Thailand's army commander ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a military coup, while Shinawatra was in New York, circling his offices with tanks, declaring martial law and revoking the constitution.
Already, the military has declared a provisional government, instituted martial law, and announced it will abrogate Thailand's constitution. Thaksin, a prominent tycoon, planned to rush back to Thailand, and, on his return, he probably will try to defuse the coup. Before leaving, in his New York hotel room, Thaksin gathered Thai reporters to rally support.
Thaksin has been under pressure to resign since January when his family sold its shares in the Thaksin-founded Shin Corp to the Singapore government's Temasek Holdings in a tax-free deal that irked Bangkok's tax-paying middle classes and elite.
“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,” the new leaders said in a statement on national television. “We ask for the cooperation of the public and ask your pardon for the inconvenience.”
The military ordered all troops to report to their duty stations and said all schools, banks and the stock market will be closed Wednesday.
Civil servants, including permanent secretaries of ministries, heads of state agencies, and heads of universities in the Bangkok metropolitan area were ordered to report to the council on Wednesday morning.
Eventually, Thaksin even alienated the most important power center in Thailand--the monarchy. Though Thailand's king is technically a constitutional monarch, he is deeply revered by most Thais, and, through surrogates in the Thai political scene, quietly wields vastly more power than someone like Queen Elizabeth.
When the palace obliquely criticized Thaksin's corruption and amassing of power, Thaksin refused to budge. The army historically has close ties to the monarchy. Upon seizing power, the military transitional government released a statement condemning Thaksin for "lèse majesté"--insulting the honor of the king.
Born in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Mr Thaksin started his career as a police officer. In 1973, he received a government scholarship to study for a masters degree in criminal justice in the United States.
When he returned he went into business, and during the late 1980s began building a telecommunications empire, helped by cornering state monopolies.
He founded his Thai Rak Thai (Thai Loves Thai party) in 1998, and its rapid emergence transformed Thai politics.
Mr Thaksin swept into office in 2001, soundly defeating the old guard from the Democrat Party.
Poorer voters liked his offers of cheap medical care and debt relief, his nationalist platform and his contempt for the "Bangkok elite".
But big business also liked him for his CEO style of government and his "Taksinomics" policies which created a new boom in the country where the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s began.
Mr Thaksin also won support for his handling of the tsunami relief effort after the 2004 Indian Ocean disaster, which devastated parts of south-western Thailand.
Thaksin entered politics in late 1994 under the invitation of Chamlong Srimuang, who had just reclaimed the position of Palang Dharma Party (PDP) leader from Boonchu Rojanastien. In a subsequent purge of PDP Cabinet ministers, Thaksin was appointed Foreign Minister in December 1994 as a non-MP minister.
Chamlong, strongly criticized for mishandling internal PDP politics in the last days of the Chuan-government, retired from politics and hand-picked Thaksin as new PDP leader. Thaksin ran for election for the first time in July 1995, winning a parliamentary seat from Bangkok. However, the weakened and internally divided PDP won only 23 seats, compared to 46 in the 1992 elections.
Thaksin joined the government of Banharn Silpa-acha and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Bangkok traffic. In May 1996, Thaksin and 4 other PDP ministers quit the Banharn Cabinet (while retaining their MP seats) to protest widespread allegations of corruption, prompting a Cabinet reshuffle. Many have claimed that Thaksin's move was designed to help give Chamlong Srimuang a boost in the June 1996 Bangkok Governor elections, which Chamlong returned from retirement to contest.
On 15 August 1997, Thaksin was invited to become Deputy Prime Minister in Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's government. This occurred soon after the Thai Baht was floated and devalued in 2 July 1997, sparking the Asian Financial Crisis. Thaksin held this position for only 3 months, leaving on November 14 after Chavalit resigned.
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