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Ah, crap. I have a hard time believing that there'd be another coup in Thailand before King Bhumibol dies. I wonder if he has? Thanks for linking to this, Rake--I'm going to be paying close attention to this as the story unfolds.
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Woah. I was just in Bangkok two months ago! That would have been freaky seeing tanks on the streets. I had no idea they were having political trouble. The king of Thailand is extremely loved, and is the longest reigning king in the world right now. I don't know anything about this prime minister guy, though.
Posts: 1635 | Registered: Aug 2002
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The king is loved, to a degree that is kind of hard for a westerner to wrap their mind around. This won't be a coup to force him to step down.
Thaksin, the PM, has been embroiled in scandal for quite a while now. Here is a little background on him.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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No problem. Thai politics can be dizzyingly byzantine--I don't pretend to have a thorough grasp of it.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Thanks for the link, Rake--looks like it'll be a good central point to go to in following this as it develops. The BBC News article (which is also linked to on that wikipage, I see) on the story is starting to flesh out just a bit, although it still doesn't have much more information than was in the original link.
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Been keeping up with this, its very interesting.
Still trying to figure out if the Prime Minister started elections 3 years early as a way to demonstrate fairness, or as a way to try and win relection rather then waiting 3 years when his popularity even lower.
I'm going to stick with this story and follow it to its conclusion
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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An analyst on NPR is linking this to the PM's recent business dealings which netted him almost $2 billion tax free. The PM is well liked in some sections of the country because he found ways to provide medical care and invest in villages. But in the power-center in Bangkok he is widely viewed as corrupt.
The analyst said the timing of the coup in advance of the elections is because there was fear that he WOULD get re-elected.
Supposedly, at present, the king's official reaction has been "coup? what coup?"
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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The Prime Minister needed to be removed from power. This was not the way to do it.
We can only hope that King Bhumibol will keep order.
The good news is that the King, a very wise man, has enormous power and even greater surport and any showdown would end in his favor. The bad news is that the King is Seventy-nine.
Posts: 1332 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Just because the coup leaders are claiming that it's in the King's name, doesn't mean that it is.
I rather doubt that it is in the King's name. It's just not how he does things. He has never supported a coup before. Even if he were, he would be on national television announcing it.
If the King really felt that action had to be taken by him, he would call in Thaksin on national TV and politely, regally, tear him a new one.
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I'd guess the King chooses not to for the sake of avoiding civil war. If half the troops who profess loyalty the King really do, and the other half don't, then his country gets torn apart.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Russell Miles emailed the BBC News website to say there were troops "dressed in Swat-style gear strolling around" near Government House, and "a tense, but fairly controlled atmosphere".
He said: "We saw a group of blokes bundling a cameraman and another chap into a van. We are taking photos, but not out in the open."
Gee, I hope somebody in Thailand doesn't read this and say to themselves, 'Russell Miles has been taking unauthorized photographs. Somebody get me the address of Russell Miles, immediately!'
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Woah. I was just in Bangkok two months ago! That would have been freaky seeing tanks on the streets. I had no idea they were having political trouble. The king of Thailand is extremely loved, and is the longest reigning king in the world right now. I don't know anything about this prime minister guy, though.
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