Muslim rebel backs Thailand coup
An exiled Muslim rebel leader welcomed Thailand’s military overthrow of prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra today, saying the coup could help resolve a bloody Islamic uprising in the country’s south.
“It is the right thing that the military has taken power to replace the Thaksin Shinawatra government,” said Lukman Lima, an exiled leader in one of several groups fighting the central government for a separate Muslim state.
“We hope that the political (situation) can be resolved under Gen Sondhi Boonyaratkalin as the new leader.”
In an emailed response to questions from The Associated Press, Lukman said Sondhi was the “only one who knows the real problems” of the Muslim-dominated provinces of southern Thailand.
Lukman, exiled in Sweden, is vice president of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation, or PULO.
Meanwhile, the deposed Thaksin, accused by the coup-makers of corruption and other wrongdoing, said in London that the rapid, bloodless overthrow of his government on Tuesday while he was abroad was totally unexpected.
The takeover by army commander General Son Boonyaratkalin, a Muslim in a predominantly Buddhist country, received the endorsement of Thailand’s revered king and of many Thais eager for an end to political turmoil. But Western governments called it a blow to democracy.
Thaksin arrived in London yesterday from New York, where he was attending the UN General Assembly, and said he was surprised by the coup.
“I left Thailand as the prime minister and now I am a jobless man,” Thaksin was quoted as saying in London by Thai newspapers The Nation and Bangkok Post.
It was not known whether he would seek to stay in London, where he has a residence, or return to Thailand, where he could face prosecution for corruption.
Thaksin, who used an iron-fisted policy in trying to suppress the uprising, was widely detested in southern Thailand and many moderate Muslims said that the bloody conflict could never be solved as long as he remained in power.
Sondhi, 59, had proposed several weeks ago opening talks with the separatists, but Thaksin’s government vehemently opposed such a move.
“Thaksin’s government has totally failed to quell the violence, so we are pinning our hope on the Council of Administrative Reform,” said Srisompob Jitpiromsri, a political scientist from Prince of Songkhla University in the southern province of Pattani.
Sondhi has said he would serve as de facto prime minister for two weeks and then the junta, which calls itself the Council of Administrative Reform, will choose a civilian to replace him. A constitution is to be drawn up and elections held in a year’s time.
The military leader recieved the backing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, which should effectively quash any efforts at resistance by Thaksin’s partisans.
Thaksin’s ousting followed a series of missteps that prompted many to accuse the prime minister of challenging the king’s authority – an unpardonable act in the traditional south-east Asian nation that is a popular holiday destination for Westerners.
The presence of tanks and armed soldiers on the streets of Bangkok, a city of more than 10 million, was taken with good humour in an almost holiday atmosphere. The bloodless nature of the coup gave hope that the effects on Thailand’s large tourist industry might be minimal.
Schools, government offices and the stock market were closed yesterday, but reopened when Bangkok’s notorious traffic jams returned with a vengeance.
But the US government denounced the coup, Thailand’s first in 15 years, and hinted that aid, military co-operation and improved trade relations might be in jeopardy.
“It is a step backward for democracy,” US State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.
The European Union demanded “that the military forces stand back and give way to the democratically-elected political government”.
The International Monetary Fund, which bailed Thailand and some of its neighbours out of a financial crisis in the late 1990s, believed the region would be little affected, said the IMF’s chief, Rodrigo de Rato.
Although Thaksin handily won three general elections, opponents accused him of emasculating democratic institutions, including packing the state Election Commission with cronies and stifling media that were once among Asia’s freest.
Since taking over, coup leaders have detained deputy prime minister Chitchai Wannasathit and Thaksin's top aide Prommin Lertsuridej for questioning, the Council of Administrative Reform confirmed in a statement today.
Two ministers close to the deposed leader – Newin Chidchob and Yongyuth Tiyapairat – were “invited” to report to the junta.
The Nation newspaper published a 100-name “watch list” today of additional politicians, business people and others close to Thaksin who could be investigated by the new power brokers.
The junta empowered Auditor-General Jaruvan Maintaka to investigative government corruption, which could lead to the confiscation of Thaksin’s assets.
Jaruvan, dubbed “The Iron Lady” was one of the few government officials who tried to expose corruption during Thaksin’s regime and would have lost her job if it had not been for backing from the palace.
The Office of the Auditor-General announced it would continue its investigation into 14 alleged corruption cases which occurred during Thaksin’s tenure.
