Thailand coup: Army seizes control of government to restore 'peace'

Updated

Thailand's military chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has announced that the armed forces and police have seized power in the country, two days after declaring martial law.

General Prayuth made the announcement last night in a television broadcast after he held a meeting with all rival factions aimed at finding a solution to six months of anti-government protests.

"In order for the situation to return to normal quickly and for society to love and be at peace again ... and to reform the structure of the political, economic and social structure, the military needs to take control of power," he said.

The commander-in-chief, who invoked martial law on Tuesday, said the coup was needed to prevent the conflict escalating.

South-East Asia correspondent Samantha Hawley in Bangkok: A coup d'état under way again in Thailand. There is a long history of coups here: this will be the nineteenth.



Some have been successful, some not, but one is currently underway.



Many people had seen this as a creeping coup - that began when martial law was declared earlier in the week - and obviously they ended up being correct.



Others had argued that, in fact, they thought that it was just martial law, that it wouldn't go this far.



As the army general has said the military is in control. He has done that because he doesn't want any more deaths, any more injuries.



In fact, when you look at the situation, that's exactly what this may cause because.



When martial law was declared Tuesday morning the soldiers came streaming into the city, so the soldiers were already present on the street today - it is almost like they were preparing for this.



They had everyone in place, so they were ready to go. Obviously now we will see even more troops heading into particularly the centre of Bangkok after this announcement.



The Red Shirts - the pro-government supporters - have said they will come on to the streets of Bangkok to protest and fight against a coup.



What we know is that the anti-government protesters - the Yellow Shirts - will be overjoyed. This is actually what they have been fighting for for some time. They wanted a coup and an unelected leader put in place as prime minister.



What we do know also is that the Red Shirts said they would certainly fight against the coup. It will be a matter of what their leaders decide to do from here on in. But on the streets, of course, the soldiers will be in control.

"All Thais must remain calm and government officials must work as normal," he added.

A series of bulletins ran on national television, one broadcast ordering former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and three other relatives of controversial billionaire-turned-politician Thaksin Shinawatra to report to military authorities today.

Another bulletin declared social media platforms would be blocked if content inciting violence or criticism of the new military leaders was found.

"Cooperation from social media operators and all involved to stop such messages that incite violence, break the law or criticise the coup council," the new ruling junta said.

"If we find any to be in violation, we will suspend the service immediately and will summon those responsible for prosecution."

Coup leaders had earlier ordered all television and radio stations to suspend their usual programs and show only the army's broadcasts.

The national constitution has been suspended, while a nationwide curfew from 10:00pm to 5:00am is now in place.

"In order to run the country smoothly, [coup leaders have] suspended the constitution of 2007, except for the chapter on the monarchy," said a statement read out on national television.

The move came after military-hosted talks between the kingdom's political rivals apparently failed to reach a compromise on ending nearly seven months of mass protests on the streets of Bangkok.

Rival protest leaders at the talks - held at a heavily guarded military facility in the capital - were seen being taken away by the army, although it was unclear whether they had been formally detained.

Thai soldiers removed the leader of anti-government protests from the meeting, but the reason was not immediately clear, witnesses said.

However, some local residents have told the ABC they are happy with the military intervention after months of unrest and conflict.

"I'm very excited that the soldiers came to help solve the country's problems," one man said.

A woman said: "I want soldiers to use their power fully. People have been fighting for a long time."

Shots fired to disperse Red Shirt demonstrators

After the coup announcement, a senior army official said troops would escort protesters away from their rally sites.

Thai soldiers fired into the air to disperse thousands of pro-government Red Shirt activists gathered at a protest site in Bangkok's western outskirts, one protest spokesman said.

The military detained at least one leader of the activists, who are loyal to Mr Thaksin, spokesman Thanawut Wichaidit said.

Leaders of the ruling Puea Thai Party and the opposition Democrat Party, the Senate leader and the five-member Election Commission had joined the second round of talks at an army base in Bangkok.

The long-running political crisis broadly pits a Bangkok-based royalist elite and its backers against the billionaire family of former Mr Thaksin.

Acting prime minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongphaisan told reporters before the talks that his government could not resign as per its enemies' demands, as that would contravene the constitution.

"The government wants the problem solved in a democratic way, which includes a government that comes from elections," he said.

Government officials were not available for comment after the coup was announced.

Thailand's gross domestic product contracted 2.1 per cent in January-March from the previous three months, largely because of the unrest, fuelling fears it is stumbling into recession.

General Prayuth said the takeover would not affect international relations.

However, the United Nations human rights office voiced deep concern at the Thai army coup and said martial law and military orders being imposed may infringe on fundamental freedoms.

"We remind the authorities of Thailand's obligations under international human rights law ... which strictly limit the application of emergency powers," UN human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said.

"We urge the authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure the fundamental human rights are respected."

Calls for compromise fail

Twenty-eight people have been killed and 700 injured since this latest chapter in the power struggle between Mr Thaksin and the royalist elite flared up late last year.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says the Australian Government is seeking more information about the coup, and reviewing what implications it will have on Australia's relationship with Thailand.

Ms Bishop says Australians travelling to Bangkok should exercise a high degree of caution and monitor the Smart Traveller website for updates.

"We are gravely concerned that the army chief has announced that the military is assuming all government functions in Thailand," she said.

"It is a volatile situation. We are monitoring it closely but people need to pay close attention to their personal security and their travel plans."

United States secretary of state John Kerry said there was no justification for the coup and the US would re-evaluate its cooperation with the Thai military.

Mr Thaksin was ousted by the military in a coup in 2006 but still enjoys strong support, particularly in rural northern Thailand.

His sister was dismissed as prime minister earlier this month in a controversial court ruling after months of protests seeking her overthrow.

Ms Yingluck's supporters have warned of possible civil war if opposition demonstrators achieve their goal of seeing an unelected interim premier take power to oversee vaguely defined reforms widely seen as a bid to cripple the Thaksin family's political power.

The protesters say Mr Thaksin is a corrupt crony capitalist who commandeered Thailand's fragile democracy, using taxpayers' money to buy votes with populist giveaways.

They wanted a "neutral" interim prime minister to oversee electoral reforms aimed at ridding the country of the her family's political influence before any new vote.

The government and its supporters say a general election - which it would likely win - is the best way forward, and it had proposed polls on August 3, to be followed by reforms.

ABC/wires

Topics: government-and-politics, political-parties, world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, thailand, asia, pacific

First posted