Ongoing coup in Thailand

There's a ongoing coup in Thailand. Fortunaly it looks like it has been mostly non-voilent but the Norwegian internetnews-sites says that some phone and internet connections are shut down. If there are any CPF-members in the area reading this I want to give you my best wishes, and keep safe.

Yes I heard internet and cell phones were shut down:
http://reddit.com/info/j30d/comments/cj38o

Supposedly the Military nullified the Constitution using martial law:
http://www.ect.go.th/english/laws/constitutioneng.html

Could mean nothing, but apparently the General who is trying to seize control is a Muslim (in a predominatly Buddhist nation).

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214498,00.html

"Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, who is known to be close to Thailand's revered monarch and is a Muslim in this Buddhist-dominated nation, took power without a shot being fired. He will serve as acting prime minister, said army spokesman Col. Akara Chitroj."


Thailand was a democracy. Muslims and democracy don't exactly go hand in hand. I guess Turkey qualifies as a democracy, but off the top of my head I can't think of another Muslim controlled country that is also democratic.

I don't think religion is the main object here.

CNN said:

Troops on the streets of the Thai capital had yellow ribbons on their weapons, a sign of loyalty to the nation's king, to whom the coup plotters proclaimed their loyalty.

Former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai told AP that Thaksin had forced the military to act.

"As politicians, we do not support any kind of coup, but during the past five years, the government of Thaksin created several conditions that forced the military to stage the coup. Thaksin has caused the crisis in the country," he told The AP...........There have been 17 coups in Thailand since World War II, and rumors of an 18th have been circulating around Bangkok in recent weeks as Thaksin battled considerable pressure to step down. This is the first coup since 1992, AP reported.

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I'm watching BBC news now, and they predict a quick return to civillian rule via a new election, but it's to early to say.

Datasaurusrex said:

...but off the top of my head I can't think of another Muslim controlled country that is also democratic.

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per wikipedia

Examples of Muslim Democracies

Copied from Wikipedia said:

The following list indicates those countries which are members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and are either generally considered to be democratic or have substantial democratic elements in their system of government. For example, Iran has popular elections, but the candidates are selected by the Council of Guardians and the Assembly of Experts. Furthermore, the political climate in some of these countries has varied greatly in recent years, while in some of the countries there have been accusations of vote-rigging.

The percentage of Muslims in each country is sourced from CIA FactBook

* Albania (Europe) (70% Muslim)
* Algeria (North Africa) (99%)
* Bangladesh (South Asia) (83%)
* Comoros (South eastern Africa) (98%)
* Indonesia (South-East Asia) (88%)
* Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia) (75%)
* Lebanon (Middle-East) (59.7%)
* Malaysia (South-East Asia)
* Mali (West Africa) (90%)
* Morocco (North Africa) (98.7%)
* Niger (West Africa) (80%)
* Senegal (West Africa) (94%)
* Sierra Leone (West Africa) (60%)
* Turkey (Europe / Asia) (99.8%)
* Yemen (Arabian peninsula - Asia) (+90%)

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i hope that something positive comes from this coup. Thailand is such a beautiful country, and it'd be a shame to lose the character that makes it such a great place to visit. Sawadee!

Makarov is right, the issue isn't religion and this coup has no ties with the seperatist movement in the southern provinces. The military actions are concentrated in Bangkok with tanks surrounding key government institutions and The Royal Palace. General Sondhi is well respected and is loyal to the Thai King, but it is unknown if there are other soldiers still loyal to Thaksin.

So far we've been able to call cell phones today, apparently soldiers are in control of television stations to prevent Thaksin from broadcasting any statements (he is a billionaire media mogul). Internet connection is slow, but probably because people are flooding websites trying to find out about the situation. Thai TV channels like TV5, TGN, IPTV on KU band satellite have been playing the anthem and images of Thai history most of today so I've been relying on www.2bangkok.com for updates.

More news to unfold as it is daybreak in Thailand right now. Interesting to see what will happen if and when Thaksin tries to return to Thailand, he's already cancelled his speech to the UN that was planned for tonight.

There are indeed CPF members in Bangkok, please be safe and take care during the days to come.

yellow1 said:

per wikipedia

Examples of Muslim Democracies


i hope that something positive comes from this coup. Thailand is such a beautiful country, and it'd be a shame to lose the character that makes it such a great place to visit. Sawadee!

Click to expand...

Wikipedia is not exactly the best source of info on the web, but even wiki admits that in some of those listed countries there are serious allegations of vote rigging and corruption (Democracy in name only).

I'd knock several off that list of hand, they aren't even close to being a democracy. Others have a very high level of corruption (alleged) so their inclusion is suspect. And others have only recently held elections that meet even a modicum semblance to fairness -- does having 1 or 2 elections over the last 100 years make a country a democracy?

Anyways, we digress. I hope the issue in Thailand is resolved peacefully and swiftly, and that power is completely transfered to proper civilian hands. I love the country, haven't been able to get ahold of my friends there all day.