19 September 2006 Tuesday

Army strike in Bangkok

Turmoil in Thailand

Curfew has been announced.. state of emergency declared 30 minutes ago..
Soldiers seized the government house..
Prime Minister Thaksin is out of the country (currently in the U.S. I believe).. is out of the country..

CTV.ca
Times online
CNN
Intl Herald Tribune
BBC News

(News sites in Thailand are basically down)

Thaksin’s not so popular these past many months..but likely to be re-elected because money to the rural folk and they’re the ones who vote.

By my understanding, the big cloud hanging over Thailand has been the inevitable loss of their King, who isn’t getting any younger or healthier.. but the Thai people love him, and don’t really want to talk about that… but my understanding has always been that King Bhumibol is heart and glue of the country.. he has a daughter who would make a great ruler, but she’s not in line for the throne.. her elder brother is.. and educated guesses and fortune tellers have deigned that he will be Thailand’s last in the line of kings..

[via C]: “Basically, Taksin has been blatantly opposing HM the King, and democracy. But he is popular in the countryside. 90% of the military must be against him, so I would think that the coup should succeed. Several recent coups have actually led to improved governance and democracy; we will have to see how this unfolds.”

So… this could end up being a good thing?

1:20pm update~ Military has taken over… All channels have been blocked, including CNN and BBC.

2:30pm update~
B is from and currently in Bangkok
C is in the U.S.

C says: looks like Bangkok should be secure; trust that there won’t be any unrest in the countryside; we’ve all seen good coups and bad coups before; this one seems off to a pretty good start
B says: as long as they don’t split
B says: that is what we are all scared of
B says: if the coup splits, then we are screwed
C says: we will hope for the best; the timing seems about as promising as one could hope for — September is coup season, and if Taksin was foolish enough to travel before the election, it is simply another example of his scoffing at history and common sense
B says: I can’t agree more

Sept.20, 4:16pm update~ The King is supporting the general/coup.

Continued September 24th: The Coup in Thailand