Military seizes control in Thailand

2nd coup in decade comes 2 days after martial law declared

BANGKOK -- The Thai military seized control of the country Thursday in a coup, the culmination of months of maneuvering by the Bangkok establishment to sideline the populist movement founded by a billionaire tycoon that has won every national election since 2001.

It was the second time in a decade that the army has overthrown an elected government and at least the 12th military coup since Thailand abandoned the absolute monarchy in 1932. The takeover came two days after the military declared martial law.

In a series of announcements Thursday, the military declared the constitution invalid, dissolved the Cabinet, banned gatherings of more than five people, imposed a curfew and shut schools. But it said the courts would continue operating, as would the Senate, half of whose members are appointed and friendly to the Bangkok elite.

Television stations were ordered to replace their regular programming with messages from the military and patriotic songs.

Early today, Thailand's ruling military made its first order of the day by summoning members of the politically influential Shinawatra family to a morning meeting.

It was not immediately clear if Yingluck and more than 20 other relatives and allies, including acting Prime Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan, would report to the military as ordered.

Traffic was lighter than usual this morning in Bangkok, but life in the bustling metropolis of 10 million people appeared relatively normal, with street vendors setting up stalls, commuters heading into work and delivery trucks making their rounds after the military had imposed a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.

The military began Thursday by hosting rival political leaders for what was billed as a second round of talks on how to resolve the country's political deadlock. After several hours, however, soldiers detained the participants, including the heads of the country's two largest political parties and Cabinet ministers.

The head of the army, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, then announced the coup on national television, saying it was "necessary to seize power." Prayuth said the coup was conducted "in order to bring the situation back to normal quickly" and to "reform the political structure, the economy and the society."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he was "disappointed" by the decision to overthrow the country's leaders. He urged that civilian government be restored immediately and said that the United States was reviewing military and other assistance to Thailand.

"There is no justification for this military coup," he said in a statement that also called for the release of detained political leaders and a return of media freedom. "While we value our long friendship with the Thai people, this act will have negative implications for the U.S.-Thai relationship, especially for our relationship with the Thai military."

Six months of protests in Thailand have centered on whether to hold elections to end political unrest. The governing party dissolved the House of Representatives, a fully elected body, in December in an attempt to defuse the crisis and set an election for February. The opposition Democrat Party, which has not won a national election since 1992, then disrupted the vote and refused to take part, calling instead for an appointed prime minister.

The courts later ruled that the election was unconstitutional, and this month dealt the government a more serious blow by removing Yingluck Shinawatra, the prime minister, from office.

Although the leader of the anti-government movement, Suthep Thaugsuban, was detained Thursday, his supporters praised the coup after months of chiding the military for not stepping in.

"This is a victory day for the people," Samdin Lertbutr, an anti-government protest leader, said in an interview. "The military has done their job. And we have done our job."

At the heart of the political upheaval is a longstanding struggle between the rural masses in the north who support the Shinawatra family and its most famous member -- the tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra -- and the elites who say his populist movement puts too much power in the hands of people they describe as less educated.

Many describe Thaksin's political movement as the most successful in the country's history. He gained the allegiance of voters in the provinces by implementing universal health care, microloans and a more efficient bureaucracy before being ousted in a military coup in 2006.

Information for this article was contributed by Thomas Fuller of The New York Times and by Todd Pitman, Thanyarat Doksone, Jocelyn Gecker, Grant Peck, Ian Mader,Lolita Baldor and Matthew Pennington of The Associated Press.

A Section on 05/23/2014

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