Report from my daughter Jamie Tan in Bangkok

22 September 2006

For anyone residing in Thailand on 20 September 2006, it started like any normal day in Bangkok but ended in a state of confusion.

The first realization that something was amiss was when the tanks started to roll into central Bangkok at about 9.30pm, into the area 30 minutes from where I worked and lived in Bangkok.

At that time, I was having dinner at one of the major shopping centers and everything
was normal, no commotions or indications that something was not right.

When I had returned to the hotel and turned on the television to the CNN, there were news flashes on rumors of a military coup in Thailand.

There were also confirmed reports of tanks moving in the streets towards the Prime Minister's Office and that a couple of hours earlier, army chief general had been sacked from the office. It wasn't long before CNN was cut off and all the Thai television channel services were terminated.

When the channel services were resumed, all Thai television channels were broadcasting the same video repeats of their beloved king and the only source of information ironically, was from CNN, BBC and Channel Newasia.

By this time, my hotel phone started ringing non stop with concerned Thai colleagues giving me the latest updates as the situation unfolded.

According to my sources, some people had expected this revolt and also provided theories on 3rd party involvement. I also started receiving short messages from colleagues outside of Bangkok that had learnt about this from the TV and were telling be to be safe.

News spread and we tried to get in touch with as many colleagues in Bangkok to inform them on the situation and get them into safety lest violence broke out. It wasn't long before the telecommunication networks got unstable and I was not able to make or receive calls on my phone.

Outside my window, I noticed that the streets had started to clear (also because it was getting late into the night) and there were more than the usual number of police cars on the streets.

Glued to the TV, I learnt that PM Thaksin had declared a state of emergency and the last news that I had received before I went to bed was that PM Thaksin, in USA, was starting to regain control of the situation to put a stop to the military coup.

The next morning, I started receiving phone calls at 6am. There was a complete turn of events as compared to the night before. Overnight, the military had gotten complete control of the country (without firing a single shot) and that Thailand had become a military state. The key persons from the overthrown government had either fled the country or were in custody. To regain control of the situation, the interim
government declared a public holiday.

I spent the day in the apartment with my colleagues working and by evening, boredom got the best of me and we went for a walk on the streets. For the normal Thai people, life was almost back to normal. A poll held in the evening confirmed that over 85% of the people in Thailand supported the military coup.

After work, the next day, the team had a late dinner and later took a drive towards the PM office. We saw many tanks on the way with soldiers, situated at strategic places, guarding. The soldiers and military police were very friendly and allowed us to take pictures with them and the tank. The tanks had also lots of decorations of flowers given by the Thai people which reflected the support that the military was given for their actions. Also, on the same day, the king of Thailand issued his
support for the interim government.

Two days after the incident, things have gotten back to 90% normal. People going back to work, leading their normal lives because no matter what happens, everyone has to work to survive. There is still tension in the air, expecting for the overthrown government to reorganize and launch retaliation. However, for now, with PM Thaksin in England with his family, having a "holiday", the general view of the people here is that things can only get better from here on.

JAIME TAN