A day after the coup d'etat in Thailand, the situation is becoming clearer to distant observers. Local political observers are saying that the coup was predictable and should have been seen by Thaksin, the PM of Thailand. I can't see how this is going to help Thailand in the short term but the problems of corruption were widespread. During my own visits to Thailand I always heard about corruption but it was not clear to me who was orchestrating it or where the money flowed.
The army commander Gen Sonthi Boonyarataglin staged a coup d'etat Tuesday evening (Thailand time) and ousted the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.A so-called "Democratic Reform Council" declared itself in control and declared martial law nationwide. Terse announcements said it included the commanders of all three armed forces and the police. It said the coup was necessary to correct "unprecedented division in the country."
The Council said there seemed to be widespread corruption, and independent agenies were subverted by politicians, apparently a reference to the Thaksin government. "The national government through the current administration has caused conflicts and undermined the harmony of the people as never before in history."
Public acceptance remained unknown. The coup occurred late Tuesday night, when Bangkok was under a major rainstorm, and few people were seen on the streets.
The opposition had scheduled a major anti-Thaksin rally for Wednesday. The last military coup, in 1991, was extremely unpopular and was overthrown by violent opposition in the streets.
Officers this time promised to hold power for as short a time as possible. An announcement over the name of Gen Sonthi, a Special Forces veteran long seen as apolitical, promised: "The council is steadfast in its objective, which is not to take over the government permanently and it will hand back the power to the people as soon as possible."
The Council repealed the 1997 "people's constitution" and dissolved both houses of parliament, the government and the constitution court. Announcements said the Council was under the King, and confirmed that the Privy Council and all courts except the Constitution Court remained in power.
Are there any Americablog readers in Thailand who have some local information? It's a shame to see this happen again so any feedback from the region would be well appreciated.
