(Wednesday, 11:00am) Yes, this is it, a Coup d’Etat in Thailand against the prime minister Taksin Shinawatra… Tanks in the streets of Bangkok, Martial Law, no more courses, riots downtown… The army has taken over the medias (TV and Radio), so no more CNN or other foreign channels! That’s crazy!
We (French AIT students) have received a mail this morning from the foreign relations of AIT to know how we are handling this as foreigners… We are strongly recommended not to move to Bangkok these days.
However as Taksin Shinawatra might not come back to Thailand I think this coup d’état will be peaceful and that new elections will be made really soon. The real problem might comes from the opposition between the North and the South of Thailand… But let’s see how this will move in the next hours…

(Wednesday, 9:00pm) The situation is still calm and should come back to “normal” quite rapidly. Meanwhile, the French embassy has renewed its advices: limit movements in Thailand, stay away from the officials buildings, do not form any group of more than 5 people inside Bangkok, stay in your appartment/hotel as much as possible.
Courses will start again in AIT tomorrow morning, but still, the majority of schools & universities will be closed tomorrow downtown Bangkok.

(Wednesday, 10:00pm) Thailand’s king give blessing to the Coup d’Etat! The King endorses military’s takeover and orders people to follow the general.

As seen on CNN:

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — The army commander who seized Thailand’s government Wednesday in a quick, bloodless coup pledged to hold elections by October 2007, and received a ringing endorsement from the country’s revered king.

“In order to create peace in the country, the king appoints Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin as head of the council of administrative reform,” according to the announcement on state-run television.

“All people should remain peaceful and civil servants should listen to order from Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin from now on.”

Sonthi led a precision takeover overnight without firing a shot, sending soldiers and tanks to guard major intersections and surround government buildings while the popularly elected Thaksin Shinawatra, accused of corruption and undermining democratic institutions, was abroad.

Asked if there would be moves to confiscate Thaksin’s vast assets, Sonthi said at a news conference that “those who have committed wrongdoings have to be prosecuted according to the law.”

Sonthi did not elaborate. But an announcement later on state-run television said the newly formed Council of Administrative Reform had sacked the state audit commissioners and given additional powers to Auditor General Jaruvan Maintaka to investigative government corruption, which could lead to the confiscation of Thaksin’s assets.

A British government spokesman said Thaksin was en route to Britain, where he has a residence in London, but had no meetings scheduled with Prime Minister Tony Blair or other officials.

Sonthi said he would act as prime minister for two weeks until a new leader is found, that an interim constitution would be drafted within that time, and that Thailand’s foreign policy and international agreements will not change.

Thailand will hold a general election in October 2007, he said.

Sonthi said the coup, Thailand’s first in 15 years, was necessary to heal mounting rifts in Thai society, and to end government corruption, insults to the revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and what the general called Thaksin’s attempts to destroy democratic institutions.

(Archive) BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — Thailand’s military coup leader has pledged to choose a new prime minister within two weeks and return power to the people as soon as possible.

But Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the head of Thailand’s army and the newly declared leader, said Wednesday it could take a year to produce a new constitution leading to a fresh general election, Reuters reported.

He said military leaders were looking for candidates who loved “democracy and constitutional monarchy” to replace Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless coup d’etat on Tuesday as he attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“We have two weeks. After two weeks, we step out,” Sonthi told a news conference, speaking as head of an interim “Political Reform Council” run by the military.

Meanwhile Britain’s Foreign Office said that Thaksin would arrive in London later Wednesday on a “private visit.”

The office did not say when Thaksin would arrive from New York. The Thai Embassy in London said it had no immediate information on Thaksin’s whereabouts.

In a nationally televised address earlier in the day, Sonthi, flanked by the country’s military and security force leaders, said the coup was complete and necessary to end intense conflicts in Thailand’s society that Thaksin had created.

In his first public appearance, Sonthi repeated earlier statements that the newly created Council of Administrative Reform had revoked the Constitution, AP reports.

He said Thaksin’s policies had created serious rifts that needed to be healed.

The chiefs of Thailand’s army, navy and air force earlier met King Bhumibol Adulyadej to declare they were taking over the country while Thaksin was in New York for a U.N. meeting.

Thaksin canceled a scheduled Tuesday evening speech to the U.N. General Assembly, a U.N. official said.

He said, however, that his government was still in control of the nation and later announced he was firing Sonthi.

Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said that the supreme commander of Thailand’s armed forces — Gen. Ruengroj Mahasaranont — would be in charge of Bangkok. Mahasaranont has made no public statement since the coup was announced.

Tanks and troops patrolled Bangkok early Wednesday after the army said the military was taking control.

Police were closing stores and directing traffic off Bangkok streets, residents told CNN via e-mail, but no violence was reported.

The coup plotters declared martial law and suspended the constitution of the Southeast Asian nation. They also declared Wednesday a holiday, with schools, banks and the country’s stock market closed.

“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 coup announcement said, according to The Associated Press. “We ask for the cooperation of the public and ask your pardon for the inconvenience.”

Sonthi, who is known to be close to Thailand’s revered constitutional monarch, will serve as acting prime minister, army spokesman Col. Akarat Chitroj said, according to The AP. Sonthi is a Muslim in this Buddhist-dominated nation, AP reported.

Foreign news networks, including CNN, from which Thailand residents were able to monitor the beginning of the coup, were later removed from the country’s cable systems.

Only one local station was broadcasting and it was showing pictures of the country’s king, according to an e-mail CNN received from Nio Paul, who identified himself as an American living in Thailand.

On a television station remaining under his government’s control Tuesday, Thaksin declared a state of emergency from New York.

Troops on the streets of the Thai capital had yellow ribbons on their weapons, a sign of loyalty to the nation’s king, to whom the coup plotters proclaimed their loyalty.

Former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai told AP that Thaksin had forced the military to act.

“As politicians, we do not support any kind of coup, but during the past five years, the government of Thaksin created several conditions that forced the military to stage the coup. Thaksin has caused the crisis in the country,” he told The AP.

At least four tanks and a number of armored vehicles were stationed around the royal palace in Bangkok, CNN’s Dan Rivers reported.

Soldiers apparently were setting up roadblocks, and what appeared to be members of the royal guard surrounded the palace.

It was unclear if the soldiers were loyal to the government or to those attempting to seize power.

Two tanks were parked outside the government headquarters, which houses Thaksin’s office.

About a dozen soldiers patrolled around the Erawan Hotel in the city’s business district, AP reported.

There have been 17 coups in Thailand since World War II, and rumors of an 18th have been circulating around Bangkok in recent weeks as Thaksin battled considerable pressure to step down. This is the first coup since 1992, AP reported.

International reaction

International reaction to the coup was muted largely because details of the situation were scarce. John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cut short a meeting at the United Nations to try to get more information from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.

“We think it’s important, in the short term, that we have peace in the streets in Bangkok, and that their constitutional processes be upheld,” Bolton said.

And U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said “This is not a practice to be encouraged.”

“Over the past decade or so, they have established a solid democracy and institutions under the leadership of the king,” Annan told reporters. “I’m sure they will be able to restore that institution and go back to a democratic system as soon as possible. ”

Thaksin decided Monday night to reschedule his speech to the U.N. General Assembly for Tuesday night and return to Bangkok afterward, according to U.N. officials. He originally had been scheduled to address the assembly on Wednesday.

Though he canceled the Tuesday speech, it was not clear when Thaksin would return to Thailand.

Elections in Thailand are scheduled for November after the country’s constitutional court ruled that a vote in April was unconstitutional.

Thaksin had called for the April elections, three years early, after opponents accused the billionaire leader of abusing the country’s system of checks and balances and bending government policy to benefit his family’s business.

Some Thais gathered outside Government House in Bangkok to get pictures of themselves with the tanks and troops, AP reported.

The coup caused little stir in Bangkok’s popular tourist districts, where foreigners packed beer bars and cabarets just a few miles from where the tanks were posted, AP reported.