reddit.com (in the comments from the story "Tanks appear in Bangkok. Thailand calls state of emergency"):
There's more and I'd imagine Alpha_Binary will keep blogging as long as he can -- go check it out.
Tags: news politics blog Internet journalism reddit Thailand
A Thai here, reporting live from the capital.
23:25 Sep 19 local time... All local television channels are shut down. Tanks are rolling in the city. The capital has been completely taken over by the MILITARY coup, facing no resistance. Cellphones have also been cut. It is also rumored that some government representatives have been held captive.
No blood shed so far. Streets are dead quiet.
Of course, their biggest mistake is forgetting about the Internet.
update @ 23:58 : FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
The coup operation team have made their first announcement.
Mainly, they plan to seize over the complete control from the current "temporary" government, and hand it back to the people. Actually I don't quite get their point, since that is what we call an election, and one is due in several weeks. I will edit again should there be another event or announcement worth mentioning.
On the other hand, it appears that the only cable TV service, UBC, has recently been cut as well. Some radio stations are accessible, almost all of which are still airing regular programs. Rumors are that there are plans to take down the Internet in a few hours.
It is raining outside. This is going to be a long night for us Thais.
On an unrelated note, looks like my chemistry exam tomorrow is going to be canceled; making the first good news in several hours.
urgent update @ 0:16 : LINKS GOING DOWN?
Inside news from the Telephone Organization of Thailand confirms that all intranational CELLPHONE and INTERNET links will be cut within no more than TWO HOURS.
I will try my best to keep you guys updated until the very end. Thank you for the kind words. In these times, it feels really good to know that there are people out there, on the other side of the globe, who care.
more update @ 0:25 : SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT
The second announcement has come out.
They demand that all military personnels in service do report to the nearest commander/supervisor and do not move without explicit permisson from the operation team.
Martial law is now in effect.
ISPs are beginning to drop their service one by one.
Surprisingly, the links for both AIS and DTAC (two largest mobile phone providers in Thailand) have been restored.
even more update @ 0:40 : THIRD ANNOUNCEMENT
They declare
Thailand is now a democratic country with no constitution.
Universities in Bangkok will shut down indefinitely until things clear up. Oh lawd.
The military is all over the Communication Authority of Thailand's building. It is INTERNALLY CONFIRMED to a degree that all mobile phone and Internet links will cease to operate within, I repeat, no more than 2 hours.
Stay tuned.
@ 1:10 : ONE TV CHANNEL BACK UP
Out of the blue, NationTTV is back, alive and kicking, airing live feed of various locations throughout Bangkok full of peacekeeping soldiers and policemen. Fully armed. With tanks.
No soul has been harmed, yet. The Prime Minister, however, will probably not give up easily. On the other hand, I will need to find a backup link soon.
@ 1:22 : FOURTH ANNOUNCEMENT
The coup leader has furtherly declared (now through a woman announcer--not that I'm a sexist or anything)
I'm trying to gather together pictures from news sites in Thailand (famous for its narrowband international link) and mirror them under a reliable host. Might take a while. If I don't report back within an hour, it probably means my link has been severed.
Update: http://flickr.com/search/?s=rec&q=coup+thailand&m=text This should help you get the picture
another live tv feed up @ 2:14 : BRIEF UPDATE
The coup operation team has just broadcasted a short video clip of a recent report of the current situation. Looks extremely one-sided, but anyway...
The leader is now proceeding to report to His Majesty the King the status of this ongoing coup'd'etat. This is going to be another historic moment indeed.
On the other hand, there have been rumors.. turns to television ..nvm
@ 2:24 : FIRST AND SECOND "OFFICIAL" ANNOUNCEMENT
from the now government-in-control (thus the renumbering). I am going to make it brief since, unfortunately, I am very tired right now.
Basically, all high-level staffs from every ministry, including head of universities, are to report to the coup leader by tomorrow to be briefed about the new policies they are about to enforce.
Also, September 20, 2006 is now declared a holiday for banks and stock markets in order to facilitate the transition process.
On the other hand, there have been rumors that the U.S. President will soon announce his stance against this coup. We can only hope his interference won't worsen things.
overall status report @ 3:11
I'm going to sleep. Dead tired. Here is a brief summary of things.
It is the middle of the night here. Soldiers have taken over all important political outposts in Bangkok. Tanks and armed guards can be seen everywhere. Traffic is still allowed to flow, though few will doubt that this is probably one of the worst times to travel.
All television channels are currently broadcasting the same stuff over and over: patriotic videos dedicated to HMKing that were used in previous coups. (It should be noted that the King Himself has absolutely nothing to do with this). New announcements are made from time to time, generally replayed twice or thrice for each, in alternative with the announcement screen (white text on blue screen of coup). Cable TV is still down, disconnecting the majority of the citizens from most, if not all trustworthy news sources.
Cellphones and Internet are up by now. It is somewhat unlikely that they will be severed again.
The coup currently holds full control over the country's governmental power, notably the prime minister's and ministers'. The Constitution has been trashed. The whole country is effectively under the martial law. As if those aren't bad enough; the flood in the northern Thailand and terrorism in the southern haven't gotten any better at all. Universities are suspended indefinitely. Banks and stock markets will take a break tomorrow.
I hope to see you then.
To be continued
at my next comment. Please help me get it up here to ease reading.