Thailand will remain under military-backed rule for a year until a new constitution has been written, the leader of a coup said yesterday, shortly after he seized power in a bloodless revolt.
Gen Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, army commander and head of the new administrative reform council, told a press conference he intended to appoint a caretaker prime minister within two weeks to oversee the drafting process and prepare for an election.
Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was attending the UN general assembly in New York when toppled, yesterday arrived in London for a "private visit". He passed through Gatwick airport last night without commenting on events at home.
Gen Sondhi said there would "be no problem" should Mr Thaksin want to return to Thailand but warned the billionaire he would probably face prosecution if he did.
Police said groups had filed legal complaints against Mr Thaksin which could be prosecuted.
Fears that soldiers loyal to Mr Thaksin might stage a counter-coup dissipated yesterday after it emerged that their two leaders had agreed to support the plotters after they won assurances that Mr Thaksin's wife would be allowed to leave the country.
By last night much of Bangkok was returning to normal, with troops deployed at a few intersections, the only sign that anything was out of the ordinary. During the day the tanks became popular tourist attractions as hundreds of people descended on the army headquarters.
The deeply revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej legitimised the junta yesterday when he issued a proclamation requesting people to remain calm and "all civil servants and state officials to follow instructions issued by Gen Sondhi Boonyaratkalin".
But the general said the king, who is known not to get on with Mr Thaksin, was not involved in the coup. "We can assure you that this was solely and entirely our decision," he said. "We believe the situation dictated our action. We needed to take action before things got out of hand." It is thought the generals feared Mr Thaksin would have ordered a crackdown on a protest planned for today.
Maj Gen Vaipote Srinual, head of the armed forces security centre, said yesterday he thought Gen Sondhi and his plotters were motivated by a desire to end the political turmoil. "They probably thought they had to make the choice between stepping back a little [ democratically] and the country having no direction at all," he said.
There was broad consensus in Bangkok that Gen Sondhi would keep his promise about handing over power.
"This coup will be different from the previous coups," Somjai Phagapasvivat of Bangkok's Thammasat University told Reuters. "Before, it was done in the interests of the military. This time, it was a necessary pre-emptive strike given the violent polarisation of Thai society."
Many governments, including the US, EU, Australia and New Zealand, condemned as undemocratic Thailand's 18th coup since it became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. But Thai analysts said Mr Thaksin had so eroded the authority of institutions which are meant to act as checks and balances on the executive that his rule could no longer be considered legitimate.
"Four years of human rights abuses, four years of abuse of power and four years of complete uncaring of due process of law," said former senator Kraisak Krassowska. "There's much more to being a legitimate leader than winning an election."
It is thought Mr Thaksin has moved most of his fortune offshore to make it difficult for Thai courts to seize. - (Guardian Service)