Thailand's military junta said Saturday it had disbanded the Senate and placed all law-making authority in the army chief's hands, dramatically tightening its grip after a coup that has sparked Bangkok protests and drawn international condemnation.
The regime also confirmed it had detained former premier Yingluck Shinawatra and scores of other ousted government leaders and would hold them for up to a week as it corralled potential opponents to its takeover.
"The Senate is dismissed. Responsibility for any laws needing the approval of the parliament or Senate will instead be assumed by the leader of the (junta)," said an army bulletin on national television.
Thailand's fragile democracy has been repeatedly stunted by 19 actual or attempted coups since 1932.
Analysts called Saturday's developments an ominous sign that the junta led by the army chief, General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, could be digging in for a long-term, pervasive takeover, as it had earlier said the Senate would be retained.
Sporadic protests flared in Bangkok for a second straight day, with hundreds of demonstrators defying a ban on political gatherings to denounce the coup, echoing calls from Washington, the EU and elsewhere around the world for the restoration of civilian rule.
Prayut seized control Thursday after anti-government forces had waged a several-month campaign, marked by deadly Bangkok street protests, to oust Thailand's civilian leaders.
Civil liberties have been curbed, media restrictions imposed, most of the constitution abrogated, and rival protesters from both sides of the political divide cleared from the capital.
King 'acknowledges' coup
Political analysts view the coup as part of a long-running effort by a Bangkok-based power elite -- aligned with the monarchy and military -- to eliminate the political dominance of Yingluck's elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thaksin, a billionaire telecoms tycoon, shook up Thai politics by winning devotion among millions of rural poor with populist measures, catapulting him to prime minister in 2001 polls.
He was deposed in 2006 in a military coup, fleeing abroad two years later to avoid a corruption conviction, but his family and allies have continued his success at the ballot box.
The military said Saturday that Prayut had sent a letter regarding his takeover to the country's revered king, Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The monarch, 86, commands great respect among his subjects, and his blessing is traditionally sought to legitimise Thailand's recurring military takeovers.
The army said the king had "acknowledged" Prayut's letter, but stopped short of describing the response as an endorsement.
The palace has yet to issue a statement on the crisis.
Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a Thai politics researcher at Japan's Kyoto University, said the general's assumption of law-making authority indicates a looming "full-scale authoritarianism or military despotism."
"By taking full control of the executive, legislative and judicial branches, and now the Senate, this shows the military is setting itself up as the sovereign," he said.
Briefing the media for the first time since the coup, the military said Yingluck and other prominent figures had been taken in under a martial law provision allowing detentions of up to seven days without charge.
Yingluck detained
It was not known whether any charges were being prepared, but military officials said the detainees were in no danger.
"(Yingluck) is under detention, and she is fine," Lieutenant General Thirachai Nakwanich, head of the military command for central Thailand including Bangkok, told AFP.
A military official told AFP she was being held at an unspecified army barracks in Bangkok.
A night-time curfew imposed by the junta has tamed the capital's often rowdy tourist districts, further chilling a vital visitor industry already cooled by the long-term strife.
Washington, which has led criticism of the coup, took its first concrete steps, suspending $3.5 million in military assistance to its ally -- about one-third of its Thai aid. Further cuts were being considered.
The constitution was replaced after 2006 with one intended to curb Thaksin's electoral influence.
"This time, the constitutional changes will be more thorough," Thai politics analyst Paul Chambers said.
He said measures could include "electoral gerrymandering, even more power granted to the judiciary, and finally -- and most ominously -- more power granted to the army."
Anti-Thaksin forces -- alleging corruption in Yingluck's administration -- have staged months of deadly Bangkok protests that led to at least 28 deaths and triggered counter-demonstrations by the pro-Thaksin "Red Shirt" movement.
Tensions spiralled in early May when a court ruling controversially stripped Yingluck of office, setting the stage for the coup.
The "Red Shirts" had earlier warned a coup could trigger civil war but are yet to mount a clear response.
However, for the second straight day, demonstrators gathered in at least two locations in central Bangkok to rail against the junta.
"I have the right to vote and I want to make it clear that they cannot just steal it from me with a coup," said a tour guide who identified himself only as Piti. The protesters in Bangkok said they were not Red Shirts.
No serious confrontations have yet been reported, but AFP reporters witnessed several people being taken into custody in various locations.
AFP
Sat May 24 2014
Thailand's military junta disbands Senate.
Serangan Rafah: Rakyat Palestin ratapi pemergian orang tersayang
Penduduk Palestin mengadakan solat jenazah untuk mereka yang terkorban di Rafah pada Khamis, ketika Israel meneruskan serangan di selatan Gaza.
Dana pilihan raya India: Modi dan Gandhi saling menuduh
Ambani dan Adani tidak memberi sebarang komen tentang siapa yang disokong dalam pilihan raya, manakala kedua-dua Modi dan Gandhi tidak mengemukakan sebarang bukti terhadap dakwaan mereka.
Tujuh terbunuh di Pakistan disyaki serangan etnik
Tujuh lelaki pekerja asing maut dipercayai ditembak oleh militan pemisah yang terbabit dalam keganasan etnik terhadap orang asing di barat daya Pakistan.
Junta Myanmar rancang adakan semula pilihan raya
Ketua Tentera Myanmar membincangkan rancangan untuk mengadakan pilihan raya di negara itu bersama bekas Perdana Menteri Kemboja, Hun Sen.
Eurovision: Tahap keselamatan dipertingkat menjelang separuh akhir
Protes pro-Palestin dirancang di bandar tersebut secara besar-besaran, dengan perhatian diberi terhadap prestasi wakil Israel.
Ziarah masuk raudah antara program untuk jemaah haji
Jemaah haji yang masuk ke Madinah sebelum ke Mekah akan melalui beberapa siri program yang telah diatur oleh pihak Tabung Haji.
Perincian lanjut bersama Editor & Penerbit Astro AWANI Dr Azlinariah Abdullah.
Perincian lanjut bersama Editor & Penerbit Astro AWANI Dr Azlinariah Abdullah.
Kerajaan buat kerja, bukan cari populariti - Amirudin
Amirudin berkata, itu perbezaan antara kerajaan perpaduan dan pembangkang yang hanya menjual isu-isu tertentu bagi mencari perhatian, khususnya pada musim pilihan raya.
Bola sepak: Perbaiki tadbir urus emosi, kebencian di media sosial
Apa yang diperlukan dalam komuniti sukan, khususnya bola sepak ketika ini ialah tadbir urus dalam hal berkaitan emosi dan kebencian di media sosial.
KUSKOP tawar pembiayaan pengajian kepada pelajar Palestin
Kementerian Pembangunan, Usahawan,dan Koperasi (KUSKOP) menawarkan pembiayaan pengajian dalam bidang koperasi sekurang-kurangnya kepada tiga pelajar Palestin sebagai satu bentuk sokongan kepada masyarakat itu.
Menurut Menterinya, Datuk Ewon Benedick berkata, perancangan ini sedang disusun oleh duta besar Malaysia di Jordan, Kementerian Koperasi di Palestin dan perihal ini juga sudah dibincangkan semasa mesyuarat pos kabinet mesyuarat kemarin.
Menurut Menterinya, Datuk Ewon Benedick berkata, perancangan ini sedang disusun oleh duta besar Malaysia di Jordan, Kementerian Koperasi di Palestin dan perihal ini juga sudah dibincangkan semasa mesyuarat pos kabinet mesyuarat kemarin.
KUSKOP saran YBR kerjasama dengan UKKM
Kementerian Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi (KUSKOP) menyarankan Yayasan Bank Rakyat (YBR) bekerjasama dengan Universiti Keusahawanan Koperasi Malaysia (UKKM) bagi menawarkan pembiayaan dan biasiswa untuk pelajar yang melanjutkan pengajian di institusi itu.
Menterinya Datuk Ewon Benedick berkata kerjasama itu akan menarik minat anak-anak muda untuk menceburi bidang keusahawanan dan koperasi sekali gus mempromosikan universiti berkenaan sebagai pilihan untuk melanjutkan pelajaran.
Menterinya Datuk Ewon Benedick berkata kerjasama itu akan menarik minat anak-anak muda untuk menceburi bidang keusahawanan dan koperasi sekali gus mempromosikan universiti berkenaan sebagai pilihan untuk melanjutkan pelajaran.
MPC tutup kempen di Bangkok dengan cemerlang
Dalam aksi peringkat terakhir, pelumba MPC berhasil meraih tempat kedua dengan mempamerkan kemahiran dan keazaman luar biasa.
Mohammad Rifdean idam kontrak ONE Championship, tali pinggang
Atlet dari Sarawak itu memerlukan 78 saat untuk menundukkan Pichai Lookbanmai dengan pukulan TKO dalam pertarungan ONE Friday Fights 56.
Kedutaan lancar kempen promosi produk Malaysia di Thailand
Kempen "Taste of Malaysia" merupakan program berterusan untuk meningkatkan identiti jenama produk Malaysia di Thailand.
Kecoh apabila dua kumpulan pondan bertempur di Bangkok
Polis bergegas ke tempat kejadian sejurus menerima laporan 20 wanita transgender warga Filipina menyerang dua wanita transgender warga Thailand.
Bangkok dilanda jerebu tebal, seluruh Thailand catat udara tidak sihat
Bangkok dan 66 wilayah di Thailand itu terus diselubungi jerebu dengan zarah tidak selamat pada PM2.5 direkodkan pada Khamis.
Bangkok diselubungi asap, pekerja bekerja dari rumah
Bangkok disebungi asap tidak sihat dengan zarah PM2.5 melonjak melepasi paras selamat pada 50 ug/m3, mencetuskan kebimbangan kesihatan awam.
Negara membangun perlu perkukuh sektor logistik dan rantaian bekalan - Ismail Sabri
Penekanan kepada tenaga kerja mahir dan mempromosikan inovasi juga menjadi antara faktor untuk memperkukuh sektor logistik.
Sekurang-kurangnya 20 maut kilang bunga api meletup di Thailand
Sekurang-kurangnya 20 maut dalam satu letupan di sebuah kilang bunga api di Suphan Buri, kira-kira 120 kilometer utara Bangkok pada Rabu.
Thailand rancang perkenal lebih banyak produk, perkhidmatan untuk tarik pelawat Malaysia
Warga Malaysia mendahului dengan 4.56 juta pelawat daripada jumlah keseluruhan 28 juta pelancong yang melawat Thailand pada 2023.
Jenazah Pegawai Kedutaan Malaysia di Bangkok selamat dikebumikan
Jenazah Fadzilah Abu Hasan selamat dikebumikan pada 9.50 malam di Tanah Perkuburan Taman Raudhatul Jannah Khariah, Kampung Limau Manis, Kajang.