That is the question the Thai military was asking themselves for about 48 hours after they declares martial law. They even specifically said it was not a coup… But then they changed their minds!
Thursday night they declared a coup and the announcements began:
– Public transportation would stop at 9pm
– Malls would close at 8pm
– There would be a nation-wide curfew from 10pm-5pm (it took me 27+ years but I finally have a curfew!)
– Schools would be closed on Friday (hold on what did you say?! I don’t have to work tomorrow? Oh no, you still have to work but there won’t be students there to bother you)
– The Thai military shut down international news stations
– There was a rumor they were going to shut down the internet at 9pm but that didn’t happen
How the Coup affects me:
– It doesn’t!
I just have to be in my apartment by 10pm, no late night galavanting. My fellow teacher and I decided against going into Bangkok this past weekend and were happy with our choice as protests shut down two BTS Skytrain stations.
Also if you didn’t know, coups are not a new thing in Thailand. They’ve had a few since they left the monarchy format in the 1930s. The last one was in 2006 and before that there was one in 1991.
Here is a fun political cartoon for your enjoyment!
Adventures of a Dorky Hat 