Tag: Bangkok

Thailand Coup: Day Five

Monks with Tank
[Image: New York Times]

Things’re still quiet here in Bangkok; there was a very small protest at Siam Paragon mall last night. It drew between 15 and 100 protesters, depending on who you ask. By all accounts the numbers of journalists and onlookers outnumbered the protesters. The biggest question today is when a new PM will be named and who he’ll be.

The bottom line: Thai people feel an extraordinary amount of respect for their king, and so long as he has endorsed the coup leaders, all is copacetic.

To the news coverage:

CNN:

Thai banker ‘favored as next PM’

AP:

Even in Thaksin territory, villagers say coup could solve Thailand’s problems

The CSM‘s Simon Montlake and Dan Ten Kate:

Thai coup uproots a thin democracy

The IHT‘s Seth Mydans:

“Coup May Allow Thais to Take New Tack on Insurgency”
…
Mr. Thaksin’s ouster in a coup this week offers the chance for a new approach, though not a quick end, to an insurgency that has become nastier and more entrenched and that experts say may be receiving guidance and training from foreign Islamic insurgents.
…

The WaPo‘s Anthony Faiola:

Thai Coup Highlights Struggles Over Democracy

Reuters‘ Ed Cropley:

Coup puts Thailand’s dream of world role on ice

AP:

Thailand’s military rulers irritated at foreign reporting on coup

Elsewhere:

— The Council for the Democratic Reform under the Constitutional Monarchy — aka the ruling junta — now has an official Web site;

— Bangkok Pundit:

The 14 October and to a lesser extent the 6 October are important dates in the Thai calendar. Given their connection between civilian government and military coups both dates will likely see protests against the coup.

— 2Bangkok’s photos prove that this was truly the “smooth as silk” coup;

— Thai food blogger Chez Pim examines the situation; and

— Bangkok Expat Mama attended a small pro-democracy rally last night.

And finally, thanks for links from:

Jaunted; Wendy Harman; Obsidian Wings; and Centerfield.

Thailand Coup: Day Three

Gen. Sondhi

The IHT‘s Tom Fuller:

Thai Junta Imposes Curbs on News Media

The WSJ’s James Hookway has a good story:

Was Thai Coup Pre-Emptive?

AP:

Coup raises fresh questions about press freedom in Thailand

Seattle Times:

Some travelers wary after Thailand coup, but tourism impacts expected to be brief

The Independent‘s Justin Huggler:

Democracy is dead, but Bangkok’s 24-hour party people still live it up

Catch Me on KQED’s Pacific Time

KQED's Pacific Time

UPDATE: The show has aired; you can listen to it here (it can be streamed or downloaded as an mp3). I come on after a couple of minutes. The host, Sydnie Kohara, provides some good context regarding the situation.

I was just interviewed by Pacific Time, a radio program that covers “the ideas, trends and cultural patterns that flow back and forth between Asia and America.” It’s produced by KQED in San Francisco. I answered a few questions about the situation here in Thailand. The show is broadcast on public radio stations throughout the US. Here’s when and where it airs.

(Readers in DC: the show will be WETA 90.9 FM tonight at 8 p.m. You can listen live online here.)

Categories
Misc.

Thailand’s Bloodless Coup: Nearing 48 Hours In

Thailand Coup: Soldiers Stand Guard

I spent four hours this afternoon walking around Bangkok and taking photos and talking to people. The image above very clearly illustrates the situation on the ground: Soldiers stand guard, while behind them civilians go about their daily lives. To the right, the two symbols of the nation — the country’s tri-colored flag and a yellow emblem of King Bhumibol Adulyadej — are united.

The city is calm. Traffic was light yesterday but appeared, in central Bangkok, to have nearly returned to its normal volume today.

Thailand Coup: Major Intersection

Thailand Coup: Major Intersection

Traffic has picked up a bit from yesterday, but it appeared to move more fluidly than usual. (Yes, this really is “more fluidly.”)

Thailand Coup: Motorcycle Taxi Drivers Relaxing

And, as ever, motorcycle taxi drivers lounged about and waited for fares.

To the news reports:

CNN:

• Deposed PM Thaksin says coup was totally unexpected
• Sonthi says “all sectors” cooperating with new ruling council
• Rebel Muslim leader says coup may resolve dispute in south
• King endorses military’s takeover, orders people to follow general

Reuters:

Thai army bans “political activities”

AP:

Billionaire PM had no shortage of enemies

The lede of the day goes to DPA‘s Peter Janssen:

Bangkok (dpa) – Thailand has arguably taken coup-making to new heights of non-violence, judging by the peaceful response to Tuesday’s bloodless blitzkrieg that toppled prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from power and put a junta in command of the kingdom.

Thai Army Commander-in-Chief Sonthi Boonyaratklin brought troops and tanks into Bangkok Tuesday night and took over the country without firing a shot, putting a junta in power that has promised to hand over the reins of government to a cabinet of appointed civilians within two weeks and hold a general election within a year.

“I have seen 15 coups myself in the past 30 years and this was the easiest one yet,” said Luzi Matzig, a long time resident in Thailand who runs Asia Travels, a tour agency. “A smooth-as-silk kind of coup,” quipped Matzig, playing on Thailand’s national airline’s advertising slogan “THAI – Smooth as Silk.”

The Nation:

Figures Behind the Coup (graphic)

Bangkok Post:

Police, bomb plot file vanish

Elsewhere:

Bangkok Pundit is staying on top of things, as is 2Bangkok.com.

Categories
Misc.

Thailand Coup: 11:25 p.m. Bangkok Time

BBC:

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has declared a state of emergency in Bangkok amid reports of a coup attempt.

Soldiers have entered Government House and tanks have moved into position around the building.

Mr Thaksin, who is at the UN in New York, announced he had removed the chief of the army and had ordered troops not to “move illegally”.

An army-owned TV station is showing images of the royal family and songs linked in the past with military coups.

Correspondents say that there have been low-level rumours of a possible coup for weeks.

Thai media say that two army factions appear to be heading for a clash, with one side backing the prime minister and the other side backing a rebel army chief.

CNN:

Tanks have been seen rolling through the streets of Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday amid rumors of an attempted coup, witnesses tell CNN.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra — currently at the U.N. headquarters in New York — went on a government-owned TV station and declared a state of emergency, The Associated Press reported.

According to officials at the Thai mission at the United Nations, Thaksin has moved up his speech to the General Assembly to Tuesday night and will return to Bangkok after his address.

He had been scheduled to address the assembly on Wednesday.

Thaksin has been under considerable pressure to step down. Elections in Thailand are scheduled for November after the country’s constitutional court ruled April’s vote was unconstitutional.

Thaksin had called for the elections in April, 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.

AP:

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra declared a state of emergency Tuesday night from New York as rumors of a military coup swept the capital. An army-owned television station suspended regular programming and played patriotic songs.

Shinawatra went on a government-owned TV station to declare the state of emergency.

“The prime minister with the approval of the Cabinet declares serious emergency law in Bangkok from now on,” Thaksin said on Channel 9 from New York, where he was attending the U.N. General Assembly.

He said he was ordering the transfer of the nation’s army chief to work in the prime minister’s office, effectively suspending him from his military duties.

Reuters:

Tanks surrounded Thailand’s Government House on Tuesday and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra declared a state of emergency in Bangkok amid signs of the first attempted coup in the southeast Asian nation in 15 years.

“I declare Bangkok under a severe state of emergency,” Thaksin said in a voice broadcast on Thai television.

Thaksin, in New York at a United Nations summit, ordered troops not to “move illegally”, and told armed forces chiefs to report to acting Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya.

At least 20 soldiers entered the Government House building, according to reporters inside.

Army television broadcast images of the royal family and songs associated in the past with military coups.

Government officials said Thaksin, in the middle of a political crisis fomented by a street campaign against him, planned to return from New York early on Thursday, a day earlier than originally scheduled.

Even though Thailand’s last military coup was 15 years ago, speculation about military intervention has been rife, with motorists calling traffic radio stations last week after tanks were spotted rolling down streets of the capital.

That proved to be a false alarm, with the army saying it was merely soldiers returning from exercises.

A general election scheduled for October was postponed last week, probably until November.

(All emphasis mine.)

Developing…

Bangkok’s Quirkiest City Guide

Siam Square

I’ve got a new post over at Gridskipper; it’s about Bangkok’s quirkiest online city guide.

Wat Arun

Here’s a photo I snapped of Wat Arun the other night. It was raining, and the mist made for an eerie effect.

Categories
Misc.

“The Quiet Farang”

John Burdett, author of two excellent novels about Bangkok, had an informative op-ed in yesterday’s New York Times. He says that there’s a reason delinquent foreigners come to Thailand — and that the country has some endemic problems of its own:

The story of the cute white girl in the red tartan bonnet who had been dead 10 years burst into the Thai news media just as another equally harrowing local story was breaking: allegations, vigorously denied, of the systematic serial rape of five 8-year-old girls by two highly respected Thai teachers with decades of experience as educators.

In Thailand, only monks are revered more than teachers. But this local news, which surely touches the lives of Thais more deeply than John Mark Karr’s confession to the murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey a decade ago, was knocked off the front page even as doubts began piling up about Mr. Karr’s reliability.

Since her death, JonBenet has become a multimillion-dollar American industry, whereas the allegations at Prachanukul School in Bangkok’s Sai Mai district are just another Bangkok crime story. Or are they?

As of now, it seems possible that Mr. Karr did not commit the murder, but is an attention-seeking farang kee-nok — “Western drifter.” Like other members of that group, he tried to make ends meet by taking on teaching jobs, made regular visa runs to Malaysia, lived in a budget hotel, drifted around Southeast Asia with no apparent direction.

Yet it is exactly his familiarity as a type that has concentrated the attention of those Thais most familiar with it. Nit Dandin, a veteran teacher of the Thai language to Westerners, put it to me this way: “Why do farang come to Thailand after they kill or rape somebody in their own country?”

Why indeed?

Read the whole thing.

(Via.)

Categories
Misc.

Karr’s Creepy Usenet Postings

Thanks to A for passing along this site, which details some of Karr’s sicko Usenet postings as well as a mirrored copy of his (similarly creepy) teaching resume.

This case gets stranger by the day. Now there’s a potential link to a yearbook inscription Karr made 20 years back.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the answer is yes: John Mark Karr now has a Wikipedia page.

Categories
Misc.

John Karr and Tourism in Thailand

In my most recent Gridskipper post, I take a look at Karr’s bust and the Thai tourism industry.