BackThai military chief stages coup after imposing martial law
Army chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha said the move was for restoring peace. This is the country's 12th military coup since 1932
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Thailand’s army chief took control of the country and suspended the constitution after a six-month crisis that has sapped economic growth and caused political paralysis, staging the military’s 12th coup since 1932.
Two days after declaring martial law and saying there was no coup, army chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha announced on national television alongside senior military officials on Thursday that he was seizing control in order to restore peace. He announced a daily nationwide curfew from 10pm until 5am and banned political protests.
“To restore peace back to the country in a short time and to reform the country’s politics, economy and society, the Thai military, army, navy, air force and police have seized power from 22 May onward," Prayuth said. “All people should remain calm and live their lives as normal. All government officials continue to work in line with their regulations and what they have done before."
The coup could provide short-term certainty to markets after months of street protests and upheaval that led to the removal on 7 May of then-caretaker premier Yingluck Shinawatra by the Constitutional Court. The military’s intervention may not resolve the deep polarization that has taken hold in Thailand over the past decade between the largely rural-based supporters of Yingluck’s brother Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a 2006 coup, and his royalist opponents.
Thai military and political leaders met this afternoon to discuss possible resolutions to the nation’s governance crisis. The military used several trucks to block the entrance and exits of the complex where the meeting was held. The leader of the anti-government protesters, Suthep Thaugsuban, was escorted into an army compound nearby.
Leaders of the pro-government movement known as Red Shirts have been arrested, Sean Boonpracong, an adviser in the prime minister’s office, said. They include Jatuporn Prompan, Weng Tojirakarn, Tida Tawornseth and Korkaew Pikulthong, with caretaker Prime Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan in a safe location, he said.
The caretaker government was removed and Niwattumrong and 17 other cabinet members must report in, said army deputy spokesman Winthai Suvaree. The Senate, independent agencies and courts will remain in place, he said.
“The military tried to avoid taking over and it’s quite obvious with their attempts to try to speak with all sides," Kiat Sittheeamorn, a senior member of the main opposition Democrat party, said.
The baht weakened 0.1% against the US dollar following the announcement, after strengthening as much as 0.4% earlier on Thursday.
Thailand’s military has now carried out a dozen coups since the end of direct rule by kings in 1932, with three governments overthrown since 2006 by the army or judicial action. The latest putsch risks international sanctions and may extend almost a decade of unrest that has sapped growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
The coup comes days after the state planning agency reported gross domestic product shrank 0.6% in the three months through March from a year earlier, as production and tourism took a hit during months of unrest. The agency this week also cut its growth forecast for this year to 1.5% to 2.5% from a range of 3% to 4% earlier.Thailand will probably have the slowest growth among its major Southeast Asian peers this year, according to Bloomberg surveys. The economy is at risk of sliding into a technical recession this year, analysts said. Bloomberg
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