tourism will be badly affected... there doesnt seem to be any violences associated with the military take over... so i guess tourists will still be coming but i think foreign investment in thailand will dip.
IZ: I love tanks!
This coup has got to do something with the unrest in the Muslim dominated south Thailand. The general incharge of the coup is a muslim and is seen by many to be the one to solve the crisis down at the south.
I like what Gen Sonthi had to say about Mr Thaksin.
He said Thaksin is invited to come back to Thailand and run for elections but warned that he could face corruption charges.
Would Thaksin be so stupid to come back?
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s erratic response to an incipient Muslim insurgency was one of the most important divides between him and the Thai army chief.
The coup leader, General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, was chosen to head the Thai army because his Muslim background was seen as an advantage in tackling a two-year-old Malay Muslim insurgency in south Thailand that has claimed 1,200 lives. The general had publicly called for talks with the insurgents, a position Thaksin rejected.
Sondhi is close to the Thai monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The king, known to support a softer stance, has been concerned about Thaksin’s confrontational manner in handling Thai problems, say Indian and Australian diplomatic sources.
johnny q: thaksin migrating to singapore i think.
isn't his wife already in singapore?? i think he will never come back to thailand. its like committing suicide if he does. he will most likely stay in the uk. singapore is too close to thailand.
THE KING IS BEHIND ALL OF THESE!
The coup has been peaceful because Thais do not like Thaksin and they want a change...
"I have seen 15 coups myself in the past 30 years and this was the easiest one yet," said Luzi Matzig, a long time resident in Thailand who runs Asia Travels, a tour agency. "A smooth-as-silk kind of coup," quipped Matzig, playing on Thailand's national airline's advertising slogan "THAI - Smooth as Silk."
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