Thai Government Overthrown?
An alleged military coup has occurred in Thailand recently. Now I say alleged because the head of the army, Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, has claimed that the coup was a success and he will soon take over the Prime Minister’s position. But officials for the prevailing Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, insist that the government is still in order and under the control of Shinawatra. Currently the Prime Minister is at the UN in New York. The spokesmen for Shinawatra states that this coup “could not succeed” and that it is unknown when the Prime Minister will return to Thailand from the UN meeting.
This seems strange though because leaders of the army have been broadcasting, on every Thai TV station, that they have taken over the capital and have also declared martial law throughout the country. They are calling themselves “Council of Political Reform”. Why would the government allow this to happen if, like they said, they are still running and completely functional? There are also reporters throughout the area who have reported seeing many soldiers and tanks scattered along streets and near the Government House. So it appears that the coup happened, and was possibly a success. Still no official word has been released.
This is the first coup attempt in almost 15 years in Thailand, and before that they happened on a regular basis. Some would say they are good because it might get rid of a bad leader and unit the country as a whole. Others would say the coup would act as a pull force and drive the country apart. Separating the people who are loyal to the Prime Minister and the rebels. The new leaders could also be worse the old one was.
We must wait and see A.) If the coup was successful and B.) What affects this will have on an international basis?
posted by Anonymous @ 9/19/2006 09:52:00 PM
1 Comments:
Apparently, a government overthrow is what everyone wanted, but never got around to doing. Today (Sept 20) the king of Thailand gave is official blessing to the coup, and appointed the head of the coup as the "head of the council of administrative reform". Also, over 500 people gathered outside the HQ of the coup showing support. The amazing thing is that while there has been a huge display of power by the military forces, this has been a non-violent, bloodshed-less incident. I think that this will be a positive development for Thailand, if not a bit unorthodox.
Coup given royal seal of approval!
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