2006 Thai coup d'état

In September 2006, following a lengthy political crisis in Thailand, members of the Royal Thai Army undertook a coup d'état against the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

On 19 September 2006, it was reported that around 14 tanks had taken up position around the Government House building in Bangkok, and that around 50 soldiers had entered the building. Thaksin, who was at the United Nations building in New York, was reported to have dismissed the chief of the army Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin. He declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and ordered the supreme commander of the armed forces, Ruangroj Mahasaranond to implement the emergency order. Thailand's constitution has been suspended .

Thai national television announced that military forces had taken control of Bangkok "to maintain law and order" and broadcast patriotic music and footage of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Foreign news channels, such as BBC World, CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg Television were reported to have been taken off the air, although foreign broadcasters were still able to broadcast relatively freely from the Thai capital. Telecommunications networks were also left untouched, meaning news could travel in and out of the country via phone and the Internet. Television footage showed heavily armed troops in US-made M113 armoured personnel carriers and M998 HMMWV vehicles on the streets of the city. All local stations then aired a military speech loop stating everything would be over shortly.

A broadcast on Thai army television declared that a "Council of Administrative Reform", previously unknown as a political entity, had seized power and stated:

The armed forces commander and the national police commander have successfully taken over Bangkok and the surrounding area in order to maintain peace and order. There has been no struggle. We ask for the cooperation of the public and ask your pardon for the inconvenience.

According to the Associated Press, sources in the Thai military have confirmed that Gen Sondhi Boonyaratkalin had taken control, with Deputy Prime Minister Chitchai Wannasathit and Defense Minister Thammarak Isaragura na Ayuthaya being put under arrest.

The apparent coup followed months of rumours about unrest in the Thai armed forces and possible coup plots. In July 2006, around a hundred middle-ranking army officers said to be supporters of Thaksin were reassigned by the army high command, fuelling rumour that the army was divided between supporters and opponents of the Prime Minister. The coup was the first since Thailand returned to democracy in 1992 following an earlier coup. High-ranked civil servants are ordered to report to the council while government offices and banks will be closed on September_20 .

A few hours after news of the coup broke, BBC News reported that the leader of the coup would be meeting with the King later in the day, although it was unclear at that time what King Bhumibol's position on the coup was.

Former prime minister Chuan Leekpai said of the events, "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."

At 16:30 EDT it was announced that the Prime Minister had cancelled his speech at the UN.

Media

• Coup declaration video from YouTube (th)
• A Collection of Photo from Royal Thai Navy's webboard (th)