COUP D'ETAT IN THAILAND

Troops loyal to Thai army cheif General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin declared martial law in a coup last night against Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who right now is in New York because he was going to give a speech to the UN General Assembly. I've collected news articles from the Thai press as well as the press from Asia as well as from other news orgs around the world. To view more about this coup look at the news sites at the left-hand column in my blog.



Bangkok Post
Coup D'Etat
By Post Reporters

Troops loyal to army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin last night staged a coup d'etat to oust caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was in New York and due to address the United Nations General Assembly. The coup makers called themselves the Democratic Reform Council, led by Gen Sonthi. In an announcement flashed across national television, they said they comprised the commanders of the three armed forces and the national police chief.

The council cited unprecedented division in the country, widespread suspicion of abuse of power, and activities bordering on lese majeste for taking power for a period they promised would be temporary.

Tanks and troops of the Fourth Cavalry Battalion moved into Government House and other strategic points in Bangkok, including the Royal Plaza.

The coup came after Mr Thaksin declared a state of emergency in Bangkok.

In a statement relayed from New York and carried by Channel 9, he sacked the army chief and put the armed forces supreme commander, Gen Ruengroj Mahasaranont, in charge of enforcing the state of emergency. Both were to report to Pol Gen Chidchai Wannasathit, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister whom Mr Thaksin named as acting prime minister.

The council said it had the situation under control and there was no resistance.

As of press time, it was not known how long the council would remain in power and when it would appoint an interim government.

The council revoked the State of Emergency declared by Mr Thaksin and imposed martial law at around 12.30.

Shortly afterwards, the council abrogated the 1997 constitution, dissolved the Constitution Court, the caretaker government and the Senate.

The council was reported to be based at army headquarters on Ratchadamnoen Nok avenue.

The council was reported to have blocked the website of a so-called fake media outlet calling itself The Reporter.

Mr Thaksin's statement was relayed at about 10.20 pm but was disrupted around 10 minutes later.

Sources later told the Bangkok Post that troops had burst into the offices of Channel 9 and told the station officers to stop running the statement.

Sources said Privy Council president Gen Prem Tinsulanonda yesterday tried to mediate between troops loyal to the army chief and another army faction loyal to Mr Thaksin.

During the talks, Gen Prem was reported to have been summoned to the Royal Palace. Nothing more was known.

The council leaders were also summoned to the palace late last night.

Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkol were all in New York with Mr Thaksin.

Prime Minister's Office Minister Newin Chidchob, Khunying Potjaman Shinawatra and her son Panthongtae left for Singapore at about 9.00 pm.

Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan and Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak are currently in France, and are likely to postpone their return.

Pol Gen Chidchai, Defence Minister Thammarak Isarangkura na Ayudhaya, Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop, Social Welfare Minister Wattana Muangsuk, PM's Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva were reportedly at home at the time.

A cabinet source said the armed forces and police decided to stage the coup to avert a possible clash between an anti-Thaksin rally that the People's Alliance for Democracy planned to stage today, and members of the forestry police.

The source said the forestry police based at Khao Yai National Park were due to move into Bangkok today to quash the PAD-led protests.

The forestry police are equipped with HK 33 rifles and well trained for confrontations with the protesters.

The army last month asked the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department to return around 1,000 rifles, which were loaned to forest rangers several years ago. But Gen Sonthi at the time downplayed the political implications of a plan to take back of the rifles, saying the army was in dire need of weapons.

The source said several cabinet ministers had been alerted about the coup yesterday afternoon and many started to pack their belongings and left their offices for good.

In New York, government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee denied the coup had been successful, saying the seizure of TV station headquarters did not guarantee its success. Seizing power by means of a coup was no longer acceptable in the modern world.

He said the coup makers comprised people losing power and benefits but he refused to be specific. Mr Surapong denied the coup had anything to do with the military reshuffle, saying consideration of the reshuffle list had not been on Mr Thaksin's recent agenda.

He said Pol Gen Chidchai was not under arrest, as rumoured, because he had just spoken to him on the phone.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is poised to face mass selling in today's trading amid fears that there could be a counter coup by supporters of Mr Thaksin, analysts said.
The Nation (Thailand)
Months of Rumors come True
By The Nation Staff

Fighting vehemently to ward off a coup plot against his government while he was still in New York, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had to act first. He went on TV Channel 9 at about 10:20 PM in a voiceover to head off the coup at home by placing Bangkok under an emergency law.

Strangely enough, other TV channels did not cover the prime minister's speech. TV Channel 5 still aired a programme about the royal activities as if nothing had happened. But the Thais all knew that something very unusual was going on when Channel 5, controlled by the Royal Army, removed its usual programme from the air.

Rumours had swirled around the capital since the morning that a coup was imminent. There were unusual troop movements from the upcountry moving into Bangkok. The two persons who got the most attention from the Thaksin camp were Gen Sonthi Boonyaratklin, the army chief, and Gen Anupong Phaochinda, the head of the First Infantry Division.

The First Infantry Division had turned out to become the headquarters of unusual troop|movements. One military source said troops from Prachin Buri, which used to be under Gen Anupong, were arriving at the First Infantry Division on the Viphavadee Rangsit Road in the evening. They were joined by the troops of the Special Warfare Command from Lopburi, which used to be under the command of Gen Sonthi.

But the members of Class 10 of the Chulachom Klao Military Academy, who are loyal to Thaksin, were standing by. They knew that the final showdown had come. They got the Third and Fourth Calvary Battalion, the AntiAircraft Artillery prepared within their barracks.

There was a tense confrontation between the two opposing sides. Who would blink first?

Whoever moved first in this dangerous game could be charged with treason against the state or the Constitution.

A fuming Thaksin had realised all along that his battle against the Thai elite would boil down to this military confrontation. Through a voiceover heard over Channel 9, Thaksin read out the emergency statement ordering Gen Sonthi to report to the Office of the Prime Minister under the command of Pol Gen Chidchai Vanasaditya, the deputy prime minister.

This technically amounted to a removal of Sonthi from his powerful post. He then assigned Ruengroj Mahasaranond, the supreme commander, to be in charge of all aspects of security in Bangkok.

Thaksin learnt about the plot while he was in New York. At 9pm Bangkok time, he went to his hotel room and called the reporters from the Mass Communication Organisation of Thailand and Channel 11 to tell them that he would have an important message to tell them.

As it turned out, he would declare a state of emergency covering Bangkok in order to preempt a military coup at home. He thought he had an upper hand because he was an elected leader of a democratic country.

But logistics did not go his way. Thaksin planned to have his message sent via satellite signal to Channel 9. But he was told that it could not be done technically. It would work out better if he spoke over the phone directly to the TV channel.

Thaksin decided to switch to Channel 11 to air his state of emergency declaration. But before he could do so, the military took over Channel 11. The editors and reporters were taken to another room.

All the other statecontrolled TV stations, owned by the military, were ordered to stand by to air an important message.

But somehow Thaksin did not face a total blackout. He was allowed to air his state of emergency declaration on Channel 9, with a still photo of him accompanied by his live telephone speech.

Sources said the military confrontation could last until tomorrow while all the combat military personnel were summoned to station in their bases.

At the time of going to the press, nobody would dare predict the final outcome.

Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai appeared on CNN to try to calm the international audience, who had been wondering all along about the timing of the new election, about the political crisis in the capital. He said the army chief was trying to oust the democratically elected government and that Thaksin was still prime minister.

But a few minutes later, at 11pm, the Gen Sonthi camp effectively took over with tanks parking at all the strategic places around the capital.

A military coup was finally staged.

It was as much a military war as a media war for control of the time slot.

A statement was read out through all the TV channels that all the armed and police forces had taken control of Bangkok and the neighbouring areas without resistance. The names of the coup leaders, who called themselves a military reformist unit, were withheld. To maintain peace, the statement on behalf of the Political Reform Group sought cooperation from the public to maintain peace. It also apologised for any inconvenience the coup may cause to the Thai public.

At first, it looked like a deadlock situation, without any party showing an upper hand or a convincing victory as yet. The situation was very confusing and remained very fluid.

Troops supporting to the Thaksin camp still put up a resistance as of last night. There were reports that troops from Prachin Buri and Chacheongsao would move into the capital early this morning to fortify the position of Gen Sonthi.

As the day was over, it appeared that the Gen Sonthi camp gained the advantage. Gen Sonthi appeared from the shadow to make a countermove by announcing a state of emergency to override Thaksin's announcement earlier. He forbid any troop movements without his order.

Political sources said it would be interesting to see how the confrontation would develop and how the Thaksin camp would rally supporters to protest against the coup.

Nobody could predict the final outcome as Thaksin looked serious that he would fight to his political end. Thaksin could go to the UN to tell the whole world not to accept the coup at home.

The Sonthi camp has also crossed the threshold into uncharted territories.

Times of India
Army Coup in Thailand; State of Emergancy Declared
By Times Staff

BANGKOK: 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...Read More...

Asia Times (Hong Kong)
Military Coup Tumbles Thailand's Thaksin
By Shawn W. Crispin

BANGKOK - Caretaker Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup on Tuesday evening, marking what appears to be a dramatic end to a political stalemate that has pitched the embattled politician against an opposition movement backed by conservative elements close to the Thai palace.

Troops loyal to Thai army commander General Sonthi Boonyaratklin, a palace loyalist, led the army-led putsch and surrounded Government House and parliament with tanks and troops. Thaksin, who was traveling in the United States, attempted to declare “a severe state of emergency” from New York and ordered Sonthi removed from his command...Read More...

New York Times
Thai Military Declares Martial Law
By Seth Mydans and Thomas Fuller contributions by John O'Neil

BANGKOK, Wednesday, Sept. 20 — Leaders of Thailand’s armed forces seized control of Bangkok on Tuesday night, suspended the constitution and declared martial law.

They ousted the Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, while he was in New York for a meeting of the United Nations. Mr. Thaksin had appeared on Thai television to declare a state of emergency but was cut off in mid-speech...Read More...

The Guardian (UK)
Coup as Army Seizes Power in Thailand
By John Aglionby and Ewen MacAskill

Thailand was thrown into turmoil today when the army sent tanks and troops into the capital to wrest power from the prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, while he was attending the United Nations general assembly in New York.

In the first military intervention for 15 years in the notoriously coup-prone country, the army threw a cordon of tanks round the government offices in Bangkok, seized control of television stations, and revoked the constitution. The coup leaders ordered all soldiers not involved to remain in their barracks. Hundreds of soldiers were deployed at crossroads and outside hotels and near the royal palace...Read More...

Mail & Guardian (South Africa)
Thai Army Seizes Power, Ousts Thaksin
By Pracha Hariraksapitak

The Thai army seized power on Tuesday without firing a shot, dismissed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's government, revoked the Constitution and promised a swift return to democracy after political reforms.

Army Commander-in-Chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin took the reins of power without a government title after Thaksin telephoned a Thai television station from New York to announce a state of emergency in an apparent attempt to head off the coup...Read More...