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Forum: Thai Government Re Panflu

19 September 2006

Dennis in Colorado – at 12:55

Hopefully, this will be a short-lived thread, but we need a spot for listing recent developments in the government of Thailand as they relate to pandemic influenza.

To begin: from FoxNews (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214498,00.html)with my emphasis added:
BANGKOK, Thailand — The Thai military launched a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday night, circling his offices with tanks, seizing control of TV stations and declaring a provisional authority pledging loyalty to the king.

An announcement on Thai television declared that a “Council of Administrative Reform” with King Bhumibol Adulyadej as head of state had seized power in Bangkok and nearby provinces without any resistance.

[snip]

“The prime minister with the approval of the Cabinet declares serious emergency law in Bangkok from now on,” Thaksin said on Channel 9.


I emphasize these two phrases for the implication they may have regarding the dissemination of information from Thailand to the rest of the world, possibly including information about influenza outbreaks.

banshee – at 13:01

A party loyal to the king has staged a coup. They report that they have control of the Thai army. For those who don’t know, the current Thai PM is in New York at the UN meeting. Source: CNN Headline News

Dennis in Colorado – at 13:03

From CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/19/thailand.coup.rumor/index.html

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — Members of the Thai military are attempting to seize power but Thailand’s leadership expects everything to return to normal soon, Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai tells CNN.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra — currently at the U.N. headquarters in New York — went on a government-owned TV station and declared a state of emergency, The Associated Press reported.
The government has maintained control of the capital and the surrounding areas, according a statement on Thailand’s state-controled Army television.
The statement asked for residents to remain calm and await further announcements.

zeta – at 13:04

The King doesn’t necessarily endorse this coup even if the military is claiming to be doing it in his name. The BBC has a better report on it because they have better reporters in Thailand than Fox news. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5361008.stm

Dennis in Colorado – at 13:18

Does anyone have any figures on how many Thais are currently active in the military? CIA World Factbook lists the branches of the Thai military as “Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (includes Royal Thai Marine Corps), and Royal Thai Air Force.” It lists “Manpower fit for military service” as 10.3 million males and 11.4 million females, but does not state what the current conscript + volunteer levels are. Surely an emergency such as this will cause military troops to be mobilized and congregated — might such actions increase the possibility of close contact with other soldiers who have influenza?

FrenchieGirlat 13:25

Dennis in Colorado – at 13:18 - Surely an emergency such as this will cause military troops to be mobilized and congregated — might such actions increase the possibility of close contact with other soldiers who have influenza?

The nightmare, yeah. And probably not just influenza, anything contagious.

On the other hand, international travel may be less easy for a few days/weeks, so if they all catch whatever, hopefully, it’ll be contained there? I can’t even believe myself as I’m writing this.

Albert – at 13:35

This is a purely internal event. As a regular visitor to Thailand, I am sure the army coup will not disrupt normal life to a great extent. If I had a holiday planned for Thailand tomorrow, which unfortunately is not the case, I would pack tonight and take my family there.

Dennis in Colorado – at 16:14

From the Associated Press:

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Thailand’s army commander ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a military coup Tuesday night while he was in New York, circling his offices with tanks, declaring martial law and revoking the constitution.
Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, who is known to be close to Thailand’s revered monarch and is a Muslim in this Buddhist-dominated nation, will be acting prime minister, said army spokesman Col. Akara Chitroj.
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.”
<snip>
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.

AnnieBat 16:24

Radio coverage this morning in NZ (Sep 20) are quite adamant that people should NOT change their travel plans to/from Thailand, just to be more cautious about avoiding crowded situations etc.

The Sarge – at 16:30

News coverage is woefully inadequate here - can anyone elighten me as to the issues that the military deemed required a coup? All I see is that the generals have declared their allegiance to the king.

Dennis in Colorado – at 16:48

The Sarge – at 16:30
In 1932, it was to end the absolute monarchy.
In 1947, it was to put the military candidate in office after he was acquited of war crimes.
In 1951, it was “the danger of communist aggression.”
In 1971, it was to end the 3-year experiment with democracy and put the military back in power.
The revolution of 1973–1974 brought democracy back.
I have not yet heard the rationale behind this coup.

anon_22 – at 17:03

I don’t know the issues involved but I do know that the Thais hold their king in reverence. So anybody who wants to get into power has to declare allegiance to the king.

zeta – at 19:15

The rationale I’ve heard is that the prime minister promised universal heath care for Indonesians and failed to fulfill his promise. The military was worried he would win based on name recognition and so decided to remove him from power before the elections. Democratic elections are still planned as scheduled.

20 September 2006

Dennis in Colorado – at 09:14

zeta – at 19:15 Democratic elections are still planned as scheduled.
Today’s story in Reuters
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand’s military coup leaders will choose a new prime minister within two weeks and step back from power, army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said on Wednesday.
Speaking less than 24 hours after he led a bloodless coup to oust billionaire Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Sonthi also said it would take a year to produce a new constitution leading to a fresh general election.
[snip]
The military said the coup was necessary to institute reforms to resolve a political stalemate that pitted Thaksin against the political old guard and street campaigners, who accused him of subverting democracy for his family and friends in big business.
[snip]
Asked if he had the backing of the palace, Sonthi told reporters: “No, we had no supporters. We made the decision by ourselves.”

28 September 2006

DemFromCT - close thread – at 21:27
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