Thailand Military Coup

On September 19, 2006 the was a Military Coup D' Etat in Thailand. The evening of September 19, 2006 the democratically elected Thailand government of PM Thaksin was over thrown by a military coup.

250,000 Demonstrate against Thaksin at Siam Square in the Spring of 2006.

Suvarnabhumi Airport was claimed as one of the crowning achievements of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin. The military-installed government that ousted Thaksin has opened several corruption investigations into the airport .. the airport has become a focal point of corruption investigations into Thaksin's administration.

July 5, 2007. The Military Junta has approved a new constitution. The new constitution severely limits the power of the Prime Minister & is in effect an anti-Thaksin constitution, taking aim at precisely the abuses the former prime minister is charged with.

The new constitution could be voted on as soon as August, 2007. Copies of Thailand's 17th constitution in 75 years are to be distributed to every Thai household ahead of the proposed August referendum.

4 months after opening Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport is suffering from cracked runways .. cracks large enough to pose a safety risk.

The cracks were reported in the Bangkok Post 2 years prior to the airport opening. A lawsuit was threatened by PM Thaksin, the Bangkok Post published a retraction & the editor who uncovered the faulty construction was fired!

More than 100,000 sq meters (1,000,000 sq feet) of runway are affected. The the construction was bonded by Diphaya Insurance. Repair costs are expected to be more than Bt1 billion ($25m)

Both domestic & international flights in January 2007 are being delayed dues to runway safety.

There is NO REPORTED VIOLENCE OR GUN FIRE!
This is a popular peaceful & bloodless Coup.
Up to 84% of people in Bangkok support the military's removal of PM Thaksin (aka Toxin).

3 Months Post Coup Update

December 10 is Constitution day in Thailand celebrating the 1977 constitution .. the 1977 constitution was in effect torn up on September 19.
3 months after the Coup D'etat martial law is still in effect in the northern Thai provinces most loyal to Taksin & in the Muslim south.
In the 77 years since the end of the absolute monarchy & the establishment of a constitutional monarchy Thailand has had 17 Constitutions & 18 Coups.
King Rama IX remains the most powerful man in Thailand & the leaders of the 2006 Coup are loyal to the King.

As usual the Thai people found a unique form of demonstration. Protesters are holding plastic banners with anti-Thaksin slogans .. plastic sheets made from hundreds of used consumer product labels .. shampoo . water. soft drink . 100s of labels .. an environmental statement in addition to political.

After the April mass demonstrations Thaksin initially agreed to step down .. the demonstrations went away .. then he reconsidered & here we are in September ..

When Thailand's military decided to overthrow Prime Minister Thaksin he was in the midst of promoting his supporters into key posts in order for the the billionaire businessman to strengthen his grip on power.

General Sonthi (or Sondhi), the coup leader, was recalled (in order to be demoted) the day of the coup.
Thaksin was reported ready to promote his cousin, Gen. Chaiyasit Shinawatra, to the post of Army commander -- the position that Gen. Sonthi held before the PM's recall..

In order to build a criminal case against Thaksin (to help justify the coup) the military council has empowered Thailand's top graft investigator, Auditor-General Jaruvan Maintaka, to investigate the previously suppressed allegations of corruption in Mr. Thaksin's government.

Bank of Thailand Governor MR Pridayadhorn Devakula cut short his trip to attend the International Monetary Fund / World Bank meeting in Singapore and he arrived back in Bangkok on Wednesday afternoon. He has been quoted as saying that he agreed to accept to become acting Prime Minister.

Pridiyathorn Devakula, is a respected banker who stood up to Mr. Thaksin on financial-policy issues and clamped down on lending at state-owned Krung Thai Bank that in 2004 was beginning to undermine the bank's financial stability.

The Thai press has reported for years the alleged (widely accepted & seemingly documented) allegations of extreme abuse of power by Thaksin.
- I do not think I have ever seen a pro Thaksin article in the English language Thai press.
It appears to be a fact that Thaksin's government has granted he & his cronies monopolies in key areas of Thai business, like the Thaksin family telecommunication monopoly.
- It also appears to be documented (widely reported in a free press) that Thaksin transferred millions of shares of his telecommunication monopoly to the Thaksin family maids in an attempt to hide his family's control.
- Bangkok's English language newspaper "The Nation" reported Friday that the military has set up a committee to investigate the assets of Thaksin and 15 members of his cabinet.
  - The National Counter Corruption Commission includes Panthep Glanarongran, a graft-buster who led a probe of Thaksin in 2001 and eight current or retired senior civil servants.
  - Thaksin would not be their sole target according to the newspare report.

Thai Army tanks roll through Bangkok, Tuesday night September 19.

Yellow ribbons indicate support for King Rama IX. The Thai people's love for Rama IX is unfathomable to a westerner.

Thaksin's primary support came from rural areas where he promised villages more improvements than any government could provide .. cash grants to all villages, infrastructure improvements to all villages .. none of which actually happened.
Thaksin promised grants of 1 million baht, us$25, 000., to each village.
- To get / buy votes Mr. Thaksin "has promised to the people things that cannot be done by any human being on earth," asserted Montri Chenvidayakarn.
- Summing up the case against Thaksin, NCCC secretary-general Klanarong Chanthick told the court evidence of Thaksin's intentional asset concealment "abounds".

Some of the tanks & most of the military are displaying yellow banners in honor of King Rama IX.( note yellow ribbon on the tank's machine gun barrel.) The Thai people's love of King Rama IX would be impossible for a westerner to understand.

Wednesday evening Sept. 20: Rama IX reports that he supports the military. Apparently both the police & military are loyal primarily to the King.

There was a meeting Wednesday morning with university presidents, permanent secretaries of ministries, and other key government officials.

Bangkok TV Wednesday AM:
The nature of the junta's plans should be clarified soon.
- "Administrative Reform Council" leader General Sonthi told foreign diplomats that a civilian government would be appointed to run the country within two weeks.
  - General Sonthi is a Muslim who was in charge of the Thai Military in the Southern Provinces ( until recalled by PM Thaksin immediately prior to the coup).
  - The Southern Provinces are currently experiencing extreme Muslim terrorism .. 16 terrorist bombs went off in one day near & in Hat Yi in September 2006.
  - Eighty percent of people in the far south, an Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Bangkok a century ago, are Muslim, ethnic Malay and do not speak Thai as their first language.
- The "Administrative Reform Council" is still discussing the candidate for the caretaker prime minister but added that the person must believe in democracy and embrace the much revered Monarchy of King Rama IX.
- A general election could be carried out by October 2007.
- There appears to be selective censorship of the news.
- No public gatherings are allowed.
All government officials, including university executive staffing, were required report to work at 9am September 20 .
For the most part it seems to be business as usual.
Banks are closed but many shops are open & there is little noticeable disruption in areas away from the blockaded government buildings.
- Of utmost importance, the street food vendors were in their usual locations outside my apartment today.
- Except for telephone congestion & interruption / apparent censorship of TV programming one would mostly not be aware of the situation.
  - Thank goodness ESPN is not interrupted!

The expressways were almost as congested as usual.

All basic government services are going on without much of a hitch.
Thaksin has applied for exile in the UK.
- Thaksin's family was allowed to leave the country for Singapore.
- Many Cabinet members and other people deemed hostile by the "Council of Administrative Reform" have been detained.
Thaksin is (was?) one of the richest men in the world .. much of his problems involve shady off shore asset sales during 2005 & 2006 .. shady untaxed transactions while he was Prime Minister.
- 100 billion Thb, 2.5 billion US, went untaxed because of complicated asset transactions in Bahama registered 'off shore' paper corporations.
- The transaction that did Thaksin in.
  - Thaksin sold the Thai Telephone Monopoly, Shin Corp., to a Singapore Corporation in a shady (Enron like) tax free off shore transaction .. multiple Thaksin off shore holding companies were involved in the extremely complicated & 'shady' transaction.
    - It is said PM Thaksin used his government position to secure monopolistic government concessions & thus the Shin Corporation's (100% owned by Thaksin & family) virtual monopoly on Thai telecommunications.
    - He then sold his monopoly of Thai telecommunications to a foreign owned corporation & tried to hide the true nature of the transaction through the Thaksin wholly owned Bahama Paper Corporations.
  - The Thai middle class saw this as a sale of a Thai national asset .. + it was un taxed & Enron like shady.
  - These transaction by the serving Thai Prime Minister were the beginning of the end of his government.
- The disposition of the Thaksin assets will be determined by the "Administrative Reform Council".

The Stock Exchange of Thailand and Banks are closed.
Wednesday flights out of Don Muang International Airport are leaving as scheduled.
Amazingly the tourist areas of Sukhumvit & Silom are seemingly uneffected.

For those with friends & family in Thailand: The phone systems are working but with extreme congestion.

The Thai military is now in control of Communications Authority of Thailand. This means the military can turn off mobile phones and the internet if they desire.
note yellow arm bands for Rama IX.
As of 3 AM Wednesday this has not happened ..telephone problems are due to the lines being over loaded.
- If possible, limit your phone calls to allow emergency communication.
Skype computer phones appear to be functioning OK. :-)
Thai International Telephone Information.

Wednesday Morning Bangkok TV:

Approximate translation:

At present the government reforms the democratic regime with the King as chief .
The army commander and national police commander have controlled the situation in Bangkok and boundary areas already.
There is no opposition.
To maintain the peace of the nation we ask people's cooperation and forgive the inconvenience.

& now .. Latest Announcement from the Coup Leaders: 4 AM Wednesday. .. YAWN..

The current constitution, drafted in 1997, is now repealed.
The House of Representatives, the Senate, the Cabinet and the Constitution Court are now dissolved.
The courts of justice, except the Constitution Court, will retain their full power to adjudicate cases according to the law and the announcements of the council.

Facts & Background:

Tuesday September 18: PM Thaksin striving to control the long rumored coup declared a state of emergency recalled Thai Army commander Commander-in-Chief General Sondhi from the Muslim terror ravaged deep terror south of Thailand .. The Thai South borders on Muslim Malaysia.

The extremely unpopular Thaksin agreed to step down in April, 2006 .. then did a politician "two-step" & changed his mind.

The extremely unpopular PM Thaksin (AKA Toxin) had realized for several months that his battle against the Thai middle class could come down down to this military confrontation.
- Thaksin's attempted firing of General Commander Sondhi has blown up.
- The Nation Newspaper reported in it's Tuesday edition that a Coup was likely
The military loyal to General Sondhi has staged a coup and cancelled Thaksin's state of emergency taking control of key areas in Bangkok.
The military has encircled PM Thaksin's offices with tanks.
- Martial law has been declared.
- The Thai Constitution has been revoked.
Sources in the military are claiming that Akrathorn Jurarat has been named Prime Minister.
- Akrathorn is chairperson of the Administrative Court.
A military spokesman said Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin would be acting prime minister.
Concern about the Thai Baht is real .. How hard the military decides to go after Thaksin and his assets will be key.

PM Thaksin has been accused of extreme corruption. Voter fraud.

Several of Thaksin's chief aids & TRT party ministers were convicted & sentenced to prison in August & September 2006.

Class 10 of the Chulachorn Klao Military Academy, who are loyal to Thaksin, were preparing to resist the Coup..

The Academy Corp knows that the final showdown had come.
They got the Third and Fourth Calvary Battalion w/ the Antiaircraft Artillery prepared within their barracks. :-o!
Thank goodness the students listened to their teachers & did not do anything stupid.

Steven Colbert / The Colbert Report on Comedy Central showed the Thai UN delegation text messaging during Bush's speech at the UN .. of course there was a military coup happening at that instant..