Word: junta
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Deposed in a bloodless coup last September, Thaksin has acquired quite the post-power diversion. Last month, he bought Manchester City Football Club for $162 million - mere pocket change compared with the roughly $2 billion in funds Thai authorities have frozen from his family bank accounts. The military junta now controlling Thailand condemned his acquisition of the team - Thai courts have slapped Thaksin, who made his fortune in the telecom business, with corruption and abuse-of-power charges stemming from his time in office. On Tuesday the Thai supreme court issued a warrant for Thaksin's arrest for failing...
...brutal campaign against schools and their staff is the latest manifestation of the violence in the south. Last September a military junta overthrew Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, accusing him of corruption and abuse of power-allegations Thaksin denies. Today, the junta faces many challenges: how to bring Thaksin, now in exile but still popular among millions of Thais, back to Bangkok for trial; when to hold elections and restore democracy; and how to keep the economy ticking. But the most intractable problem is the civil war in the south. Since January 2004, when a dormant, homegrown rebel movement ostensibly bent...
...ruthless and elusive enemy that shelters amid a Muslim population largely hostile to Thai security forces. Two roadside bombings in May alone killed a total of 22 soldiers; their well-drilled killers executed some of the wounded survivors by shooting them in the head or strangling them. Last month, junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin publicly admitted that the fighting in the south had reached crisis point, and told Bloomberg: "The insurgent groups are trying to expand their network and operations; [they are] now at their peak...
...Many southerners had hoped that the violence might subside with last September's coup-General Sonthi is a Muslim, and he and Interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont have pledged a conciliatory policy involving negotiation, more autonomy and greater economic aid. But since the junta seized power, the average kill rate has more than doubled to about four deaths a day, and the generals, like Thaksin, have been forced to send in more security forces. While no armed group has claimed responsibility for the conflict, nor stated any aims or demands, the militants' strategy seems clear enough: render the region...
...Thaksin does return, the junta may have to redouble efforts to keep the peace between increasingly irate demonstrators and army troops. "To be fair to the military, they have been disciplined and patient so far, but for how long?" asks political scientist Thitinan. "They are trained to respond by force. If it turns more violent, it will be bad for Thailand economically-and for how it is viewed by the world...