Tanks in Bangkok,coup attempt?

[yannick]

Fun... I just arrived in BKK last night

[JimboPSM]

All schools and education instutions have been ordered to stay closed today throughout the country.

There was an AP notice on BBC News 24 that the banks are to stay closed as well today, that may result in ATM's being emptied rapidly today.

[BobHelm]

The village address system has said all schools, banks & government offices will be closed today - Oh well that is Nong Khai immigration out for another day at least!!

[Kudjap or Bust]

A first for me, and must say I'm a little anxious. Has anyone been through this before here?
Are there any repercutions for falangs or does everyone keep on keeping on?
Is there any armed forces presence in Udon? We were just told there's an armoured car / tank in the local state school sending all the kids home when they get there. Will go take a peek later to see if it's true.

[Kudjap or Bust]

Interesting snippet from CNN

""Sonthi, who is known to be close to Thailand's revered constitutional monarch, will serve as acting prime minister, army spokesman Col. Akarat Chitroj said, according to The AP. Sonthi is a Muslim in this Buddhist-dominated nation""

[BKKSTAN]

Interesting snippet from CNN

""Sonthi, who is known to be close to Thailand's revered constitutional monarch, will serve as acting prime minister, army spokesman Col. Akarat Chitroj said, according to The AP. Sonthi is a Muslim in this Buddhist-dominated nation""

You have UBC?My signal stopped at midnight and is still off.Went to the ATM, this morning ,no problem,no lines.Noticed that the Thais everywhere were watching tv.Thai tv,films of an individual ,same on every channel.

[JimboPSM]

Interesting snippet from CNN

""Sonthi, who is known to be close to Thailand's revered constitutional monarch, will serve as acting prime minister, army spokesman Col. Akarat Chitroj said, according to The AP. Sonthi is a Muslim in this Buddhist-dominated nation""

You have UBC?My signal stopped at midnight and is still off.Went to the ATM, this morning ,no problem,no lines.Noticed that the Thais everywhere were watching tv.Thai tv,films of an individual ,same on every channel.

From BBC News:

BBC World, CNN and other international TV news channels have been taken off the air, while Thai stations have broadcast footage of the royal family and patriotic songs.

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 361512.stm

[valentine]

A first for me, and must say I'm a little anxious. Has anyone been through this before here?
Are there any repercutions for falangs or does everyone keep on keeping on?
Is there any armed forces presence in Udon? We were just told there's an armoured car / tank in the local state school sending all the kids home when they get there. Will go take a peek later to see if it's true.

Yes I was here during the last one when many were killed. I was resident in Kanchanaburi and we weren't really affected despite it being a huge military town. We only noticed the army movements and of course were subject to the civil restrictions on movement. There was an alcholol ban and as a civil pilot I had a NoFly zone notification covering the whole of Thailand imposed.
It is a very tense time and naturally members of the military get very nervous(trigger happy) so having a look could be fatal. My advise is do as they say, keep your head down and stay away from Bangkok.So far it doesn't look as though Thaksin has an answer or the will to fight, but he is obviously mentally unstable and should he choose to resist,Udon is one of his strongholds and he could have a massive recruitment drive here, which will bring a swift reply. so we're not completely bomb proof. Just stay alert, you'll be alright.

[arjay]

This report from the Nation would seem to be knowlegable, though who really knows for sure at the moment.

Months of rumours come true

Finally, it had come down to a military showdown.

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.

The Nation

[Kudjap or Bust]

Thanks for the advise Val,

Sorry BKKSTAN I should have put I got the snippet from CNN.com

[arjay]

From the Nation again. This one about the UN's comments about military coups and the situation in Thailand:

Foreign countries express concerns on military takeover

Foreign countries have reacted with concerns over the military coup against Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan saying "this is not a practice to be encouraged."

"I don't have the details but this is not a practice to be encouraged," Annan told CNN television on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.

"We as an organisation have always supported governmental changes through democratic means, through the ballot box. As the African Union, for example, has indicated they do not support those who come to power through the barrel of a gun."

Annan urged the Thai people to "remain calm." He told CNN, "Over the past decade or so they have established a solid democracy and institutions under the leadership of an individual. And I'm sure they will be able to restore that institution and go back to a democratic system as soon as possible."

Thaksin is in New York for the assembly and has cancelled plans to give a speech to the meeting after the military staged a coup and ousted him. Thaksin, who had been due to speak today, initially switched places with Montenegro on the speaker's list to allow him to speak yesterday evening due to the takeover.

But just three hours before he was expected to address the 192nation world body, UN deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe announced that ``Thailand is no longer on the General Assembly speaker's list this evening.'' She gave no explanation for the cancellation.

Meanwhile the United States said it was monitoring the situation with concerns and is uneasy about the military takeover in Thailand.

The US State Department said in its statement issued on Tuesday that it hoped the political differences in Thailand can be resolved through democratic principles. There have been no indications of violence, but "we are monitoring the situation with concern." The department described the situation was still unfolding.

"We continue to hope that the Thai people will resolve their political differences in accord with democratic principles and the rule of law," the statement said.

The State Department responded initially with caution but injected an expression of concern several hours later in its second statement of the day.

In New York, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returned to her hotel from UN headquarters to speak with her staff about the coup. US Ambassador John Bolton said it was still too early to comment but appealed for the maintenance of the rule of law.

"We have press reports and I think for now the important thing is to look for the sustaining of constitutional processes in Thailand," Bolton said.

Agencies

[Grandad]

Does anyone know what 'Martial Law' actually means? Val? Ray?

Bugger - I was supposed to go on my visa run today.

[JimboPSM]

Does anyone know what 'Martial Law' actually means? Val? Ray?

Bugger - I was supposed to go on my visa run today.

Hmm... wonder if they will impose fines on people who could not renew their visa today because the offices are closed

[marjamlew]

it's all just one big history lesson in thai democracy. hope everyone stays safe. a melbourne radio station rang me at 6:15am asking for phone numbers of people i knew in bkk. gave them the number of a potato farmer in nong khai and I can guarantee that he knew nothing about it at 3am thai time. aussie foreign affairs are bleating out the usual disapprovals and have issued travel warnings and so forth. steve irwan's memorial service had taken over the radio news waves here by 10am. chok dee

[PopsIcafe]

Marshal Law means the military has taken over the government. The MP's are out of a job, I think. The military will run the government until a new PM amd MP's are elected or placed in the seat that are vacant now. This is the second coup I have been in. Val Ray correct me if I am wrong about the marshal law, but I think I am right on this.

Pop's

[JimboPSM]

From Wikipedia, full article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law

Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect (usually after a formal declaration) when a military authority takes control of the normal administration of justice.

Martial law is instituted most often when it becomes necessary to favor the activity of military authorities and organizations, usually for urgent unforeseen needs, and when the normal institutions of justice either cannot function or could be deemed too slow or too weak for the new situation; e.g., due to war, major natural disaster, civil disorder, in occupied territory, or after a coup d'้tat. The need to preserve the public order during an emergency is the essential goal of martial law. However, declaration of martial law is also sometimes used by dictatorships, especially military dictatorships, to enforce their rule.

Usually martial law reduces some of the personal rights ordinarily granted to the citizen, limits the length of the trial processes, and prescribes more severe penalties than ordinary law. In many countries martial law prescribes the death penalty for certain crimes, even if ordinary law does not contain that crime or punishment in its system.

In many countries martial law imposes particular rules, one of which is curfew. Often, under this system, the administration of justice is left to a military tribunal, called a court-martial. The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus is likely to occur.

[Kudjap or Bust]

So whats the purpose of shutting down UBC anyway?

Is it merely due to the fact they broadcast news channels?

I'm sure UBC could easily shut down the news channel feeds and leave the rest alone if they had a mind to.

Don't understand................

[BKKSTAN]

Sonthi will issue statement at 9 am

A spokesman announced on TV pool that Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the head of the Administrative Reform Council will make a statement at 9 am.

The spokesman also asks TV pool to return to normal TV programmes of each station from 8:10 am.

The Nation

[BKKSTAN]

His Majesty grants audience to Administrative Reform Council

His Majesty an individual granted an audience to the Administrative Reform Council at midnight.

A TV announcer said His Majesty granted the audience to Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, head of the council, Navy Commander-in-Chief Adm Sathiraphan Keyanon, Air Force Commander-in-Chief ACM Chalit Pukphasuk and Supreme Commander Gen Ruangroj Mahasalanon at midnight Tuesday.

The Nation

[BKKSTAN]

Regional army chiefs appointed heads of areas

The Administrative Reform Council issued its third order to appoint chiefs of four army areas to be peace keeping directors of their areas.

The order appointed the first, second, third and fourth army region commanders to be in charge of their respective areas and have power to command civil servants.

The order instructed provincial governors and other heads of government agencies as well as rectors of universities in each army area to report themselves to the army area commander.

The Nation