Thailand's army declared martial law before dawn
today. In a surprise announcement the army said it was aimed at keeping the
country stable
after six months of
political unrest.
The military, however, denied a coup d'etat was
underway.It was announced on the military's television
channel at 1:30 IST. A ticker on Chanel 5, an army
station, asked the public not to panic. Thailand's army has staged at 11
successful coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932. The last was in
2006.
Armed troops entered private television stations in
Bangkok to broadcast their message and surrounded the national police
headquarters in the city centre.
The move effectively places the army in charge of
public security nationwide. It comes one day after the Southeast Asian
country's caretaker prime minister refused to step down.
Thailand, an economic hub for Southeast Asia, has
been gripped by off-and-on political turmoil since 2006, when former Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was toppled by a military coup after being accused
of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect for King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The latest round of unrest started last November,
when anti-government protesters took to the streets to try to oust then-Prime
Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin's sister. She had dissolved the lower
house of parliament in December in a bid to ease the crisis.
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