News Item: Military coup in Thailand
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BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Thailand's army commander staged a coup Tuesday night and ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was in New York, circling his offices with tanks, declaring martial law and revoking the constitution.
Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, who is known to be close to Thailand's revered monarch and is a Muslim in this Buddhist-dominated nation, took power without a shot being fired. He will serve as acting prime minister, said army spokesman Col. Akara Chitroj.
"The armed forces commander and the national police commander have successfully taken over Bangkok and the surrounding area in order to maintain peace and order. There has been no struggle," the new leaders said in a statement on national television. "We ask for the cooperation of the public and ask your pardon for the inconvenience."
As soldiers and armored vehicles moved through drizzly Bangkok, the military declared a provisional authority loyal to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, calling itself the "Council of Administrative Reform."
The council, it said, soon return power to a democratic government but did not specify what reforms they would carry out.
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