Jan 31, 2014 ... THAI TIMELINE. 2006. September 19: Army seizes power in a bloodless coup
while prime minister Thaksin. Shinawatra is in New York. More.
AP
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra leaves a meeting with election commissioners at the Royal Thai Army Club
GETTY IMAGES
Pro-election protesters demand a free and fair election tomorrow
THAI TIMELINE 2006 September 19: Army seizes power in a bloodless coup while prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is in New York. More than a year of military rule follows 2007 June: Thaksin’s assets frozen December: People Power Party, Thaksin’s allies, wins elections and forms a coalition government 2008 May: Royalist anti-Thaksin ‘Yellow Shirts’ relaunch street protests that precipitated the 2006 coup September: State of emergency declared after clashes between pro- and anti-government groups. Constitutional Court strips Thaksin-allied PM Samak Sundaravej of his powers; Thaksin’s brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat takes his place October: Court sentences Thaksin in absentia to two years in jail for corruption after he flees the country
November-December: Thousands of Yellow Shirts blockade Bangkok’s airports; state of emergency imposed for nearly two weeks December: Constitutional Court dissolves Somchai’s party; British-born Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrats becomes PM with army backing 2009 January-March: ‘Red Shirts’ loyal to Thaksin stage mass protests in the capital April: Red Shirts storm the venue of an Asian summit in Pattaya; riots and a 12-day state of emergency in Bangkok 2010 February: Supreme Court confiscates $1.4 billion of Thaksin’s wealth after ruling he abused his power March: Tens of thousands of Red Shirts begin rolling demonstrations against Abhisit’s government
April-May: Street clashes between Red Shirt protesters and armed troops leave more than 90 people dead 2011 May: Thaksin’s youngest sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, emerges as the main opposition candidate for PM July: Thaksin’s allies sweep to power August: Parliament elects Yingluck as Thailand’s first female prime minister 2012 June: Parliament shelves debate on a bill that might allow Thaksin to return November: Police fire tear gas and detain dozens of demonstrators as clashes erupt at the first major street protests against Yingluck’s government December: Abhisit and his deputy charged with murder over the 2010 crackdown; 24 Red Shirt leaders go on trial on terrorism charges
2013 October: Thousands rally daily in Bangkok against another controversial amnesty bill November: Lower house passes bill but upper house rejects it. Opposition protesters occupy the finance and foreign ministries demanding Yingluck resign December: Police use water cannon and tear gas on protesters who storm the government and police headquarters; opposition MPs resign en masse. Yingluck calls early elections; opposition announces a boycott 2014 January: Tens of thousands of protesters occupy intersections in the capital in an attempt to ‘shut down’ Bangkok until Yingluck quits; demonstrators besiege polling stations for advance voting in parts of the country, preventing hundreds of thousands casting ballots Source: AFP
