A well-timed coup

last updated 8 January 2015

Bangkok

The Thai military sent tanks rolling through Bangkok this week and declared a coup. Taking advantage of the absence of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, the military set up a provisional authority. Thaksin has been deeply unpopular since January, when his family sold its controlling stake in the national telecommunications company to Singapore and reaped nearly $2 billion, tax-free. Huge rallies that paralyzed Bangkok for weeks forced Thaksin to call early elections in April, but those were annulled because of an opposition boycott. Another election is scheduled for next month. Until then, it appears that Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, leader of the coup, is in charge.