Thailand's Armed Forces Take Control

Royal Thai Army soldiers secure the streets of Bangkok following a military coup, May 22. (Rufus Cox/Getty Images)

Analysis

The Thai military declared May 22 that it has taken control of the government for the good of the nation. The announcement followed a series of meetings between opposing political forces and mediated by the military that failed to come up with a compromise to end the political standoff that has plagued Thailand for several years. After declaring martial law on May 19, the military took on the role of mediator, but the near intractable stances of the opposing political forces made a coup all but inevitable. Coups are part of the cycle of Thai politics and in recent times have been relatively bloodless.

The military now will begin the process of establishing control over the various ministries, building an interim military-backed government to run day-to-day operations in Thailand. Recent polls showed that some 80 percent of Thais support martial law, but the military has historically struggled to effectively stage-manage politics. The most recent coup, in 2006, was criticized for being overly soft and failing to eliminate extremists on both sides. The immediate security challenge is likely to come from the so-called Red Shirts, supporters of the now overthrown government and former Prime Ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck Shinawatra.

The Royal Thai Army has already begun rounding up Red Shirt leaders. Members of the Shinawatra family are still believed to be in Thailand, despite rumors that they had escaped to Cambodia. The Thai army began reinforcing Thailand's notoriously porous border on May 21, most likely to prevent political figures from fleeing the country. With strong support bases in the rural north and northeast, and a history of large-scale protests that have turned violent, the military will have to quickly assert its control outside the metropolitan Bangkok area.

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