Army Chief Urged To Stage Coup

[george]

Pathompong urges Army chief to stage coup

BANGKOK: -- Gen Pathompong Kesornsuk, former chief advisor of the Supreme Command, urged Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Anupong Paochinda to stage coup to prevent himself from being sacked by the government.

Speaking to protesters at the Government House, Pathompong said the Army chief should not allow Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to purge him.

Coup rumours were widely spread Thursday with a lot of phone calls being made to several newspapers' editorial offices to check whether coup was being staged.

The rumours came a day after Anupong called on Somchai to dissolve the House Wednesday afternoon. But Somchai went on TV late Wednesday to announce that his government would not either resign or dissolve the House.

-- The Nation 2008-11-27

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[Wolfie]

Thailand is running out of options... how much longer will the authorities stand by either Idle or Helpless?

The Government in Hiding, forced from the capital, the police unable (or unwilling) to do anything, the Army the same... sooner or later something has to happen. Something has to tip the balance in this stalemate.

[cmsally]

This is going to be very interesting because on the TV last night Anupong said he didn't want a coup and then went on to say he could easily take power and become the "most powerful" person but that this wasn't going to happen.

It also seems to be fairly common knowledge the PPP are out to unseat him in order to find an army head who will take care of the PAD.

I must admit that in yesterday's speech Anupong very much looked like the tuna & mayonnaise stuck in the middle of a constricted sandwich. Although he is normally a very calm person you could tell from his expression all was not well.

[favre360]

Girlfriend works for Harrow in Don Muang. Parents are coming to pick their kids up early as tanks are in the area (few km's away). Many seem certain of a coup but everyone's pretty much in the dark at this point.

[garyh]

Is coup needed? how much would it take for the army to round up the trouble makers and restore law and order??????????

[KhaoNiaw]

Is coup needed? how much would it take for the army to round up the trouble makers and restore law and order??????????

If there's a coup the red shirts will come out in force and be the new trouble makers.

[cmsally]

On Thai websites there are rumours of a coup all over the place.

Makes you wonder if a coup is going to happen without Anupong's clearance or whether he is just plain lying.

[Shah Jahan]

Is coup needed? how much would it take for the army to round up the trouble makers and restore law and order??????????

which trouble makers? you mean the somchai cabinet?

get rid of somchai and the PAD disperses and there is no more problem.

much easier to move one man than 50,000

[h90]

Is coup needed? how much would it take for the army to round up the trouble makers and restore law and order??????????

If there's a coup the red shirts will come out in force and be the new trouble makers.

no one want to fight with the army for 500 or 1000 Baht

[Shah Jahan]

Is coup needed? how much would it take for the army to round up the trouble makers and restore law and order??????????

If there's a coup the red shirts will come out in force and be the new trouble makers.

no they wont. they will have nothing to protest against.

[MrMooo]

God i really hope so. Without the support of the police or army the government has no chance...my concern is simply selfish as I wanna make sure I can go home on 6th but this has shown how much of a mess up politics are here at the moment.

[jasreeve17]

The PAD are desperate for it, they've got nowhere left to go with public opinion agaist them and getting angry.

The coup will leave MrT in the cold (the court rulings would go against the party under a coup, I presume), and when the Dems get put into office it'll cause major grief... Add to that a change on the 5th (?)

Coup is a very bad idea, in my opinion - the worst option (in both reality and democratic theory). A bleak future if the coup comes, which looks very likely.

[KhaoNiaw]

Is coup needed? how much would it take for the army to round up the trouble makers and restore law and order??????????

If there's a coup the red shirts will come out in force and be the new trouble makers.

no they wont. they will have nothing to protest against.

The leaders have already said they will come out and fight against the army that takes out their elected government.

[magisterludi]

Why can't the army restore the law without taking over the government? Isn't that what would happen in any other country? I guess a coup was what the PAD has been looking for since the beginning. The next thing to question would be who is behind the PAD and why do they want a military dictatorship? Do they want it to be permanent? Are they staging a military dictatorship as a transition to something else? If so, what transition? Questions, questions and no answers to post on a public forum I suppose. Sad times for Thailand.

[TAWP]

A poll added...I chose a null-vote.

There has to be different options or atleast a clear definition what the military coup consists of. Even a counter-coup is still possible and that would technically be a coup. Or a coup by some real old-time, retired, hardcore right-wing generals that would bring us back to the darkages of the rule of -37 (with the cultural genocide that occurred then, but in reverse). Neither are any nice options.

And if I could formulate a different rule of this country I would, but it's not gonna be covered in a poll...

[jasreeve17]

Why can't the army restore the law without taking over the government? Isn't that what would happen in any other country? I guess a coup was what the PAD has been looking for since the beginning. The next thing to question would be who is behind the PAD and why do they want a military dictatorship? Do they want it to be permanent? Are they staging a military dictatorship as a transition to something else? If so, what transition? Questions, questions and no answers to post on a public forum I suppose. Sad times for Thailand.

Agreed. But, it's ultimately unsustainable in the future, without mass people support.

[george]

Thai Cabinet mulls emergency decree

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's Cabinet, meeting outside the capital to evade anti-government demonstrators, was weighing whether to impose a state of emergency Thursday to try to end airport protests that have left thousands of travelers stranded for two straight days.

Meeting with the prime minister in Chiang Mai, 350 miles (570 kilometers) north of Bangkok, the Cabinet would consider both an emergency decree or the use of a tough internal security law, government spokesman Nattawut Sai-kua said.

"We have to consider these legal options to solve the crisis," he said before the afternoon meeting.

There also was speculation in the Thai media that the prime minister might remove the powerful army chief, Anupong Paochinda, who called Wednesday for the dissolution of Parliament and new elections to resolve the deepening political crisis.

Protesters, who are demanding the resignation of the prime minister, have occupied Bangkok's international airport since Tuesday night, forcing the cancellation of all flights. On Thursday, they also forced the domestic airport to close in a bid to prevent government ministers from getting to the cabinet meeting.

Some ministers were flown on military planes from a nearby base to Chiang Mai, where Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has been since returning from an overseas trip Wednesday night.

The anti-government protests, which gathered pace three months ago, have paralyzed the government, battered the stock market, spooked foreign investors and dealt a serious blow to the tourism industry.

The crisis worsened early Thursday as authorities shut down the Don Muang domestic airport, which had been receiving some diverted flights from Suvarnabhumi.

Serirat Prasutanont, chief of the Thailand Airport Authority, said authorities feared protesters who stormed the Don Muang terminal late Wednesday might harm passengers and aircraft.

He said authorities were alerting airports nationwide to be ready to receive diverted flights. Thai Airways said one of its flights from Los Angeles landed Thursday at U-Tapao air force base, 140 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of Bangkok.

The closure of the two airports left thousands of foreign tourists stranded, including Americans trying to get home for their Thanksgiving holiday Thursday.

Bart Edes, a 45-year-old American banker, had planned to spend Thanksgiving with his wife at a friend's home in Manila, where he lives.

"They're going to put on a traditional feast - roast turkey, sweet potatoes, all the things you crave when you're outside of the United States," he said.

But Edes said he still had a lot to be thankful for. "Look at what happened in Mumbai. This is an inconvenience, but it could be worse."

At least 100 people were killed in the Indian city of Mumbai by a series of overnight militant attacks that reportedly targeted Americans and Britons.

The protests are being led by a loose coalition known as the People's Alliance for Democracy. It accuses Somchai of acting as the puppet for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a September 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin, who is Somchai's brother-in-law, is in exile, a fugitive from a conviction for violating a conflict of interest law.

On Wednesday, a district court ordered the alliance leaders and their supporters to immediately leave Suvarnabhumi, calling the occupation "an infringement on other individuals who have freedom of movement."

There was no sign of the protesters leaving Thursday - a reflection of their boldness amid the government's unwillingness to use force for fear of causing bloodshed.

Somchai, who was forced to land in Chiang Mai when he returned from Peru on Wednesday, is also not budging. In a televised address to the nation, he said his government was legitimately elected and that it has "a job to protect democracy for the people of Thailand."

The statement amounted to a rejection of Army Gen. Anupong Paochinda's suggestion to quit, which seemed to put him on a collision course with the military, although the general has said he would not launch a coup.

An emergency decree would give the prime minister authority to use the military to restore order and allow authorities to suspend certain civil liberties.

The security law is separate measure that would enable officials to bar public assembly and "suppress" actions considered harmful to national security.

The People's Alliance for Democracy insists it will continue its airport occupation and other protests until Somchai resigns. It also has rejected the general's proposal for elections, pushing instead for the appointment of a temporary government.

The alliance comprises mainly well-educated, affluent, urban Thais who want the country to move away from a Western-style electoral system, which they say Thaksin exploited to buy votes. They favor a system in which representatives are chosen by certain professions and social groups.

They are vastly outnumbered by Thaksin's supporters in the rural majority, who delivered his party two resounding election victories. Their loyalty was sealed by generous social and economic welfare programs for previously neglected areas.

On Thursday, the EU and the British Foreign Office expressed concern at the deteriorating situation.

"We urge all sides to this political dispute to resolve their differences peacefully and legally, respecting Thailand's democratic institutions," Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said.

The European Union said in a statement that "any anti-constitutional attempt to interfere in the democratic process would have a negative impact on EU/Thailand relations."

As the deadlock continued, political violence spread Wednesday to Chiang Mai, where government supporters attacked a radio station aligned with the protesters. Separately, there were unconfirmed reports that one man was killed and several people assaulted in an attack on the city's local airport.

The protest alliance launched its current campaign in late August, storming the grounds of the prime minister's office, which they continue to use as their stronghold. The group has also tried twice to blockade Parliament, in one case setting off a daylong street battle with police that left two people dead and hundreds injured.

--AP 2008-11-27

[jdinasia]

A coup seems so likely that I doubt they would take book on this in Vegas. I think the army in trying to stay out of politics has underplayed it's hand this time. I got in a little while ago and people were asking WHY the army had not stepped in and cleared this up already via a coup. (None seemed to want Thai fighting Thai! unlike the Thaksinistas and the Law and Order crowd on TV)

[scratt]

The People's Alliance for Democracy insists it will continue its airport occupation and other protests until Somchai resigns. It also has rejected the general's proposal for elections, pushing instead for the appointment of a temporary government.

I didn't hear anything about the PAD rejecting fresh elections....

In any case Khun Anupong has been admirable in trying to resist calls for a coup, but now it is time for him to do so.

He is a steadfast and trustworthy man to take over at this point, and infinitely superior to the current corrupt regime.

Also, can people please stop saying that PAD want power. They do not. They want free and fair elections, and a government free of corruption. They have voluntarily disbanded once, and will do it again.

[rainman]

You can read my previous posts in the past few years. I am totally against the military running the country, but at the point we are right now, I would support a coup.

[samtam]

There's an important anniversary next Friday, so the coup will have to either be before (with bruised and battered soldiers in their dress uniforms), or after. If after, then there are many millions of baht in lost revenue from the already battered tourism industry, (perhaps even irretrievable in this year's high season), as presumably the airports will remain closed.

This must be the nub of the argument being discussed right now.

[Moonrakers]

So these tanks near DM.

Have they been manouvered there or are they usually there anyway?

[ham]

You can read my previous posts in the past few years. I am totally against the military running the country, but at the point we are right now, I would support a coup.

I think a coup is not needed, they (police/army) could just free the occpied places, simple as that. But I guess that's the whole point, they don't want to make their job, they want the full power as proposed by PAD!!

[Insight]

The government is utterly powerless and the airports can't remain closed. I coup is by far the best option, but personally I can't think of any other solution which will put an end to the stand-off.

[CL0R0X]

If there's a coup the red shirts will come out in force and be the new trouble makers.

no they won't

The leaders have already said they will come out and fight against the army that takes out their elected government

them and what army, actually they will be the first to pack and hide, oh! i mean run

[yadetout]

the very last video shows what the PM is going to do... http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Chaos-Bangkok-t225194.html

[zeusbheld]

let's see, we've got the bad guys (PPP) vs the other bad guys (PAD).

can't see many other options besides a coup.

[Colonel_Mustard]

let's see, we've got the bad guys (PPP) vs the other bad guys (PAD).

can't see many other options besides a coup.

Pretty much sums it up for me.

[faranginbkk]

Coup is the last - and worst - option. I will not support it.

After a possible coup - so what? The army has shown before they cannot run the country, and it is not supposed to be their job either. So use the army only to maintain law and order together with the police. And let the elected govt run the country.

This implies to kick out PAD from the airport and parliament house.

[cougar52]

On Wednesday, a district court ordered the alliance leaders and their supporters to immediately leave Suvarnabhumi, calling the occupation "an infringement on other individuals who have freedom of movement."

So much for the respect for the court and the judges. As always, if it goes PAD's way OK, If not just ignore it.