Thailand Military Stages Coup

[Content Note: Militarism.]

The coup that was not a coup is now a coup:

Thailand's military has announced it is taking control of the government and has suspended the constitution.

In a TV statement, army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha vowed to restore order and enact political reforms.

The cabinet has been told to report to the military, TV broadcasting is suspended and political gatherings are banned. A nationwide curfew will operate from 22:00 to 05:00 local time.

...On Tuesday the army imposed martial law. Talks were then held between the main political factions, but the army announced the coup on Thursday.

Political party leaders, including opposition leader Suthep Thaugsuban, were taken away from the talks venue after troops sealed off the area.

Troops fired into the air to disperse a pro-government protest camp on the outskirts of Bangkok but there are no reports of major violence.

The broadcast media have been told to suspend all normal programming.

Gen Prayuth said he had taken over power because "of the violence in Bangkok and many parts of the country that resulted in loss of innocent lives and property, [which] was likely to escalate".

He added: "We ask the public not to panic and to carry on their lives normally."

Carry on your lives normally, and don't panic, even though you've now got a curfew and no right to protest, as "political gatherings" of more than five people are now punishable by "a one-year jail term, 10,000 baht ($307) fine, or both." I imagine people genuinely are trying to carry on their lives as normally as possible, but what's possible under these sorts of rules and the uncertainty of what's going to happen next is generally not normalcy.

The justification for the political gatherings ban also underwrites the military's reason for staging a coup in the first place:

[T]he military cited the need to "restore and maintain order" following six months of sometimes bloody protests that have left Thailand in legislative paralysis.

The political fighting has seen 28 people killed and more than 700 injured since November when anti-government protesters began calling for the removal of the Pheu Thai government.

I don't know what's going to happen from here. I hope this resolves quickly and safety, in a way that best serves the people.