Many in Bangkok Embrace Military Takeover

Thai Army Chief Vows to Turn Power Over to Interim Leader Within Two Weeks

Photos
Thai Prime Mininster Deposed in Coup
The Thai armed forces launched a coup Sept. 19 against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York. The military has vowed to return the country to civilian control quickly, but the coup drew protests from the United States and other world governments.

BANGKOK, Sept. 20 -- Jubilant crowds in this sultry capital embraced Thailand's new military leadership on Wednesday, as Thais showered soldiers with flowers, posed for photos with tanks and welcomed a bloodless coup that deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra a day earlier.

Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, the army chief who led the rebellion and who is now acting prime minister, vowed that an interim leader would be appointed within two weeks. But in an indication that the restoration of democracy is a long way off, he made clear that elections may wait until October 2007, after the drafting of a new constitution.

For now, the military remains in control of a country that had become one of the strongest beacons of democracy in Southeast Asia. Provincial governors -- including many still loyal to Thaksin -- are being forced to report to four regional army commanders. To prevent any uprisings among Thaksin's supporters, based in the rural north and northeast, the provisional military authority also advised farmers to "remain calm" and banned political gatherings of five or more people. Some television and radio reports have been blocked or censored.

Despite the new period of uncertainty, ushered in by a coup that was denounced by the United States and other foreign governments, many Thais in the capital appeared overjoyed.

"Democracy has won!" said an ecstatic Orathai Dechodomphan, 59, a tailor and Thaksin opponent who joined hundreds of people handing out roses to soldiers near the army headquarters. "Thaksin tried to steal power and did not respect our king. He never would have left on his own. What happened yesterday is our first step toward recovering a real democracy."

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was seen by many here as having effectively allowed Thaksin's removal, endorsed Sonthi, appointing him the official head of a new governing council charged with creating "peace in the country," according to an announcement televised nationally.

Sonthi is close to the king, and there had been speculation that the monarch played a role in the coup. Sonthi dismissed those suggestions Wednesday, telling reporters: "I am the one who decided to stage the coup. No one supported me."

The general, who only a week ago had ruled out the chance of a coup, said the military had been forced to act because Thaksin's moves to remain in power had divided the country. At the same time, Sonthi said, Thaksin's actions were dangerously bordering on lese-majeste, a powerful charge in a country where the king is widely revered.

The ousted prime minister, a billionaire tycoon who rose to power in 2001, was extremely popular among rural Thais largely because of a series of lucrative local programs he backed. But allegations of corruption and abuse of power earned him the hostility of the country's elite, mostly in Bangkok. He had been accused of monopolizing the media, altering the constitution to enhance his powers and stocking electoral commissions with his supporters. He was also scorned for mishandling the increasingly violent Islamic insurgency in the south of Thailand, a mostly Buddhist country.

In a public opinion poll released Wednesday by Rajabhat Suan Dusit University, almost 84 percent of respondents supported the coup. The overwhelming majority of those taking part in the poll were from the capital.

Sonthi suggested that Thaksin could face prosecution if he returned to Thailand. Thaksin, for his part, did not immediately appear ready to stage a comeback. "I volunteer to work for the country," he told the Thai News Agency in London, where he arrived Wednesday after departing early from the opening session of the U.N. General Assembly. "If they don't want me to do that, I won't."

Thaksin received international support. The European Union demanded "that the military forces stand back and give way to the democratically elected political government." The Bush administration denounced the coup and said negotiations on a free-trade agreement with Thailand depended on restoration of democracy.