Coup in Thailand?

[Dr Mordrid]

Tanks around Govt. HQ, TV showing pics of the royal family & martial music, PM leaves the UN meerting today early etc.

Reuters....

[lecter]

Yep...mobile phones not working, either, but I'm expecting this to be as reasonable as past coups in this country, not really the bloody type, them.

[agallag]

Crap, I'm supposed to be in Bangkok next week! Not sure if we should cancel our plans or not...

[lecter]

Don't cancel yet, tomorrow it will probably still be a bit hazy in terms of business, but previous experience indicates that coups are rarely a problem in this country...they still want the tourism

[TransformX]

Well, whatever is cooking there, I hope it goes with as little (read: no) violence and as quickly and quietly as possible.

[agallag]

Lecter, are you in the downtown area? Is there any noticeable activity around town?

[lecter]

I'm at home, but from what I'm chatting with with my friends around the city, aside from restaurants and businesses closing for the night, there's no big deal going on...just saw that soldiers entered Government House, which is good, it means the police stood down. TV is slowly coming back up, so it looks like the usual Thai-style coup.

[agallag]

Okay, cool... If anything major happens, let us know asap!

Murc is such an awesome place, isn't it? Where else can you get such up to the minute news from around the world?

Thanks Lecter.

[lecter]

Army has taken over, dissolved the constitution and declared martial law...no shit has hit the fan yet, but things are rather uncertain.

[lecter]

Martial law still in effect, but the troop buildup has eased, soldiers have been ordered to return to their posts...things should clear up within the next 24 hours, methinks.

[Nowhere]

Uhmm...do you even know who actually did the coup?
Or is it really irrelevant there?

[lecter]

Depending on who you listen to, the army as a whole, or a faction of the army...what is known is that the leader is the head of the army (who got dismissed hours before the coup). In any case, no major issues so far in the Land of Smiles

[Jammrock]

Is it just me, or is lecter's matter-of-fact calmness about the coup seem a little odd. How often are there coups in Thailands?

[agallag]

Quoting CNN:

Thailand has seen dozens of government coups since the end of World War II. But this is the first since 1992

and

The coup caused little stir in Bangkok's popular tourist districts, where foreigners packed beer bars and cabarets just a few miles from where the tanks were posted

[lecter]

Is it just me, or is lecter's matter-of-fact calmness about the coup seem a little odd. How often are there coups in Thailands?

As posted above, not very often, but there has rarely been any trouble...today has been declared a holiday in order to announce "the new policy", but things are OK, there appears to be no power struggle at all.