THAILAND’S military junta says it has
disbanded the Senate and placed all
lawmaking authority in the army chief’s
hands, dramatically tightening its grip after
a coup that has sparked Bangkok protests
and drawn international condemnation.
The regime also confirmed on Saturday it had
detained former premier Yingluck Shinawatra
and scores of other ousted government
leaders and would hold them for up to a
week as it corralled potential opponents to its
takeover.
“The Senate is dismissed. Responsibility for
any laws needing the approval of the
parliament or Senate will instead be assumed
by the leader of the (junta),” said an army
bulletin on national television.
Analysts called Saturday’s developments an
ominous sign the junta led by the army chief,
General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, could be digging
in for a long-term, pervasive takeover, as it
had earlier said the Senate would be
retained.
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Sporadic protests flared in Bangkok for a
second straight day, with hundreds of
demonstrators defying a ban on political
gatherings to denounce the coup, echoing
calls from Washington, the EU and elsewhere
around the world for the restoration of
civilian rule.
Power hungry... Thai Army chief General Prayut
Chan-O-Cha at a press conference in Bangkok.
Prayut seized control on Thursday after anti-
government forces had waged a several-
month campaign, marked by deadly Bangkok
street protests, to oust Thailand’s civilian
leaders.
Civil liberties have been curbed, media
restrictions imposed, most of the constitution
abrogated, and rival protesters from both
sides of the political divide cleared from the
capital.
Political analysts view the coup as part of a
long-running effort by a Bangkok-based
power elite — aligned with the monarchy and
military — to eliminate the political
dominance of Yingluck’s elder brother
Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thaksin, a billionaire telecoms tycoon, shook
up Thai politics by winning devotion among
millions of rural poor with populist measures,
catapulting him to prime minister in 2001
polls.
He was deposed in 2006 in a military coup,
fleeing abroad two years later to avoid a
corruption conviction, but his family and
allies have continued his success at the ballot
box.
The military said on Saturday that Prayut had
sent a letter regarding his takeover to the
country’s revered king, Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Anger... Protesters scuffle with police and
military trying to arrest them during an anti-
coup protest. Picture: Paula Bronstein
The monarch, 86, commands great respect
among his subjects, and his blessing is
traditionally sought to legitimise Thailand’s
recurring military takeovers.
The army said the king had “acknowledged”
Prayut’s letter, but stopped short of
describing the response as an endorsement.
The palace has yet to issue a statement on the
crisis.
The military said Yingluck and other
prominent figures had been taken in under a
martial law provision allowing detentions of
up to seven days without charge and that
they were in no danger.
“(Yingluck) is under detention, and she is
fine,” Lieutenant General Thirachai
Nakwanich, head of the military command
for central Thailand including Bangkok, told
AFP.
Street scene... Anti-coup protesters hold up
posters in front of Thai soldiers and riot police.
Picture: Sakchai Lalit
Washington, which has led criticism of the
coup, took its first concrete steps, suspending
$US3.5 million ($3.79 million) in military
assistance to its ally — about one-third of its
Thai aid.
Anti-Thaksin forces — alleging corruption in
Yingluck’s administration — have staged
months of deadly Bangkok protests that led to
at least 28 deaths and triggered counter-
demonstrations by the pro-Thaksin “Red
Shirt” movement.
Tensions spiralled in early May when a court
ruling controversially stripped Yingluck of
office, setting the stage for the coup.
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