Thai military tightens grip after coup
Print Edition
OUSTED members of Thailand’s former government turned themselves in to the country’s new military junta yesterday, as soldiers forcefully dispersed hundreds of anti-coup activists who defied a ban on large-scale gatherings to protest the army’s seizure of power.
At least two activists were detained by troops during the protest in downtown Bangkok, which descended into scuffles but ended without injury and marked one of the first open challenges to the military since Thursday’s coup.
The junta, though, remained firmly in charge, summoning more than 100 top political figures — the entire ousted government, their associates and a handful of their opponents. It also banned those on its wanted list from leaving the country.
Among the officials who showed up at an army compound in Bangkok were former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, sacked earlier this month for nepotism by the Constitutional Court, and her temporary replacement Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan, according to Yingluck’s aide Wim Rungwattanachinda.
After about 30 minutes, Yingluck left the facility and was taken to another army location by soldiers, said Wim, who later added that it appeared she would not be immediately released.
It was unclear what the military’s intentions were beyond the summons, which it said had been issued “to keep peace and order and solve the country’s problems.”
By nightfall, dozens of the VIPs who turned themselves in were still being held, although at least eight ex-Cabinet ministers had been released.
One, Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang, an outspoken critic of the military’s intervention in politics, remained in hiding. Chaturon said in a Facebook post that the coup would only worsen the country’s political atmosphere. He vowed not to turn himself in, but said he would not resist arrest.
Most of the country was calm, and there was little military presence on Bangkok’s streets. Although life had largely returned to normal during the day, an overnight curfew was still in effect.
There were no reports of any unrest, including at the former government’s political strongholds in the north. In the northeast city of Chiang Mai, about 100 anti-coup demonstrators also took to the streets, but no violence was reported and the protesters dispersed on their own.
The army staged the coup just after a military-hosted meeting of political rivals to resolve the country’s political deadlock.
After two hours and no resolution, armed soldiers detained the participants, including four Cabinet ministers, and army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha appeared on television to announce the takeover. Hours later, the junta suspended the constitution and banned gatherings of more than five people.
Prayuth justified the coup as a necessary move to restore stability amid increasing violence that together with court rulings had rendered the government powerless.
But there are fears the power grab will only lead to more violence and simply deepen the nation’s crisis.
Thursday’s dramatic events were the latest response to a societal schism laid bare after the 2006 coup deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the older brother of Yingluck and a billionaire tycoon whose populist movement has won every national election since 2001. Thaksin is in exile to avoid corruption charges, but still wields enormous influence over Thailand’s political affairs and remains at the heart of the ongoing crisis.
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