US says no coup in Thailand

[webfact]

US says no coup in Thailand

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2014 (AFP) - The United States said Tuesday that it did not believe ally Thailand's army had staged a coup but urged the military to respect democratic institutions.

"Martial law, the declaration of that, is allowed for in the Thai constitution," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters after gun-toting troops deployed across Bangkok.

"The army has stated publicly that it would be a temporary action. We expect them to abide by their commitment," Psaki said.

Psaki said that the United States has been in regular contact with the Thai military and was "encouraging calm, encouraging protection of civil liberties and freedom of speech and freedom of media."

Under domestic law, the United States would be forced to impose sanctions if it determines that a foreign military has carried out a coup. The United States briefly suspended cooperation with the Thai military after it ousted tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister in 2006, setting off prolonged political turmoil in the kingdom.

Danny Russel, the top US diplomat on East Asia, called on Thailand's caretaker government to go ahead with promises for fresh elections on August 3.

"We want to see the early restitution of full democracy in Thailand and respect for Thailand's democratic institutions," Russel told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"We think that requires free and fair elections that enable the Thai people freely to express their political will," Russel said.

Thailand is the oldest US ally in Asia, and the United States has been careful about appearing to take sides in the turbulent politics of the kingdom, which has seen 18 coups or coup attempts since it became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

The military intervened after nearly seven months of protests that have left 28 people dead and hundreds wounded. But the military kept in place the caretaker government, which was installed earlier this month after a court dismissed prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of the exiled Thaksin.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-05-21

[Dr Bruce]

The military have a short window of time to announce elections. It is the only way that the world will believe it is not a coup.

[englishoak]

The world is watching

[binjalin]

I'm pleased the US is urging elections and hope they react strongly if Aug polls do not happen as it will then turn from

"oh no this is not a duck" to "it's walking like one and quacking"

[trainman34014]

The world is watching

Ha ha; Family in Britain and France tell me there is no news of any of it whatsoever as of last night.

[zydeco]

The world is watching

Funny! Go to the websites of major metropolitan newspapers in the US and you can search their websites. What you'll discover is that about the only mention of Thailand is to be found in the restaurant sections. This story is a blip. Nobody is covering it. And now that the US says there is no coup, that means no harm, no foul. Business as usual. It's all done and over.

[englishoak]

The world is watching

Ha ha; Family in Britain and France tell me there is no news of any of it whatsoever as of last night.

Really ? thats funny the BBC asian section it was headline a bare few hrs ago, it reads

Thai PM plea as martial law imposed

followed by a couple of pages of details and a few vids by J head.

Probably your family need to watch more than the 9 oclock news lol

i bet you any money the FT will run something and probably the telegraph in the UK many online independent news feeds running it, fair bit on RT and al jazeer last night and many more, dont be naive, this has been on the radar for 6 mths its hardly off peoples radar and pops up from time to time, now is one of those times

the world is watching

Edited May 21, 2014 by englishoak

[impulse]

The world is watching

Ha ha; Family in Britain and France tell me there is no news of any of it whatsoever as of last night.

I'm getting regular texts from family in the USA, asking how I am. That's the same USA where people know absolutely nothing about the outside world...

[binjalin]

The world is watching

Ha ha; Family in Britain and France tell me there is no news of any of it whatsoever as of last night.

I'm getting regular texts from family in the USA, asking how I am. That's the same USA where people know absolutely nothing about the outside world...

it's all over the international press

[impulse]

it's all over the international press

If you read enough ThaiVisa threads, you'll come to believe that US people only read the sports page and the comics.

Edited May 21, 2014 by impulse

[tx22cb]

If the Army is there purely for security purposes under the aegis of the Govt, and is there to make sure that the will of the Govt is carried out peacefully without illegal interference from other parties (a la National Guards in the US), then I would believe the Army's claim.

However, if the Army were to coerce the PM to step down or delay the Aug elections, then it's a coup d'etat.

[love1012]

err.... the power has been taken from the people by the MILITARY what else is that called?...just like the US failed to call what happened in Egypt a coup ( its all down to aid and US DFI)

No..........................your glass is half empty........a corrupt Government has had to be removed and the Army has had to step in and take over its reponsibilities while new arrangements are made. My glass is half full.......justr think how good would it be if the rice farmers got paid while the martial law was in operation... Pheu Thai have let down the country with their arrogant incompetence.

[casualbiker]

If the Army is there purely for security purposes under the aegis of the Govt, and is there to make sure that the will of the Govt is carried out peacefully without illegal interference from other parties (a la National Guards in the US), then I would believe the Army's claim.

However, if the Army were to coerce the PM to step down or delay the Aug elections, then it's a coup d'etat.

At the moment there are no August elections. It's just an idea by the caretaker government.

In the current climate is just over 2 months enough time to organise free and fair elections?

I don't think so and I believe that Phua Thai know that as well!

Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[BigMountain]

Meanwhile, HRW puts out a strong statement saying the opposite:

http://www.hrw.org/node/125713

[tezzainoz]

err.... the power has been taken from the people by the MILITARY what else is that called?...just like the US failed to call what happened in Egypt a coup ( its all down to aid and US DFI)

You say the glass is half empty

But there are many who say the glass is half full

The army have taken the corrupt power away from the government and returned it to the people

[casualbiker]

Meanwhile, HRW puts out a strong statement saying the opposite:

http://www.hrw.org/node/125713

A crock of do da . Knee jerk statement!

Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[craigt3365]

We have NO tolerance for anti-American comments. Or any other country for that matter. Please stay on topic and abide by this pinned thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/727616-zero-tolerance-for-disruptive-behaviour-during-the-present-crisis/

[noitom]

The United States is playing with terminology here. Until a civilian head of the Thai nation and government addresses the Thai nation and discusses next steps, it is in fact a military takeover of the government with martial law or military dictatorship. So the Thais and the US are colluding to play with terminology here to ensure US taxpayer money flow for the Thai military and its martial law based dictatorship along with suppression of all rights and individual freedoms, speech, press, property..etc., applied at the military's discretion? Nice work USA.

[impulse]

The United States is playing with terminology here. Until a civilian head of the Thai nation and government addresses the Thai nation and discusses next steps, it is in fact a military takeover of the government with martial law or military dictatorship. So the Thais and the US are colluding to play with terminology here to ensure US taxpayer money flow for the Thai military and its martial law based dictatorship along with suppression of all rights and individual freedoms, speech, press, property..etc., applied at the military's discretion? Nice work USA.

I'm going to recycle a post I just made in another thread:

I don't pretend to understand the politics, but the way I'm reading the situation is very different:

2 competing factions were setting up to confront each other, both armed to the teeth. The only entity that was adequately equipped to stop it, stepped in to keep it from turning into a bloodbath.

That's not my description of a coup.

[JohnThailandJohn]

"We want to see the early restitution of full democracy in Thailand and respect for Thailand's democratic institutions," Russel told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"We think that requires free and fair elections that enable the Thai people freely to express their political will," Russel said.

After many years of elections not working, kind of an odd statement to make. Be it the US or any other power, typically what they want is a partner they can most control and regretfully that is often a corrupt partnering whose motivations often lays outside what is good for their own people.

What Thailand needs is to learn to accept election results (right or wrong) and to challenge what they view as corrupt officials and injustices in the court system rather than taking to the streets in intimidating and violent manners. There needs to be zero tolerance for blocking roads, storming government and media buildings... The legal system does work and has both stopped the amnesty bill and removed a fugitive's sister from power. All the street nonsense has done nothing but caused violence and put the country on foot for civil war.

The US has been divided a long time be it hatred for Bush Jr. or Obama. While okay to complain and even protest peacefully (not purposely causing hardship for others) is fine but the bottom line is you need to let officials serve their terms and let elections judge their ability to govern. The US is by far no model of perfection and law makers have ground the country to a halt in many ways under Obama but storming TV Stations / government offices or blocking major roads for prolonged periods would never be tolerated by the military or police. The only thing that happens by allowing such actions is to ensure these actions, that produce only negative outcomes, will continue by both sides.

[Pralaad]

The military have a short window of time to announce elections. It is the only way that the world will believe it is not a coup.

Who cares what world thinks or believes?

To be honest it's getting g annoying hearing the red shirts and it's supporters about the world.

When it comes to ripping off foreigners reds and family do not seem to worry about the " world " but when you are put back in your place , all over sudden "world thinks".

For F sake, your somchai's do not even know the difference between European or Westerner or foreigner.

[daveAustin]

Mind your own business!

[Rimmer]

Off topic post inflammatory post removed

[wandasloan]

The United States is playing with terminology here. Until a civilian head of the Thai nation and government addresses the Thai nation and discusses next steps, it is in fact a military takeover of the government with martial law or military dictatorship. So the Thais and the US are colluding to play with terminology here to ensure US taxpayer money flow for the Thai military and its martial law based dictatorship along with suppression of all rights and individual freedoms, speech, press, property..etc., applied at the military's discretion? Nice work USA.

First, full disclosure: I am a huge fan of Thailand and of the United States and of Thai-US relations. I wish all three will prosper and improve. And I think martial law is a mistake and I think the US is talking weasel-words about it. Now.

That said, the "US taxpayer money flow for the Thai military" is unimportant... no, it is insignificant. The only importance of US aid in this martial law slash coup unpleasantness is symbolic. Symbolic is important, but don't mix up "symbolic" with "the Thai army is killing a lot of people again thanks to the US government" as so many try to do.

Actual aid is not zero. But if it became zero, no one and nothing would notice, especially the Thai military. Even calling it "insignificant" is overstating the effect.

You can start here for a precise breakdown and total of aid ($79 million of which $6 million is military) and then go ahead and find your own sources, which, if they are reliable, will all say much the same thing. Roughly speaking US aid to the Thai military is 0.0011% of the publicly known Thai military budget, not including secret budgets and off-the-books spending and more.

http://goo.gl/uLEA3i

I'm going to recycle a post I just made in another thread:

I don't pretend to understand the politics, but the way I'm reading the situation is very different:

2 competing factions were setting up to confront each other, both armed to the teeth. The only entity that was adequately equipped to stop it, stepped in to keep it from turning into a bloodbath.

That's not my description of a coup.

Heh. So basically it's WWE mayhem and you back the referee, who controls the match.

Let me try. Here's the way I'm reading the situation.

The country's only entity armed to the teeth with automatic weapons and heavy artillery stepped in to ban freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to protest and freedom to gather. It occupied hundreds of buildings, hundreds of business grounds, and stationed armed and heavily defended soldiers on all main streets, bringing traffic to a near halt on important roads including those to the airports. It sidelined the government and chose some items to enforce from the constitution it wrote itself, and "overrode" some other sections it found... unworthy. It attracted harsh and negative reaction from its own Asean partners, while all experts, 100% even in the paragon of world-class analysis ThaiVisa agreed that it would have a negative impact on tourism.

Having been in quite a few of them in several countries including Thailand, that's my description of a coup. I don't mind calling it "martial law" if it makes people happy, any more than I mind calling a specific type of duck a "mallard" instead of just a plain old quacking, waddling, swimming duck.

It's not a coup, it's a mallard. Happy? Nevertheless, it quacks, waddles, etc.

.

Edited May 21, 2014 by wandasloan

[srsv1238]

The world is watching

Funny! Go to the websites of major metropolitan newspapers in the US and you can search their websites. What you'll discover is that about the only mention of Thailand is to be found in the restaurant sections. This story is a blip. Nobody is covering it. And now that the US says there is no coup, that means no harm, no foul. Business as usual. It's all done and over.

most major papers have covered it.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[rametindallas]

The military have a short window of time to announce elections. It is the only way that the world will believe it is not a coup.

The army only needs a short window of time to give the Senate a reason to install a temporary, neutral, caretaker government to run the bureaucracy while a reform committee is preparing the issues for the national referendum to choose which reforms the electorate want to add to the constitution. Once the reforms are in the constitution, voted for by the whole country, the parties will all have a more even playing field when elections are held late next year. . Bob's you uncle.

[rametindallas]

The world is watching

No it's not. The world doesn't a rat's a** about Thailand except for Japanese manufacturers and they are non-political. Thailand never cared if the world watched in 2010 did it?

[klauskunkel]

"Martial law, the declaration of that, is allowed for in the Thai constitution," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki

The Thai constitution is so straight forward, to the point and uncomplicated that even US State Department officials can find their way around and thru it at any time...

that's why the thing is always quoted to justify anything and everything by/to anybody and everybody, an all around miraculous, comprehensive tool of 'interpretation'

Edited May 21, 2014 by klauskunkel

[larsjohnsson]

The world is watching

Ha ha; Family in Britain and France tell me there is no news of any of it whatsoever as of last night.

My sister in UK saw it both on tv and in the newspaper.

[daveAustin]

The world is watching

Ha ha; Family in Britain and France tell me there is no news of any of it whatsoever as of last night.

Take it your family don't get the internet where they're from then? It was the top story on BBC World for most of yesterday.