Thai Army Leaders Depose Prime Minister
Move Follows Protests Against Thaksin, Who Was in New York for U.N. Assembly

By Bill Brubaker and Ron Corben
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 1:34 PM

The leader of a bloodless coup that ousted Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was in New York said Wednesday he will act as prime minister for two weeks until a leader "who is neutral and upholds democracy" is found.

Army commander Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said in his first public appearance since seizing power that a temporary constitution will be enacted within two weeks and a general election will be held in October 2007, the Associated Press reported.

Sonthi asked for the public's support and declared the coup was necessary to end serious conflicts within Thai society that Thaksin had created.

"We would like to reaffirm that we don't have any intention to rule the country and will return power to the Thai people as soon as possible," he said a brief television address. He was flanked by the three armed forces chiefs and the head of the national police force.

Sonthi said the coup was needed "in order to resolve the conflict and bring back normalcy and harmony among people."

He hinted that Thaksin may face prosecution, AP reported. Asked if there would be moves to confiscate Thaksin's assets, Sondhi said: "Those who have committed wrongdoings have to be prosecuted according to the law." He did not elaborate.

Thai army leaders deposed Thaksin, a longtime ally of President Bush, using tanks and soldiers to seize the capital Tuesday night without firing a shot. The coup was the first in 15 years in a country where many people believed that military seizures of power were a thing of the past.

Thaksin was in New York, attending the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, when soldiers surrounded Government House, his office, at about 10:30 p.m. in Bangkok. He declared a state of emergency by telephone, but his announcement, carried on television, was cut off midway and had no discernible effect as army units seized key facilities in a light rain.

Thaksin canceled a planned address to the General Assembly and Wednesday morning flew to London on what the British Foreign Office described as a private visit, according to AP.

Reports online in The Nation, a Thai newspaper, had speculated earlier that Thaksin might join family members in London, where he owns property. By Wednesday some of his government ministers had been detained while others had fled the country or stayed abroad.

The Nation reported that ousted Foreign Minister Kantathi Supamongkhon traveled to London from Paris, where he was attending a cultural exhibition.

The Thai newspaper, quoting a "well-informed source," reported that former deputy prime minister Surakiart Sathirathai would possibly return to Bangkok on Thursday.

Bush has made the spread of democratic rule abroad a key theme of his administration. It remained unclear what response the U.S. government would take to the overthrow of an elected figure whom Bush called a "very capable leader" in 2003. In recent months, White House officials have been distancing themselves from Thaksin.

"We look to the Thai people to resolve their political differences in a peaceful manner and in accord with the principles of democracy and rule of law," said Ken Bailes, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, on Tuesday.

In Thailand, announcements on state-run television signed by coup leader Sonthi said martial law had been declared and the 1997 constitution had been revoked.

The stock exchange was closed Wednesday, along with schools, banks and government offices.

Thai tourism officials expressed concerns Wednesday about the impact of the coup on the country's tourism industry, The Nation reported.

"A number of tourists cut short their trips to Thailand yesterday, fearing of the possible violence," the newspaper said. "A number of tourists were seen queuing up at Don Muang Airport to go home."

At a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday evening, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said the coup in Thailand had so far not disrupted the world economy.

"It's always very regrettable when you see a change take place this way in a democracy," Paulson said. "But in terms of the economic impact, if I'm thinking of the top five or six things I'm worrying about today, that isn't on the list."

Thailand's army banned political gatherings of more than five people, the Reuters news agency reported. The cable TV operator shut down broadcasting of international channels. Local TV stations showed images of tanks.

Bangkok's streets were mostly empty and calm prevailed early in the day.

But at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, a group of activists was arrested while protesting the coup, according to The Nation.

Thaksin, a former senior police official who built a fortune in the telecommunications industry, has faced street protests for much of the year over allegations of corruption, abuse of power and a bungling response to a Muslim insurgency. Many military officers contended that he was trying to interfere with promotions and postings in the armed forces.

Opponents of the prime minister cheered the coup; some of them turned out in the early Tuesday morning to greet soldiers sitting atop tanks parked on Bangkok streets. Thaksin is widely popular in rural Thailand, where most of the population lives, and there was little immediate response from those communities.

Sonthi and other coup leaders are close to Thailand's deeply revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Some of the coup soldiers sported cloths of yellow, the royal color, as armbands and on their gun barrels in an attempt to signal they were acting in support of the king.

Reports said coup leaders had met with the king in his palace. In past political crises, a few words from the king, the world's longest-reigning monarch, have dramatically turned the course of events. But Sonthi said at the news conference that the monarchy played no role in the seizure of power.

"I am the one who decided to stage the coup. No one supported me," Sonthi said.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist, said he had been fearful in the initial hours that troops loyal to Thaksin might fight back. No such opposition appeared.

Army TV gave the first sign that something was afoot when it began broadcasting patriotic songs and images of the king.

The army spokesman, Col. Akarat Chitroj, told the Associated Press that Sonthi would serve as prime minister. But a government spokesman denied that Thaksin was no longer head of the government. "At this moment, he is still the prime minister. I just talked to a senior party member and everyone confirms that Thaksin is still prime minister," Susasanee Nakpong told the AP.

In New York, deputy prime minister Surakiart condemned the coup. Thaksin "is constitutionally and legally elected prime minister," he told CNN. "And this is an elected government. . . . If there's going to be any change, it has to be through the democratic means, and we have upcoming elections anyway in November, so we should listen to the voice of the people."

The coup is the 18th successful or attempted military takeover in Thailand since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. But in the 1990s, the military stepped back from this role as democratic institutions began to take root.

As recently as this weekend, Thaksin denied that a coup was in the making. "As far as I know, there's no such movement for the time being," he said, according to the Nation newspaper.

Thaksin and his Thais Love Thais party won a resounding victory in 2005 elections, securing 374 of 500 seats in the House of Representatives. But he soon found himself in a political crisis.

Street protests that had begun with a murmur late last year found voice in January after Thaksin's family sold its shares in Shin Corp., a telecommunications and satellite company, to Singapore's Temasak Holdings for $1.9 billion, tax-free.

Thaksin sought to counter demands for his resignation by calling early elections in April, only to see them boycotted by the opposition parties. King Bhumibol called on the courts to "clear up the mess," and the judges nullified the vote.

Sen. Kraisak Choonhavan, whose late father, Gen. Chatichai Choonhavan, was ousted as prime minister in the last successful coup in 1991, said the new takeover was "unfortunate . . . but it seems as if it was inevitable. And I think the key to understand in this event is probably Mr. Thaksin wants to take out the existing military hierarchy altogether and put his men in and have total control of Thailand."

Thaksin had been hoping that a recent military reshuffle and series of promotions would strengthen his hand, analysts said.

Staff writer Glenn Kessler in Washington, Peter Goodman in Beijing and Colum Lynch at the United Nations contributed to this report.