Thai premier ousted; new authority assumes power

Bangkok, Sep 20: Thai defence forces seized power from caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra tonight and set up an administrative council to rule on behalf of the country's revered monarch.

In an announcement on state-run television stations, a spokesman for the new authorities said the take-over had become necessary because of the worsening political crisis which has gripped Thailand for the past six months.

The announcement, in Thai, said this was a 'first of its kind' coup in Thailand and its aim was to bring about political reform.

Earlier, Mr Thaksin, now in New York for the UN General Assembly session, declared a state of emergency in the Thai capital amid spreading rumours of a military coup against him.

Army tanks were seen moving near government house though armed forces, earlier, insisted that the troop movement was part of a pre-planned routine relocation.

Thailand has been in the grip of political uncertainty ever since the Constitution Court annulled the April 2 snap poll which was boycotted by the main opposition parties.

A rerun of the snap poll was expected sometime in November this year.

In recent months, there have been several rumours of military coups, though these were routinely denied by the armed forces chief.

This is the first military seizure of power in the past 15 years. Thailand has faced more than a dozen military coups since the establishment of a constitutional monarchy over seven decades ago.

The country has had over 15 Constitutions, with the current charter enacted in 1997 being the first to be formulated in a genuine participatory democratic exercise.

UNI