Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra found himself deposed yesterday as his country's military launched a coup d'etat, encircling the government compound with tanks, seizing control of television status and declaring a provisional authority loyal to the king.
An announcement on Thai TV channel 5 declared that a "Council of Administrative Reform" with King Bhumibol Adulyadej as head of state had seized power in Bangkok and nearby provinces with no resistance.
A convoy of tanks rigged with loudspeakers and sirens rolled through a busy commercial district warning people off the streets for their own safety.
A senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin had used the military to seize power from the prime minister.
At least 14 tanks surrounded Government House, Mr. Thaksin's office. Mr. Thaksin was in New York at the UN General Assembly and declared a state of emergency.
"The prime minister with the approval of the Cabinet declares serious emergency law in Bangkok from now on," Thaksin said on Channel 9 from New York. In what appeared to be a futile gesture, he ordered the transfer of the nation's army chief to work in the prime minister's office, effectively sacking him.
Several hundred soldiers were deployed at keys points around Bangkok, including government installations and major intersections, witnesses said. A dozen soldiers patrolled around Erawan Hotel, a major tourist facility, at the heart of the capital's business district.
Army-owned TV channel 5 interrupted regular broadcasts with patriotic music and showed pictures of the king with many other radio and TV stations suspending all programming. Local radio station Ruam Duay Chuay Kan interrupted its programming just as a reporter was about to give information from Government House.
The Nation newspaper's cable television station reported that tanks were parked at the Rachadamnoen Road and Royal Plaza close to the Royal Palace and government offices.
