Well, it helps to have a democracy in the first place, which Thailand’s never really been. It’s pretty much been a military dictatorship in disguise. The army allows just enough democracy to satisfy the West, but if the politicians start getting uppity a la Thaksin, then they step in.
But I’ve made it home okay. There’s a nationwide curfew now from 10pm-5am. I don’t know how long that will last. Maybe a few days. The Skytrain and subway shut down at 9pm. I made it home about 9:20, and it’s almost 10pm now. The Expressway, which we can see from our place, is pretty deserted. I had some places to be late tonight, but that’s been scuppered.
I’ve had one report of unknown reliability regarding some sort of clash in northern Bangkok, with soldiers among the wounded. But this coup is being welcomed by most people in Bangkok from what I can tell. As I said, the coup was deemed necessary after an army-hosted meeting between all parties failed to solve anything. And reportedly the last thing the army chief asked the government, or what was left of it, to do was resign, and it refused. That decided the coup.
This could very well be a chance to get rid of that Shinawatra filth once and for all. I’ve always thought the army was too quick to relinquish control after the 2006 coup. They wanted to keep the West happy. But this allowed the red shirts to creep back in. Hope they take care of the matter once and for all this time.
I learned more about the clash in northern Bangkok. The report came from a friend of the wife’s. He said soldiers showed up in the neighborhood complete with Humvees and instructed everyone to stay inside. Shooting was heard later, followed by calls over a radio to request pick-up of wounded soldiers. (I guess he had some sort of short wave?)
It seems the apartment house next his house was the home of a number of red-shirt soldiers. I mean they really were soldiers but also red-shirt supporters, so other soldiers went to arrest them. It’s not clear if the soldiers wounded were the red shirts or non-red shirts.
The wife’s office will be closed tomorrow, so she gets another holiday. I expect to be out and about.
Almost 7:30am and we made it through the first night of curfew. Twenty-three politicians including members of the Shinawatra clan have been ordered to report in person to the National Peace and Order Maintaining Council at 10am. That includes Yingluck, but her whereabouts remain unknown. Who knows, maybe she really did bolt to Cambodia. (Or maybe she’s now #43 at Poseidon Massage Parlor.)
This will, of course, trigger sanctions by Western countries. I believe it’s automatic by law in the US. Many here feel it’s a very small price to pay to rid the country of the Shinawatra filth.
They’re required by law to get pissed off. Fuck them. Believe me when I say this is a positive development for the country. Anything – and I mean ANYTHING – that gets rid of a Shinawatra is by definition a good thing.
Odd, but we’re still getting BBC World News on our TV. I’d heard all the international stations had been cut, but we’re still getting BBC. We never had CNN ourselves, but I’ve heard that’s definitely been cut to Thailand. The local TV stations have all been taken over by the army and are broadcasting the same program. A little news such as those politicians supposed to report, then just some sort of official screen showing while a weird mix of martial music and children’s choirs is played.
It exists in Thailand, but I don’t know what that involves. We’re just too busy usually to spend much time watching TV so have never gotten cable or a dish or anything like that.
Will be setting out into the city soon. If you don’t hear back from me tonight, I’ll check in in the morning. Dunno yet if there’s another curfew tonight.
It is automatic by law in the US, but who cares about the law? In case of Egypt, Obama just decided it was not a coup. There goes the law. Probably will do same here.
The government has been removed. It’s gone. As of yesterday (Thursday). And good riddance.
How long the military retains power is anyone’s guess at this point. It could be a month, i9t could be a year. Or longer. Again, the main failing of the 2006 coup is that the army relinquished control too soon, allowing Thaksin cronies to slip back into the system. And that was after I think it was 18 months of control. I can only hope that this time they fix the Thaksin problem for good.
The feeling of relief in Bangkok is almost palpable. I suspect there are no celebrations in the red-shirt strongholds of the Northeast and North though.
Not sure they can in this case, what with the military freely admitting this is a coup d’etat, announcing it as such to the entire world. Not sure that was the case in Egypt.
FWIW, at this very moment I am in Chiang Mai (well, not too far away from the city, anyway – about 1 hour away), and I only realized that the army had given a coup when I got messages from my family in Spain, saying that they were worried about me and asking me if I was OK … Otherwise everything here was just “business as usual”, and nobody appeared to be worried or upset about things.
The only potential problem I may have is that tomorrow I have to catch a plane at Chiang Mai airport very early in the morning (take-off time is 7am), and I don’t know whether I will make it in time there, what with the 10pm-5am curfew I had already arranged for a taxi; the guy says that he will make sure I get to the airport in time… Wish me luck!
Siam Sam, what conditions would have to exist for you to support an end to the junta? That is, under what conditions would you support new elections and a return to (nominal) democratic rule? And how would one establish the existence of these conditions?
I ask because it seems like the military is in a hell of a bind - a lot of the problems with Thai democracy seem rooted in widespread corruption, so even if all the politically-inclined Shinatwatras were jailed (for example), this wouldn’t fix the larger problem. Unless I’m mistaken - has Thailand ever had a genuinely effective, clean democratic government?
I made it home in time tonight too. I don’t know how long this curfew will last, but it’s usually not long. The last curfew I remember was during the flood crisis of 2011, but that was only for some parts of outer Bangkok that were affected. The last full-fledged nationwide curfew was during the May 2010 riots and before that the September 2006 military coup. I can’t remember them lasting more than a few nights. There’s the economic impact to consider, and I don’t just mean on bars. Restaurants, shopping malls, even mass transit, it costs them all, and the authorities don’t like to drag it out.
Yes, Yingluck did show up today as ordered and is being detained along with some others of her family and more than 100 others. That includes Chalerm and his bullying bastard sons, one of whom some of you may recall I detailed how he murdered a cop in cold blood in the middle of a crowded pub full of witnesses, got off scot-free, and is now a cop himself. The army is promising not to hold any of these people more than a week, but it would suit me fine if they locked them all up and threw away the key.
I heard reports of some disgruntled groups of red shirts banding together in defiance of the ban on gatherings of more than five people (or is it five or more?) and challenging soldiers, who showed remarkable restraint.
The military has promised to relax the curfew for travelers needing to get to or from the Bangkok airports. Dunno about Chiang Mai, but it should be the same. Anyway, the curfew ends at 5am, and it’s a really quick trip out to the airport there. You should be fine.
“Has Thailand ever had a genuinely effective, clean democratic government?” Short answer: No. Never. The best performance by a prime minister is almost universally agreed to be under Anand Panyarachun, but he was not elected. Instead he was appointed in the wake of the 1991 military coup. But he’s in his 80s now and not up to the task anymore. His was a very short-lived period anyway.
What would it take for me to support an end to the junta? A complete lifetime ban on anyone in the Shinawatra family being involved in politics would be a good start. Personally I hope the military rules for a good long time this time. They stayed only I think 18 months last time and were too quick to satisfy Western opinion, so they got out too soon, which allowed a lot of Thaksin cronies to gain power including, besides his sister most recently, his brother-in-law, who served a short stint as prime minister before he was hounded out of office by yellow-shirt protesters (he’s one of the ones detained now too, hehehe).
I had already arranged for a taxi; the guy says that he will make sure I get to the airport in time… 
Wish me luck!