While it was happening, BBC News 24 had an ex-pat on the phone from Bangkok. He said the atmosphere was one of curiosity and excitement. He said he didn't feel in any danger and that most of the bars and clubs were open to tourists as usual. Some people didn't even realise what was happening.
One of the tabloids today mentioned that the ousted Thai PM may seek exile in the UK.
This article makes it sound like a coup was appropriate in the interest of restoring democracy, but of course I know very little about the politics over there.
This article makes it sound like a coup was appropriate in the interest of restoring democracy, but of course I know very little about the politics over there.
Ideals and Realities Clash In Bush 'Freedom Agenda'
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 21, 2006; Page A20
At the United Nations lectern this week, President Bush hailed the spread of democracy. "From Beirut to Baghdad," he said, "people are making the choice for freedom." Yet even as he spoke, tanks were rolling through the streets of Bangkok as a military coup toppled the elected leader of Thailand, who at that moment was in New York for the U.N. session.
Bush made no mention of the dramatic events on Tuesday and left New York yesterday without ever seeing the deposed prime minister, much less offering any public support for a onetime strong ally of the United States. The president's spokesman later provided a strikingly mild response only after being asked by a reporter, pronouncing the White House "disappointed" by the coup.
[...]
"The president's freedom agenda is inherently selective," said Thomas Carothers, head of the democracy project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "We care very much about democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, but . . . Thailand's just not part of the story, so this falls off the map a bit."
Thailand is hardly the only example. Bush strongly supports Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president who took power in a military coup, and plans to meet with him at the White House twice in the next week. Bush will also host Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, at the end of next week despite the suppression of opposition parties, newspapers and human rights groups in the oil-rich Central Asian republic.
The administration has likewise embraced autocratic leaders in such disparate places as Azerbaijan and Ethiopia while generally tempering criticism of anti-democratic policies in Russia and China. Even in the Middle East, Bush has treaded lightly in nudging allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia to reform.
__________________ In the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie...
Well, they're not overthrowing the King. There'd be riots in the streets if they tried that, and I doubt most troops would go with it either.
Apparently the M41 tanks shown in the varous photos are known in Thailand not as "Walker Bulldogs", but as "Golden Votes": They've been used to determine governments there so many times in the past...
NTM
__________________
A man only needs two tools in life. WD-40 and duct tape. If it moves and it shouldn't, use the duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40.
It gets a little more complicated than that. The Thai Army's Chief of Staff is good friends with the King, and His Thai Majesty wasn't too happy with the Thaskin state of affairs. The PM is appointed by the King in the same way that the UK is run by Her Majesty's Government, appointed by her in response to elections. The most recent attempt at elections in Thailand were a miserable collapse.
Given the King's highly revered status amongst the citizenry, his effective power is actually very high, though his official power is limited. If the military tried to de-throne the King, the country would have been in an uproar. This is why in all the coup history of Thailand, the King has never been unseated. You will note that a lot of the tanks were festooned with yellow ribbons, signifying allegiance to the Crown.
The two men are very different - the king aloof and selfless, the prime minister populist and often seen as arrogant.
"The king spent four decades to win the hearts and minds of people, quietly doing many public works. Thaksin tried to do it in four years, through populist handouts," said Prof Thitinan.
"People liked Thaksin, but they love the king," he added.
NTM
__________________
A man only needs two tools in life. WD-40 and duct tape. If it moves and it shouldn't, use the duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40.
Thaksin was widely viewed as corrupt and ineffective, which was the major reason for the coup in the first place, and the major reason that the King is siding with Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin (the leader of the coup).
A more worrying development is that the leaders of the military junta have detained four of Thaksin's former cabinet ministers, allegedly in the name of preserving order. Hopefully this will not devolve into a massacre or a political show trial...I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
__________________ "Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable."
Well, by the virtues of 'six degrees of separation', we actually have a line to a Thai Army Major General: Poster on Tank-net by the name of Supatra. (Been posting since she was a colonel)
When she chimes in, I'll let you know.
__________________
A man only needs two tools in life. WD-40 and duct tape. If it moves and it shouldn't, use the duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40.
From watching the news as it broke, while in Canada, it seems the King has expressed displeasure with the PM in the recent past, and that was perceived as a go-ahead by Army command (and a national group of police chiefs, as well) to topple what is considered to be a highly corrupt government that has (advertantly or inadvertantly, I don't know) antagonized Islamic interests in southern Thailand. Although the military has a tendency to interefere in national politics in times of "constitutional crisis", they almost always do so for a very limited period of time.
The reports were stating that it was expected that some constitutional changes were in order before the military would return governance to civilian leaders.
So rumours of a coup started to circulate like wildfire. But there had been coup rumours all year and it was hard to believe that the people of Thailand, now a vibrant, pluralistic democracy, would tolerate something as unfashionable as tanks and soldiers on the streets.
Well, they didn't just tolerate it, they welcomed it with open arms. Mr Thaksin was the most popular political leader in recent Thai history, the first to win an outright majority in parliament. And yet the troops who had forced him out were cheered and festooned with flowers. What on earth was going on?
[snip]
It may take months or years to fashion another constitution, and it may in the end be no better than the one the soldiers have just torn up. No matter, harmony has been restored - just look at the flower-draped tanks in central Bangkok - it's almost a point of pride.
Only in Thailand, they say, could a military coup this cheerful and this peaceful take place.
Got to admit, it does rather keep the politicians honest...
In other news, apparently a Thai tank crew are in trouble for giving tourists rides around Government House at 10 Baht a head.
NTM
__________________
A man only needs two tools in life. WD-40 and duct tape. If it moves and it shouldn't, use the duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40.
The first opinion polls were released in the press today. If they can be trusted - a big warning since opinion polling is a new science in Thailand, they indicate something very startling indeed.
The poll, conducted by Rajabhat Suan Dusit University in Bangkok, surveyed more than 2,000 Thais from Bangkok and other provinces to get their opinion about the military’s takeover of the government.
More than 80 percent believed that the military intervention would end the political crisis that has gripped ousted caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration in recent months and would benefit the country’s future political development. Those who saw the coup as detrimental did so because of the possible effect it might have on the economy and the country’s image abroad. That's not the startling bit, that comes when the regional data is analysed.
Asked whether the agreed with the coup, 81.6 percent of Bangkokians supported the coup and 18.4 percent opposed. Amazingly, though, outside Bangkok 86.36 percent of those interviewed supported the Army while only 13.64 percent opposed them. Now, the situation was suppose dto be that Bangkok was the hot-bed of anti-Thaksin opposition while the countryside was strongly for him. These results IF verified suggests that opposition was evenly spread between city and country.
Asked if the coup would improve the political atmosphere in the country, 75.04 percent said that it would, 20.22 percent said it made no difference who ran the country and 4.74 percent said that it would make things worse. Again the split by region was interesting 72.8 percent of Bangkokians said it would make things better but 77.8 percent of those outside the city said that. 20 percent of Bangkokians said it would make no difference while 20.45 percent said that. Finally, while 7.7 percent of Bangkokians felt it would make things worse, only 2.28 percent of provincial citizens felt that way.
The poll was conducted by Suan Dusit Polls and interviewed 875 people in Bangkok and 1,144 iin the provinces.
I don't know what to make of this; it runs flatly against the perceived wisdom. of Thaksin's countryside strength. if its correct, either there has been an enormous swing against Thaksin in recent months or his strength outside the city was always overstated.
NTM
__________________
A man only needs two tools in life. WD-40 and duct tape. If it moves and it shouldn't, use the duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40.
Only in Thailand, they say, could a military coup this cheerful and this peaceful take place.
Quote:
Military coup leaders in Thailand - often called the "Land of Smiles" - apparently don't want to ruin that image. They've ordered soldiers to smile.
Army radio broadcasts are reminding soldiers to be friendly and courteous, especially to children and anyone who wants to take pictures with them.
Since Tuesday's overthrow of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, tanks and soldiers have been stationed at strategic points around Bangkok, becoming a must-have photograph for many Thais and tourists.
"People have shown overwhelming support for the soldiers," the army radio station said Saturday. "The soldiers should promote a positive image and continue smiling and be polite."
After a military career spanning nearly 40 years, Gen Surayud is seen as both a skilful soldier and a tactful leader.
He has also gained a reputation for being incorruptible - an important trait given the accusations of graft levelled at his predecessor, the ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
I'm going to Thailand in a few weeks. I'm not a great fan of coups, even ones that overthrow corrupt bastards, but at least this one seems to be without bloodshed. I'll be keeping an eye on things, but see no reason to change my travel plans as yet.
Not really. I expect Thailand will be business-as-usual as far as tourists go, which means chilled out and friendly. If I sense anything like a whiff of danger, I'll be booking different flights.
Not really. I expect Thailand will be business-as-usual as far as tourists go, which means chilled out and friendly. If I sense anything like a whiff of danger, I'll be booking different flights.
Coup in Thailand
"Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable." 
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