The apparent coup followed months of rumours about unrest in the Thai armed forces and possible coup plots. In July 2006, around a hundred middle-ranking army officers said to be supporters of Thaksin were reassigned by the army high command, fuelling rumour that the army was divided between supporters and opponents of the Prime Minister. The coup was the first since Thailand returned to democracy in 1992 following an earlier coup.[8] High-ranked civil servants are ordered to report to the council while government offices and banks will be closed on September 20 [9].
Former prime minister Chuan Leekpai said of the events, "As politicians, we do not support any kind of coup, but during the past five years, the government of Thaksin created several conditions that forced the military to stage the coup. Thaksin has caused the crisis in the country."
A few hours after news of the coup broke, BBC News reported that the leader of the coup would be meeting with the King later in the day, although it was unclear at that time what King Bhumibol's position on the coup was.
The chiefs of Thailand's army, navy and air force met with King Bhumibol Adulyadej to declare they were taking over the country, according to a televised statement early Wednesday. The coup is being led by Thai army chief Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, who announced that the military and opposition Party of Democratic Reform were taking over while Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was in New York for a U.N. meeting. ... 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, AP reported. ... Only one local station was broadcasting and it was showing pictures of the country's king, according to an e-mail CNN received from Nio Paul, who identified himself as an American living in Thailand. ... Troops on the streets of the Thai capital had yellow ribbons on their weapons, a sign of loyalty to the nation's king, to whom the coup plotters proclaimed their loyalty. ... Elections in Thailand are scheduled for November after the country's constitutional court ruled that a vote in April was unconstitutional. Thaksin had called for the April elections, three years early, after opponents accused the billionaire leader of abusing the country's system of checks and balances and bending government policy to benefit his family's business. Some Thais gathered outside Government House in Bangkok to get pictures of themselves with the tanks and troops, AP reported.
The coup is being led by Thai army chief Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, who announced that the military and opposition Party of Democratic Reform were taking over while Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was in New York for a U.N. meeting.
...
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, AP reported.
Only one local station was broadcasting and it was showing pictures of the country's king, according to an e-mail CNN received from Nio Paul, who identified himself as an American living in Thailand.
Troops on the streets of the Thai capital had yellow ribbons on their weapons, a sign of loyalty to the nation's king, to whom the coup plotters proclaimed their loyalty.
Elections in Thailand are scheduled for November after the country's constitutional court ruled that a vote in April was unconstitutional.
Thaksin had called for the April elections, three years early, after opponents accused the billionaire leader of abusing the country's system of checks and balances and bending government policy to benefit his family's business.
Some Thais gathered outside Government House in Bangkok to get pictures of themselves with the tanks and troops, AP reported.
It looks like the only way the coup will fail is if the King makes a stand against it, but CNN reports that he has already met with the coup leaders and the coup wasn't called off, so I think that's it. Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. — Euripides
