The army is still fending off coup speculation but now says martial law is a possibility if the violence worsens.
Can you get the hell outta there quickly if you had to?
That would depend on whether the airports were occupied and shut down by protesters like in 2008 (see thread There’s Rioting in Our Streets, Part 1). But I would probably just hunker down here and ride it out. It would never become like, say, Saigon in 1975.
So tomorrow (Sunday) will be the start of a weeklong “final battle” by protest leader Suthep. This time it’s for real. Not like all those other final battles. This is the real deal, yessirree, believe it this time or else. If the government’s not toppled by the end, he’ll turn himself in to the police. Yep. You can really count on it this time.
Many schools have just started the new school year, so this is not going to be doing traffic any favors.
Okay, just after 6am here in Thailand, and we are now under martial law. The army just announced it at 6am. But details are sketchy. It’s not clear what this means. It’s not a military coup, as the government is still in place. Seems this was prompted by the increase in violence and renewed street protests this past week. We’ll have to wait and see.
I’ve actually just returned home from another sporadic round of late-night carousing. I felt it incumbent to make sure the bargirls in the Patpong red-light district were not panicky. Then I felt it incumbent that I inspect the sidewalk bars on lower Sukhumvit Road. No one panicking there. But I hadn’t heard anything about martial law. Started heading home after 5am, got here about 5:30am or thereabouts. Maybe a little later. The wife, who is used to these late night/early morning comings and goings of mine, had heard that martial law was to be declared at 6am and wondered if maybe I’d been detained somewhere. But no. In fact, I saw no military anywhere. The police checkpoints seem to have been stepped up, although that looked to be just the crackdown on drunk driving, and the taxis I rode in were just waved through.
I think I’m going to get some sleep this morning. Then I’ll try to figure out just what martial law is going to mean.
CNN has it as the top story right now.
Local story here. The army’s acting under a 100-year-old law that gives it the authority to intervene in times of crisis. They’re emphasizing this is not a coup, they just want to restore order.
Talked to the wife in her office, and she says so far it’s meant some TV stations controlled by both sides have been shit down and some streets blocked to prevent large groups of protesters of any stripe from entering Bangkok. I see from the Bangkok Post website that the army has seized all radio and TV stations and kicked 10 satellite TV channels off the air. Indeed, they’ve taken control of all media.
This is probably all a good idea, but I do wish they’d go the extra mile and flat-out remove this government.
From the TV, it looks like they have set up military checkpoints at various locations in the city even if I didn’t see any stumbling home at the crack of dawn. But there’s not much disruption of everyday life that I can tell. Certainly not like the disruptions caused by the protesters, that’s for sure.
Still early days – hell, it’s the first day – and it’s not clear yet how this will play out.
The government – who is definitely not the ones who called out the army; the army is doing this on their own – are reportedly going to hold a meeting today at an undisclosed location. I guess so they can figure out if this is a coup or not.
The red shirts have always vowed to oppose the army in any coup against the government that they support. This could be a big reason it’s not being called a coup.
And I give you … martial-law selfies. This is reminiscent of the 2006 coup, when everyone wanted their pictures taken with the soldiers.
We’re nearing the evening of our first day under martial law, and the situation seems quite normal. The wife didn’t see any signs of the army while going to or coming from her office. The number of soldiers seems remarkably small. Suthep’s latest “final battle” has been canceled, and the protesters on both sides are forbidden from leaving their camps. Other than that and the blocking of strategic roads – and the closure of some TV stations of course, but Thai TV is such shit that there’s no big loss there – there’s not much going on. But the army does have sweeping powers now to take stronger measures, and what’s already being termed a “half-coup” could easily turn into a full one in the coming days.
Freudian slip?
Seriously, keep yourself safe, Siam Sam. And as always, thanks for being Our Man in Bangkok.
Will do. There doesn’t seem to be a curfew. I’m supposed to meet up with an English friend this Saturday night. We may be inspecting the bars in Nana Plaza to make sure there’s no panic there.
The army chief wants a general election held on August 3. Hopefully the army will be on hand to prevent any of the shenanigans that marred the last election.
The red shirts are warning of open rebellion throughout their strongholds of the North and Northeast if the army takes the next step and actually overthrows the government. This does seem to have been a big worry of the military, widespread rebellion of just this sort. But myself, I say, “Fuck the red shirts.”
Twenty-nine countries and Hong Kong – although not a country per se, it’s not clear if Hong Kong is included in the 29 or becomes the 30th place – have issued warnings against travel to Thailand. But really, it seems to be calmer than it has been for months. If this is martial law, then I hope the army stays in place for a very long time. I still have yet top spot a single soldier on the street myself, same with the wife. There’s no curfew. Nary a sign of a protester, at least not where we’ve been passing, and we live right in the middle of Bangkok.
Many of the Shinawatra clan including now-former prime minister Yingluck have reportedly fled to Cambodia, although aome of them are denying it, and in person, so it’s clear those haven’t. But no one knows exactly where Yingluck is though.
Okay, I’m away from home now and borrowing a computer. But right now, just moments ago, the Thai army chief announced it’s now a full-fledged coup. The government has been kicked out completely, and the army is now in full control of the country. The reason given is a complete lack of cooperation in getting the red and yellow shirts together to talk (which I could have told them would happen). I am very busy at the moment but just had to pop in and report this. I’ll come back in later tonight or in the morning.
Where I am right now in the city, there is much rejoicing all around me.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Democracy simply doesn’t work.
BBC article here.
I hope you’re joking. Democracy works, but it takes reasonable people working together in good faith, with a willingness to compromise for the national good. Sounds like those are few and far between among the Thai political elite, alas (to say nothing of the American).
Thanks for keeping us posted, Siam Sam.
Good on you for taking a hit for the team and making sure the bars are safe and the bargirls are calm. It’s a tough sacrifice, I’m sure, but somebody’s got to do it!