What happens in a coup detat?
In 2006, military coups made a comeback. In December 2006, Fiji’s military took over the government. In September of the same year, in a surprise move that troubled international leaders but seemed to have the support of the Thai people, a military coup d’etat (also called a “coup”) removed the prime minister of Thailand from power. Thaksin Shinawatra was in New York, preparing to address the United Nations General Assembly as the leader of Thailand, when he found out he was out of a job. In a televised address, Shinawatra demanded that General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin — leader of the Thai military, orchestrator of the coup and self-appointed acting prime minister — surrender himself. The TV address ran short. The Thai military, suddenly in charge of all media outlets, cut him off mid-speech. The coup was a success. What happened in Thailand was a bloodless coup. No one fired a shot. The way it unfolded is fairly typical of this type of coup: The acting leader, long accused of corruptio
