Army declares martial law in Thailand, denies staging coup

Borja Sanchez Trillo/Getty Images

Army declares martial law in Thailand, denies staging coup
(Image credit: Borja Sanchez Trillo/Getty Images)

Early Tuesday morning in Bangkok, Thailand's army declared martial law. The military is denying that a coup d'etat is underway, saying that they are only trying to keep people safe.

For the past six months, thousands have participated in anti-government demonstrations. Earlier this month, Thailand's Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and nine cabinet members from office for abuse of power, and the demonstrators now want acting Prime Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan to step down and have his cabinet resign. He refused, saying, "it will be negligence of duty and against the constitution."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.