Thai coup leader says no vote for another year

PM Thaksin in London
Thaksin, wearing a dark suit and red tie, put his hands together in a traditional greeting as he left a Thai Airways plane at London’s Gatwick Airport.

British officials said Thaksin’s decision to travel to London had no political significance and noted that he had relatives in Britain.

A British government spokesman said Thaksin had no meetings scheduled with Prime Minister Tony Blair or other officials.

Bangkok, a city of more than 10 million, was calm Wednesday. Most stores were open and residents appeared unfazed, with traffic running as normal and the tanks becoming popular tourist attractions.

About 500 people gathered outside army headquarters to lend moral support to the military, chanting “Thaksin get out!”

But in the first sign of anti-coup sentiment, Thaksin supporters faced off with rival groups celebrating the coup at two separate gatherings in Bangkok.

The council put the country under martial law and declared a provisional authority loyal to the king, seizing television and radio stations and ordering government offices, banks, schools and the stock market to close for the day.

Action shakes financial markets
The unexpected coup rattled Asian financial markets and pressured the Thai baht and other regional currencies, though its economic repercussions remained unclear.

Nearly 20 tanks — their machine gun barrels festooned with ribbons in the royal color of yellow — had blocked off the Royal Palace, Royal Plaza, army headquarters and Thaksin’s office at Government House.

In the afternoon, the tanks began shifting from positions in downtown Bangkok. It was not immediately clear whether the tanks were withdrawing, or merely changing positions. Government public relations officials said they could not immediately comment.

Asked whether there would be moves to confiscate Thaksin’s vast assets, Sondhi said that “those who have committed wrongdoings have to be prosecuted according to the law.”

The Nation newspaper in Bangkok said several senior government officials and others close to Thaksin had been arrested, their fates unknown.

U.S., U.K., U.N. react
The United States urged a quick restoration of democracy, and warned that only then would it be willing to move forward on a free trade pact. The trade deal has been under negotiation for more than two years.

“We’re disappointed in the coup. We hope those who mounted it will make good and make good swiftly on their promises to restore democracy,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said: “In light of this coup, there are aspects of our relationship that we are going to have to review,” without elaborating.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said:“It’s not for us to say that he (Thaksin) should be reinstalled. We have called for a return to democratic government.”

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is following with concern developments in Thailand and “appeals for a prompt return to civilian, democratic rule and the holding of new elections as quickly as possible,” his spokesman said in New York.

Other nations weigh in
Australian Prime Minister John Howard described the coup as a “great disappointment,” adding that it was a reminder of an element of Asia’s past he had hoped would not return. “We condemn military coups,” Howard said. “They are a throwback to a past I had hoped Asia had emerged from.”

Japan also called for the quick restoration of democracy in a country where many of its top businesses have factories and affiliates.

The European Union joined condemnation of the coup and said “the military forces stand back and give way to the democratically elected political government.”

China described the coup as “an internal affair of Thailand” and made no public judgment. “The friendly relations between China and Thailand will continue to develop,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

'Economy fundamentally strong'
The International Monetary Fund, which bailed Thailand and some of its neighbors out of a financial crisis in the late 1990s, was watching the situation but believed the region would be little affected, said the IMF’s chief, Rodrigo de Rato.

“Thailand’s economy is fundamentally strong,” de Rato said.

The U.S. Embassy, in an e-mail to its citizens living in Thailand, said while there had been no reports of violence, Americans should “monitor the situation closely, avoid any large gatherings and exercise discretion when moving about the city.”

Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon before entering politics, handily won three general elections since coming to power in 2001 and garnered great support among the rural poor for his populist policies.

But he alienated the urban middle class, intellectuals and pro-democracy activists. They began mass street demonstrations last year, charging him with abuse of power, corruption and emasculation of democratic institutions, including media that were once among Asia’s freest.

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