Two weeks ago we were in the middle of a military coup, certainly not something your average American experiences everyday. Now we're getting ready for another first...Typhoon Xangsane. Xangsane has already paid a visit to the people of the Philippines, and is now heading Southwest towards Vietnam and Thailand. The Thai Ministry of Weather (yes it's real, and they do some bizzare things to try to 'control' the weather here) has issued heavy rain and high wind warning for the country. So I guess we'll get to experience everything that Southeast Asia has to offer during our fouray here.Saturday, September 30, 2006
Another in a line of firsts...
Two weeks ago we were in the middle of a military coup, certainly not something your average American experiences everyday. Now we're getting ready for another first...Typhoon Xangsane. Xangsane has already paid a visit to the people of the Philippines, and is now heading Southwest towards Vietnam and Thailand. The Thai Ministry of Weather (yes it's real, and they do some bizzare things to try to 'control' the weather here) has issued heavy rain and high wind warning for the country. So I guess we'll get to experience everything that Southeast Asia has to offer during our fouray here.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
In Memoriam
The following posting really has nothing to do with Thailand, or Bangkok; save for the fact that if we were not in Thailand the end result would have probably never happened.
Loosing a cherished pet is never easy. We come to regard them as part of our family. We learn to recognize their moods; when they're happy and when they're sad. It makes it doubly difficult when they're so young and full of energy. This past week we discovered, with much sadness, that our cat Pupek was most likely killed by coyotes. Being 7,000 miles away has certainly not helped. I know he was just a cat, but he was part of our family. He was a silly, crazy cat. He loved running around chasing every imaginary thing he could think of. He was also one of the most loving cat. He loved his family, and missed us when we were not around. Is it irrational to have emotions of grief and sadness over the death of an animal? Well I say it is, and if other's don't agree tough cookies. Pupek was an integral part of our little family and now he's gone. Throughout our lives I'm sure we'll have other cats and dogs, but Pupek was the first. He will always be remembered.
Treat me kindly, dear master. Accord me the courtesy due to a cat — and I for my part will love you, amuse you and cheer your heart as only a cat can do.
Give me a sunny spot to sleep in when morning dawns and I will warm your lap on cold evenings.
Respect my independence and my need to walk alone at times and I will look after myself, so that you may come and go as you please.
Speak to me in our secret kitty language, let me hear my name sung in the music of your voice, and I will meow happily in sweet harmony with you.
Stroke my fur gently and lovingly and I will soothe you with the soft purrs that can only come from a happy cat.
Indulge my curiosity and I will show you the joys of bird watching, star gazing and other kitty pleasures.
Play with me and see me rejoice! Toss a humble ball of yarn and I will delight you with my cleverness and acrobatic leaps.
But do not laugh at me or allow me to be teased for there is nothing I prize more than my dignity.
Keep my surroundings neat and clean and I will be fastidious in my habits.
Feed me and be fair and I will teach you how to tell "kitty time" by instinct and tummy tunes.
And when I am old and the time comes to say farewell, hold me gently in your arms and I will go without a whimper.
For with you I am trusting, safe and secure. A cat who walked alone but loved you with a full and happy heart.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Absent Thai general spelled trouble
By Thomas Fuller International Herald Tribune
Published: September 21, 2006
BANGKOK The first signs of trouble Tuesday emerged when Thaksin Shinawatra, who was still Thailand's leader, called an early-morning teleconference with the country's top army general.
The general did not show up.
"Sonthi was absent," said Rongpol Charoenphan, the cabinet secretary whose job it is to organize the nation's most important political meetings. "He asked his aide to inform everyone at the meeting that he was busy in the south."
Actually, Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the chief of the army, was busy organizing a coup d'état that he would begin 14 hours later, sending tanks into the streets and rescinding, with nothing more than a televised announcement, the country's Constitution and dissolving its Parliament.
On Thursday, Sonthi sought to strengthen the grip of his junta, banning political gatherings and "activities," and summoning media executives to army headquarters in Bangkok to warn them against publishing "expressions of public opinion" - an allusion to opinion polls but perhaps also encompassing media commentaries. The junta then summoned and detained four of Thaksin's closest political allies, without disclosing why.
Thaksin, meanwhile, issued a statement from London, saying that he would take a "well-deserved rest" and that he hoped for national reconciliation. He was spotted by reporters strolling around London on a sunny late-summer day.
Three days after the military carried out its first coup here in 15 years, many questions remained about how it will carry out its stated desire to return democracy to Thailand, a country that before a political crisis erupted in January was a sort of beacon of democracy for its neighbors.
But a more immediate question was what will happen to Thaksin and his fortune of more than $2 billion. The media here speculated Thursday that, to appear more legitimate in the eyes of foreign governments, the junta would open investigations against Thaksin. Sonthi cited "rampant corruption" as one of the reasons for the coup.
In a surprise move, the junta retained the country's auditor general, Jaruvan Maintaka, whom Thaksin had tried to remove from office. The military gave her more power to investigate government corruption.
Thaksin was in New York when the army took over. One of his closest advisers said he planned to stay in Europe for the foreseeable future.
"We won't just stay in London. We will probably go to Europe to have a rest," Pansak Vinyaratn, chief policy adviser to Thaksin, said by telephone from London.
But the question of his money is more complicated. One of Thailand's richest men, Thaksin made his fortune in the technology business, initially by selling IBM computers to the police force.
He cashed out of his business empire in January, selling his controlling stake of Shin Corp. - a conglomerate consisting of the country's leading mobile phone service, a low-cost airline and satellite businesses - to an investment company owned by the government of Singapore.
The sale netted $1.9 billion for his family, an amount so large that the Thai baht appreciated against the dollar as the money was being brought into the country.
In a news briefing Wednesday, the leaders of the junta said that there were no plans to freeze Thaksin's assets but that investigations were possible.
"It depends on the information we have at hand," Kowit Wattana, the country's national police chief, said at the briefing. "At present, he already has many lawsuits, so we might look into them again and see what to do."
If Thaksin's fortune is indeed still in Thailand, it is not clear how he could move the money abroad, since the central bank limits personal remittances to $1 million a year per person. At that rate it would take 1,900 years to transfer Thaksin's windfall from earlier this year out of the country.
Special permission is required for sums larger than $1 million. If the money is for investment purposes, however, an individual is allowed to wire $10 million without central bank permission.
Vichit Supinij, a former governor of the central bank and a former adviser to the Thaksin government, said he believed Thaksin's fortune was still in Thailand.
"The money is probably still in the banks at the moment," Vichit said. Getting it out of the country would be tricky, he said.
"It's true that if the amount of the transfer is less than $10 million, there's no need to inform the central bank," said Vichit, chairman of the board of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. "But you still have to inform your bank about the reasons for the transfer and where the money is going. Transferring such a huge amount of money is complicated."
Also complicated would be any investigation of Thaksin, said Klanarong Chantik, the former head of the National Countercorruption Commission.
"The current situation isn't normal," he said. "All the laws were revoked and the committee of the National Countercorruption Commission no longer exists."
Referring to the junta by the name it has chosen for itself, the Administrative Reform Council, he said: "The problem is everything now depends on the council's interpretation of the law."
Klanarong represented the Countercorruption Commission before the Constitution Court in 2001 when Thaksin was charged with dodging conflict-of-interest laws by transferring shares of Shin Corp. to his relatives, his driver and his maid. Thaksin was acquitted in an 8-to-7 ruling by the court.
The act governing the country's anti- corruption commission was part of the Constitution, and the Constitution has been rescinded, Klanarong said.
"Right now, the council is the law," he said.
The junta said Thursday that it had assumed legislative powers in the absence of Parliament. Its members gave themselves the power to approve "laws requiring action by members of Parliament and the Senate."
If an investigation does go forward, it will probably center on allegations of corruption in the purchase of U.S. bomb detectors for Bangkok's new airport or allegations of improprieties in the sale of Thaksin's Shin Corp., a transaction that the Finance Ministry ruled at the time could proceed tax-free.
Jon Ungpakorn, a member of the now-defunct Senate, said the junta should not focus on allegations of financial misdeeds.
"Issues that Thaksin himself needs to be investigated about are more issues related to the Constitution and human rights," Jon said.
He mentioned the extrajudicial killings of drug dealers by the police during over the last few years and the deaths of suspected Muslim separatists in southern Thailand.
"But of course these are fairly difficult to investigate," Jon said.
Uamdao Noikorn contributed reporting.
BANGKOK The first signs of trouble Tuesday emerged when Thaksin Shinawatra, who was still Thailand's leader, called an early-morning teleconference with the country's top army general.
The general did not show up.
"Sonthi was absent," said Rongpol Charoenphan, the cabinet secretary whose job it is to organize the nation's most important political meetings. "He asked his aide to inform everyone at the meeting that he was busy in the south."
Actually, Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the chief of the army, was busy organizing a coup d'état that he would begin 14 hours later, sending tanks into the streets and rescinding, with nothing more than a televised announcement, the country's Constitution and dissolving its Parliament.
On Thursday, Sonthi sought to strengthen the grip of his junta, banning political gatherings and "activities," and summoning media executives to army headquarters in Bangkok to warn them against publishing "expressions of public opinion" - an allusion to opinion polls but perhaps also encompassing media commentaries. The junta then summoned and detained four of Thaksin's closest political allies, without disclosing why.
Thaksin, meanwhile, issued a statement from London, saying that he would take a "well-deserved rest" and that he hoped for national reconciliation. He was spotted by reporters strolling around London on a sunny late-summer day.
Three days after the military carried out its first coup here in 15 years, many questions remained about how it will carry out its stated desire to return democracy to Thailand, a country that before a political crisis erupted in January was a sort of beacon of democracy for its neighbors.
But a more immediate question was what will happen to Thaksin and his fortune of more than $2 billion. The media here speculated Thursday that, to appear more legitimate in the eyes of foreign governments, the junta would open investigations against Thaksin. Sonthi cited "rampant corruption" as one of the reasons for the coup.
In a surprise move, the junta retained the country's auditor general, Jaruvan Maintaka, whom Thaksin had tried to remove from office. The military gave her more power to investigate government corruption.
Thaksin was in New York when the army took over. One of his closest advisers said he planned to stay in Europe for the foreseeable future.
"We won't just stay in London. We will probably go to Europe to have a rest," Pansak Vinyaratn, chief policy adviser to Thaksin, said by telephone from London.
But the question of his money is more complicated. One of Thailand's richest men, Thaksin made his fortune in the technology business, initially by selling IBM computers to the police force.
He cashed out of his business empire in January, selling his controlling stake of Shin Corp. - a conglomerate consisting of the country's leading mobile phone service, a low-cost airline and satellite businesses - to an investment company owned by the government of Singapore.
The sale netted $1.9 billion for his family, an amount so large that the Thai baht appreciated against the dollar as the money was being brought into the country.
In a news briefing Wednesday, the leaders of the junta said that there were no plans to freeze Thaksin's assets but that investigations were possible.
"It depends on the information we have at hand," Kowit Wattana, the country's national police chief, said at the briefing. "At present, he already has many lawsuits, so we might look into them again and see what to do."
If Thaksin's fortune is indeed still in Thailand, it is not clear how he could move the money abroad, since the central bank limits personal remittances to $1 million a year per person. At that rate it would take 1,900 years to transfer Thaksin's windfall from earlier this year out of the country.
Special permission is required for sums larger than $1 million. If the money is for investment purposes, however, an individual is allowed to wire $10 million without central bank permission.
Vichit Supinij, a former governor of the central bank and a former adviser to the Thaksin government, said he believed Thaksin's fortune was still in Thailand.
"The money is probably still in the banks at the moment," Vichit said. Getting it out of the country would be tricky, he said.
"It's true that if the amount of the transfer is less than $10 million, there's no need to inform the central bank," said Vichit, chairman of the board of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. "But you still have to inform your bank about the reasons for the transfer and where the money is going. Transferring such a huge amount of money is complicated."
Also complicated would be any investigation of Thaksin, said Klanarong Chantik, the former head of the National Countercorruption Commission.
"The current situation isn't normal," he said. "All the laws were revoked and the committee of the National Countercorruption Commission no longer exists."
Referring to the junta by the name it has chosen for itself, the Administrative Reform Council, he said: "The problem is everything now depends on the council's interpretation of the law."
Klanarong represented the Countercorruption Commission before the Constitution Court in 2001 when Thaksin was charged with dodging conflict-of-interest laws by transferring shares of Shin Corp. to his relatives, his driver and his maid. Thaksin was acquitted in an 8-to-7 ruling by the court.
The act governing the country's anti- corruption commission was part of the Constitution, and the Constitution has been rescinded, Klanarong said.
"Right now, the council is the law," he said.
The junta said Thursday that it had assumed legislative powers in the absence of Parliament. Its members gave themselves the power to approve "laws requiring action by members of Parliament and the Senate."
If an investigation does go forward, it will probably center on allegations of corruption in the purchase of U.S. bomb detectors for Bangkok's new airport or allegations of improprieties in the sale of Thaksin's Shin Corp., a transaction that the Finance Ministry ruled at the time could proceed tax-free.
Jon Ungpakorn, a member of the now-defunct Senate, said the junta should not focus on allegations of financial misdeeds.
"Issues that Thaksin himself needs to be investigated about are more issues related to the Constitution and human rights," Jon said.
He mentioned the extrajudicial killings of drug dealers by the police during over the last few years and the deaths of suspected Muslim separatists in southern Thailand.
"But of course these are fairly difficult to investigate," Jon said.
Uamdao Noikorn contributed reporting. Copyright 2006 International Herald Tribune (www.iht.com)
Published: September 21, 2006
BANGKOK The first signs of trouble Tuesday emerged when Thaksin Shinawatra, who was still Thailand's leader, called an early-morning teleconference with the country's top army general.
The general did not show up.
"Sonthi was absent," said Rongpol Charoenphan, the cabinet secretary whose job it is to organize the nation's most important political meetings. "He asked his aide to inform everyone at the meeting that he was busy in the south."
Actually, Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the chief of the army, was busy organizing a coup d'état that he would begin 14 hours later, sending tanks into the streets and rescinding, with nothing more than a televised announcement, the country's Constitution and dissolving its Parliament.
On Thursday, Sonthi sought to strengthen the grip of his junta, banning political gatherings and "activities," and summoning media executives to army headquarters in Bangkok to warn them against publishing "expressions of public opinion" - an allusion to opinion polls but perhaps also encompassing media commentaries. The junta then summoned and detained four of Thaksin's closest political allies, without disclosing why.
Thaksin, meanwhile, issued a statement from London, saying that he would take a "well-deserved rest" and that he hoped for national reconciliation. He was spotted by reporters strolling around London on a sunny late-summer day.
Three days after the military carried out its first coup here in 15 years, many questions remained about how it will carry out its stated desire to return democracy to Thailand, a country that before a political crisis erupted in January was a sort of beacon of democracy for its neighbors.
But a more immediate question was what will happen to Thaksin and his fortune of more than $2 billion. The media here speculated Thursday that, to appear more legitimate in the eyes of foreign governments, the junta would open investigations against Thaksin. Sonthi cited "rampant corruption" as one of the reasons for the coup.
In a surprise move, the junta retained the country's auditor general, Jaruvan Maintaka, whom Thaksin had tried to remove from office. The military gave her more power to investigate government corruption.
Thaksin was in New York when the army took over. One of his closest advisers said he planned to stay in Europe for the foreseeable future.
"We won't just stay in London. We will probably go to Europe to have a rest," Pansak Vinyaratn, chief policy adviser to Thaksin, said by telephone from London.
But the question of his money is more complicated. One of Thailand's richest men, Thaksin made his fortune in the technology business, initially by selling IBM computers to the police force.
He cashed out of his business empire in January, selling his controlling stake of Shin Corp. - a conglomerate consisting of the country's leading mobile phone service, a low-cost airline and satellite businesses - to an investment company owned by the government of Singapore.
The sale netted $1.9 billion for his family, an amount so large that the Thai baht appreciated against the dollar as the money was being brought into the country.
In a news briefing Wednesday, the leaders of the junta said that there were no plans to freeze Thaksin's assets but that investigations were possible.
"It depends on the information we have at hand," Kowit Wattana, the country's national police chief, said at the briefing. "At present, he already has many lawsuits, so we might look into them again and see what to do."
If Thaksin's fortune is indeed still in Thailand, it is not clear how he could move the money abroad, since the central bank limits personal remittances to $1 million a year per person. At that rate it would take 1,900 years to transfer Thaksin's windfall from earlier this year out of the country.
Special permission is required for sums larger than $1 million. If the money is for investment purposes, however, an individual is allowed to wire $10 million without central bank permission.
Vichit Supinij, a former governor of the central bank and a former adviser to the Thaksin government, said he believed Thaksin's fortune was still in Thailand.
"The money is probably still in the banks at the moment," Vichit said. Getting it out of the country would be tricky, he said.
"It's true that if the amount of the transfer is less than $10 million, there's no need to inform the central bank," said Vichit, chairman of the board of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. "But you still have to inform your bank about the reasons for the transfer and where the money is going. Transferring such a huge amount of money is complicated."
Also complicated would be any investigation of Thaksin, said Klanarong Chantik, the former head of the National Countercorruption Commission.
"The current situation isn't normal," he said. "All the laws were revoked and the committee of the National Countercorruption Commission no longer exists."
Referring to the junta by the name it has chosen for itself, the Administrative Reform Council, he said: "The problem is everything now depends on the council's interpretation of the law."
Klanarong represented the Countercorruption Commission before the Constitution Court in 2001 when Thaksin was charged with dodging conflict-of-interest laws by transferring shares of Shin Corp. to his relatives, his driver and his maid. Thaksin was acquitted in an 8-to-7 ruling by the court.
The act governing the country's anti- corruption commission was part of the Constitution, and the Constitution has been rescinded, Klanarong said.
"Right now, the council is the law," he said.
The junta said Thursday that it had assumed legislative powers in the absence of Parliament. Its members gave themselves the power to approve "laws requiring action by members of Parliament and the Senate."
If an investigation does go forward, it will probably center on allegations of corruption in the purchase of U.S. bomb detectors for Bangkok's new airport or allegations of improprieties in the sale of Thaksin's Shin Corp., a transaction that the Finance Ministry ruled at the time could proceed tax-free.
Jon Ungpakorn, a member of the now-defunct Senate, said the junta should not focus on allegations of financial misdeeds.
"Issues that Thaksin himself needs to be investigated about are more issues related to the Constitution and human rights," Jon said.
He mentioned the extrajudicial killings of drug dealers by the police during over the last few years and the deaths of suspected Muslim separatists in southern Thailand.
"But of course these are fairly difficult to investigate," Jon said.
Uamdao Noikorn contributed reporting.
BANGKOK The first signs of trouble Tuesday emerged when Thaksin Shinawatra, who was still Thailand's leader, called an early-morning teleconference with the country's top army general.
The general did not show up.
"Sonthi was absent," said Rongpol Charoenphan, the cabinet secretary whose job it is to organize the nation's most important political meetings. "He asked his aide to inform everyone at the meeting that he was busy in the south."
Actually, Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the chief of the army, was busy organizing a coup d'état that he would begin 14 hours later, sending tanks into the streets and rescinding, with nothing more than a televised announcement, the country's Constitution and dissolving its Parliament.
On Thursday, Sonthi sought to strengthen the grip of his junta, banning political gatherings and "activities," and summoning media executives to army headquarters in Bangkok to warn them against publishing "expressions of public opinion" - an allusion to opinion polls but perhaps also encompassing media commentaries. The junta then summoned and detained four of Thaksin's closest political allies, without disclosing why.
Thaksin, meanwhile, issued a statement from London, saying that he would take a "well-deserved rest" and that he hoped for national reconciliation. He was spotted by reporters strolling around London on a sunny late-summer day.
Three days after the military carried out its first coup here in 15 years, many questions remained about how it will carry out its stated desire to return democracy to Thailand, a country that before a political crisis erupted in January was a sort of beacon of democracy for its neighbors.
But a more immediate question was what will happen to Thaksin and his fortune of more than $2 billion. The media here speculated Thursday that, to appear more legitimate in the eyes of foreign governments, the junta would open investigations against Thaksin. Sonthi cited "rampant corruption" as one of the reasons for the coup.
In a surprise move, the junta retained the country's auditor general, Jaruvan Maintaka, whom Thaksin had tried to remove from office. The military gave her more power to investigate government corruption.
Thaksin was in New York when the army took over. One of his closest advisers said he planned to stay in Europe for the foreseeable future.
"We won't just stay in London. We will probably go to Europe to have a rest," Pansak Vinyaratn, chief policy adviser to Thaksin, said by telephone from London.
But the question of his money is more complicated. One of Thailand's richest men, Thaksin made his fortune in the technology business, initially by selling IBM computers to the police force.
He cashed out of his business empire in January, selling his controlling stake of Shin Corp. - a conglomerate consisting of the country's leading mobile phone service, a low-cost airline and satellite businesses - to an investment company owned by the government of Singapore.
The sale netted $1.9 billion for his family, an amount so large that the Thai baht appreciated against the dollar as the money was being brought into the country.
In a news briefing Wednesday, the leaders of the junta said that there were no plans to freeze Thaksin's assets but that investigations were possible.
"It depends on the information we have at hand," Kowit Wattana, the country's national police chief, said at the briefing. "At present, he already has many lawsuits, so we might look into them again and see what to do."
If Thaksin's fortune is indeed still in Thailand, it is not clear how he could move the money abroad, since the central bank limits personal remittances to $1 million a year per person. At that rate it would take 1,900 years to transfer Thaksin's windfall from earlier this year out of the country.
Special permission is required for sums larger than $1 million. If the money is for investment purposes, however, an individual is allowed to wire $10 million without central bank permission.
Vichit Supinij, a former governor of the central bank and a former adviser to the Thaksin government, said he believed Thaksin's fortune was still in Thailand.
"The money is probably still in the banks at the moment," Vichit said. Getting it out of the country would be tricky, he said.
"It's true that if the amount of the transfer is less than $10 million, there's no need to inform the central bank," said Vichit, chairman of the board of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. "But you still have to inform your bank about the reasons for the transfer and where the money is going. Transferring such a huge amount of money is complicated."
Also complicated would be any investigation of Thaksin, said Klanarong Chantik, the former head of the National Countercorruption Commission.
"The current situation isn't normal," he said. "All the laws were revoked and the committee of the National Countercorruption Commission no longer exists."
Referring to the junta by the name it has chosen for itself, the Administrative Reform Council, he said: "The problem is everything now depends on the council's interpretation of the law."
Klanarong represented the Countercorruption Commission before the Constitution Court in 2001 when Thaksin was charged with dodging conflict-of-interest laws by transferring shares of Shin Corp. to his relatives, his driver and his maid. Thaksin was acquitted in an 8-to-7 ruling by the court.
The act governing the country's anti- corruption commission was part of the Constitution, and the Constitution has been rescinded, Klanarong said.
"Right now, the council is the law," he said.
The junta said Thursday that it had assumed legislative powers in the absence of Parliament. Its members gave themselves the power to approve "laws requiring action by members of Parliament and the Senate."
If an investigation does go forward, it will probably center on allegations of corruption in the purchase of U.S. bomb detectors for Bangkok's new airport or allegations of improprieties in the sale of Thaksin's Shin Corp., a transaction that the Finance Ministry ruled at the time could proceed tax-free.
Jon Ungpakorn, a member of the now-defunct Senate, said the junta should not focus on allegations of financial misdeeds.
"Issues that Thaksin himself needs to be investigated about are more issues related to the Constitution and human rights," Jon said.
He mentioned the extrajudicial killings of drug dealers by the police during over the last few years and the deaths of suspected Muslim separatists in southern Thailand.
"But of course these are fairly difficult to investigate," Jon said.
Uamdao Noikorn contributed reporting. Copyright 2006 International Herald Tribune (www.iht.com)
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
September 20, 2006 Leaders of Thai Coup Act to Consolidate Control
BANGKOK, Wednesday, Sept. 20 — The group of military officers that overthrew Thailand's government sought to consolidate its control today, banning public gatherings, threatening to shut down or block telecommunications and urging "farmers and laborers" — many of whom are strong supporters of the ousted government — to stay out of politics.
Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, the coup leader and chief of the army, addressed the public for the first time since seizing power in a bloodless takeover that began Tuesday night. He vowed to eventually restore democracy to Thailand's 65 million citizens but did not give any time frame.
The coup thrust Thailand, a country that hosts more than 11 million tourists and has an open, thriving economy, into further political uncertainty after 7 months of turmoil during which a political battle raged between supporters and detractors of Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire tycoon turned populist prime minister.
Mr. Thaksin was in New York when tanks rolled into the streets and television stations were seized by the military.
"The Administrative Reform Council, which has his Majesty the King as its leader, seized administrative power from the caretaker government by ordering the dissolution of the House of Representatives, the Senate, the government and the Constitutional Court," General Sondhi said.
The group did not repeat an assertion made by a spokesman Tuesday night that it had rescinded Thailand's constitution, but it was unclear if its position had changed.
General Sondhi vowed that military rule would be temporary. The military, he said, "insists that it has no intention to become the country's ruler and will return to democracy under the monarchy to the Thai people as soon as possible."
In reading the statement on national television, General Sondhi was flanked at a long table by the country's top military brass: Marshall Chalit Pookpasuk, the head of the air force, Admiral Sathiraphan Keyanand, the head of the marines and navy, Pol. Gen. Kowit Wattana, the national chief of police, and Gen. Ruangroj Mahasaranond, the supreme military commander.
Banks, government offices, the stock market, schools and some businesses were closed today after the coup's leaders declared a national holiday. Traffic was relatively light in Bangkok and soldiers were stationed at some intersections. Tanks that had moved to positions outside the prime minister's office Tuesday night were still stationed there Wednesday morning.
In his address, which lasted no more than two minutes, General Sondhi said the reason for seizing power was the "government's misconduct, which has caused conflicts and broken the unity of the people in the country in a way that has never happened before in the history of Thailand."
Mr. Thaksin's main deputy, Chidchai Vanasatidya, was reported to be in army custody.
Mr. Thaksin's position had been tenuous since February, when he dissolved parliament in the face of mounting protests in Bangkok over the tax-free, $1.9 billion sale of his family's business empire to the investment arm of Singapore's government. He stepped down in April after inconclusive elections that were boycotted by the opposition. But he remained the interim prime minister and was cagey on whether he would keep the job after fresh elections, which were likely to take place before the end of the year. His party, Thai Rak Thai, with overwhelming support in the country's rice-growing northeastern heartland, would have almost certainly won the elections, most political analysts believe.
Tuesday's coup appeared to have the blessing of Thailand's highly revered king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has been on the throne for 60 years. Overnight, Thai television showed General Sondhi meeting with Mr. Bhumibol. Political analysts believe the king has been worried that Mr. Thaksin's administration had accumulated too much power. Soldiers in the streets of Bangkok on Tuesday and Wednesday tied yellow ribbons to their uniforms and weapons, the color symbolizing support for the king.
The military issued a string of decrees this morning following General Sondhi's television appearance, including the ban on public gatherings.
"In order to avoid problems, the Administrative Reform Council prohibits political gatherings of more than five people," said Thavinand Krongkrang, a news anchorwoman on Channel 5, a station owned by the military. Violators would be jailed six months or fined.
Another announcement called on the media "to cover news truthfully and constructively in order to promote unity in the country."
The military also ordered the ministry of telecommunications "to control, stop or block the distribution of information through all media channels that might affect the council's work." It was referring to the Administrative Reform Council, the newly formed junta.
The military singled out several groups in Thai society — laborers, farmers and students — and conveyed messages to them, urging laborers and farmers "to remain peaceful because any gathering or movement right now might facilitate the work of people with bad intentions to cause disturbance."
It encouraged students to participate in the process of rebuilding Thai democracy.
"Any of you who has an idea or any opinion please send your ideas or suggestions to the army," a spokesperson said in one of the televised statements.
Recent Thai history is littered with coups, counter-coups and attempted coups, but this is the first military takeover since 1991, when Suchinda Kraprayoon, a military general, toppled a civilian government in a bloodless coup. His government was unpopular and he was ousted in 1992, following street demonstrations.
Thai Military Vows Clean-Up
Thai military leader vows to clean up politics and return power to the people(Filed: 20/09/2006)
Leaders of the bloodless coup in Thailand have vowed to clean up politics as they tightened their control of the southeast Asian nation today.
In a broadcast on Thai television, General Sondhi Boonyaratklin said the army had seized power to unify the country, and accused Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minister, of corruption and nepotism.
The coup leader also accused the prime minister of causing an "erosion of democratic institutions" and an "unprecedented rift in society".
Gen Boonyaratklin said that the newly created Council of Administrative Reform had no intention of ruling the country, and wished to return power to the Thai people "as soon as possible".
This morning, however, the coup leaders moved to censor foreign and domestic media and banned public gatherings of more than five people as part of measures designed to ensure public order.
Foreign leaders have expressed concern over the developments in Thailand and some warned their citizens against travelling to one of Asia's most popular holiday destinations.
Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, told reporters in New York that she was "never happy about military attempts to overthrow a government," but she added that details of the coup were still unclear, making it difficult to comment.
Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda, also in New York for the UN General Assembly, said he hoped that the political crisis in Thailand could be settled through democratic means, a sentiment expressed by many leaders.
Today Thailand's prime minister is preparing to leave the United States for an uncertain future, after having watched his downfall in a military coup on television in New York. His destination is unknown.
'Coup' sparks Thailand emergency
'Coup' sparks Thailand emergency
BBC
Soldiers have entered Government House and tanks have moved into position around the building.
Mr Thaksin, who is at the UN in New York, said he had removed the chief of the army.
National television announced that forces had taken control of Bangkok "to maintain law and order", and that they were declaring loyalty to the king.
However, the BBC's Kate McGeown in Bangkok says King Bhumibol is held in high esteem by all Thais, and the declaration of loyalty does not necessarily imply that he backs the takeover
An army-owned TV station is showing images of the royal family and songs linked in the past with military coups.
The announcement said the troops belonged to the "Council of Political Reform".
BBC World, CNN and other international news channels have been taken off the air, readers in Thailand told the BBC News website by email.
Our correspondent says low-level rumours of a possible coup have been circulating for weeks.
Thai media say that two army factions appear to be heading for a clash, with one side backing the prime minister and the other side backing military commander Lieutenant General Sonthi Boonyaratglin.
The general was sacked by the prime minister earlier in the day.
Political impasse
Our correspondent Jonathan Head said it was not clear which faction had taken the initiative and moved into Government House.
He said there has been pressure growing on the prime minister to resign, including groups close to King Bhumibol, following a political impasse in which April's general election was declared invalid.
But it was thought that Thailand was making progress towards holding another election later in the year, our correspondent says.
Witnesses said several hundred troops were posted at key points around Bangkok, including at government installations and major intersections.
Russell Miles emailed the BBC News website to say there were troops "dressed in Swat-style gear strolling around" near Government House, and "a tense, but fairly controlled atmosphere".
He said: "We saw a group of blokes bundling a cameraman and another chap into a van. We are taking photos, but not out in the open."
At the United Nations, where the annual General Assembly is under way, it was announced that the agenda had been changed to allow Mr Thaksin to address it in the coming hours.
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