Army takes over Thailand government

NY Times:

Two days after declaring martial law the Thai military on Thursday seized full control of the country, the second time in a decade that the army has overthrown an elected government.

The military, which had invited political leaders Thursday for a second day of talks on how to resolve the country’s political deadlock detained the meeting participants instead. The head of the army, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha then announced the coup on national television, saying it was “necessary to seize power.”

Mr. Prayuth said the coup was launched “in order to bring the situation back to normal quickly” and to “reform the political structure, the economy and the society.”

Six months of debilitating protests in Thailand have centered on whether to hold elections. The governing party dissolved Parliament in December in an attempt to defuse the crisis and set the election for February. The opposition Democrat Party, which has not won a national election since 1992, refused to take part. Protesters called for an appointed prime minister and blockaded polling stations, leading to a court ruling that the election was unconstitutional.
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I talked to my daughter in Bangkok this morning ( it was evening there) and so far the coup has not caused much inconvenience for those not involved in the protest movement.  Her kids will go to school as usual and the evening curfew will have little effect on their normal routine.  If the 2006 coup is any sample, these things tend to be rather gentile compared to most coups.  Thailand has a very vocal minority of mainly elites who don't like the governments that the people elect.  That is why they refused to participate in the recently called election.  I think the Thai judiciary is partly responsible for this latest coup because they attempted to throw out the elected government.