Coup in Thailand

Hello Friends,

As some of you may have already heard, there was a peaceful military coup in Thailand yesterday. At around 10 PM on September 19, the military entered Bangkok and took control of the key government buildings. There was no resistance. As of the morning of September 20, the leaders of the coup, who call themselves the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR), had taken control of the government. At that point they declared the 1997 constitution abrogated and dissolved Parliament and the Constitutional Court. They also declared a national holiday and closed all of the government buildings, the schools and the banks. All the schools have been re-opened today. There has not been any violence associated with the coup and life here is no different than normal. The leaders of the coup have been very adamant about their intentions and say that power will be returned to the people as soon as possible. The military will remain in power for two weeks as an appointment for Prime Minister is chosen and a Parliament created. Over the next six months to a year, a new constitution will be created and once that is completed elections will be held. The CDR has also declared loyalty to the King of Thailand, who is very revered, and all of the soldiers in Bangkok had wrapped yellow ribbons (the color of the monarchy) around their guns and the tanks. This morning, the King endorsed General Sonthi which is a sign that the peacefulness of the coup will continue. The CRD claimed that the coup was necessary to put an end to corruption, national divisions, and the undermining of independent agencies and the monarchy under Thaksin's rule.

The coup is led by the heads of the army, navy, air force and the police commander. The general leading the coup, General Sonthi, is close to the King of Thailand and has been endorsed by the King as the leader of the coup. It appears as though the coup was successful in taken control of the government. Military coups have been common in Thailand. There have been 17 coups since 1932, when a group of army officers and government officials overthrew the absolute monarchy and installed a democratic system under a constitutional monarchy. The last coup took place in 1991.

The former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was in the US at the time of the coup and is now in London. The coup comes after months of escalating political conflicts between the government and the military and between pro-Thaksin supporters and anti-Thaksin protestors. The prime minister had been increasingly seen as very divisive and had been criticized on numerous fronts from corruption to mismanagement of the government and had been widely seen as critical of the King.

Most of the criticism began after Thaksin sold off his share in Shin Corp, Thailand's largest telecommunications conglomerate, to Temasek Holding of Singapore in January. This earned Thaksin and his family $1.9 billion in tax-free gains, many claim through a manipulation of the system (Thaksin pushed though telecommunications legislation three days before the sale). Amide the growing protests and in an effort to regain legitimacy, Thaksin dissolved parliament in February and forced an election in April. Thailand's three main opposition parties boycotted the April 2 electron, which Thaksin's won. The results, however, were annulled by the constitutional court in May. Most recently, the three Election Commission officials were imprisoned on charges of corruption and bias. Another election was scheduled to be held in mid-October.

There is a lot more to be told and much more to the back story and the events leading up to this, but I think this is a good synopsis of events. Rest assured everything is fine and there is no need to worry.

Also, I have been reading some of the coverage by CNN and BBC and find that it is often times presenting a different perspective on the recent happenings here and are misleading. The coup, while not an ideal method for eliminating a corrupt leader and restoring democracy, is attempting to create a positive change in Thailand. The corruption, the divisiveness, the mishandling of the conflicts in the south of Thailand amongst other actions has been created a Thailand that is much less democratic than the 1997 constitution and the King envisioned. There is a feeling of hope among many people I have talked to that this will create a situation where democracy under the constitutional monarchy can be achieved. Polls released by the Bangkok Pose support this and say that roughly 80% of people in Thailand support the coup and the changes they wish to bring about.

I'll try to keep you updated as things change.

RM