The 20th military coup staged by the Thai military in modern times has detained government officials.

According to Agence France-Presse, the Thai military leader announced in a live television broadcast on the 22nd that a military coup would be launched from that day, and the military-controlled peacekeeping command announced that it would seize all the powers of the caretaker government to "prevent further conflicts and sacrifices". This is the 20th military coup in Thailand since 1932.

Thailand’s "National Daily" website also reported that Thai military leader Ba Yu announced a military coup in a live TV broadcast at 5 pm local time on the 22nd (6 pm Beijing time). Ba Yu said that the armed forces are about to seize power after months of political turmoil.

He said that in order to get the country back to normal order as soon as possible, the Thai National Peacekeeping Committee, composed of the military, the Thai armed forces, the air force and the police, needs to seize power at 4: 30 pm on May 22 (5: 30 pm Beijing time).

On May 22nd, the meeting of Thai military, caretaker government, House of Lords, Election Committee, People’s Committee for Thai Party, Democratic Party, anti-government organization and Anti-dictatorship Democratic Alliance (Red Shirt Army) broke down, and the leaders of the seven organizations attending the meeting were controlled by the military and left the Army Club in a van, temporarily missing. According to Xinhua News Agency, the Thai military has detained the demonstration leaders and government officials who participated in the talks.

At present, the street fighting between the "Yellow Shirt Army" and the "Red Shirt Army" in Thailand has basically stopped.

Soldiers and monks on the streets of Thailand

During the feudal monarchy in Thailand, except for large-scale foreign military aggression, the change of dynasties was relatively stable. However, after the first military coup in June 1932, Thailand has had 20 military coups, promulgated 17 constitutions, held 26 general elections and formed about 50 cabinets. It can be said that the modern history of Thailand is a history of military coup.

Attachment: List of coup history in Thailand since 1932

The first coup: From June 24th to June 27th, 1932, in order to change the autocratic monarchy, the People’s Party from the army launched a coup, and finally the People’s Party Committee appointed the conservative judge Piet Manubagong as the Prime Minister, also known as the Constitutional Revolution in Thailand.

Second coup: On June 20, 1933, contradictions occurred within the People’s Party, and finally the coup leader Pierre Paavon became the prime minister, and the strongman Mao Piwen began to emerge.

The third coup: from October 11 to October 15, 1933, the royal family staged a coup to urge the military government to hand over power, which was finally suppressed, and the status of Mao Piwen rose rapidly thereafter.

The fourth coup: On November 8, 1947, the old department of Mao Piwen accused the literati regime of being responsible for the death of King Rama VIII, and Mao Piwen went out again.

Fifth coup: On October 1, 1948, factional struggle within the military triggered a coup, and the coup leader was finally arrested.　

Sixth coup: On February 26, 1949, due to dissatisfaction with the accusation of the death of King Rama VIII, Thai navy soldiers staged a coup, and the coup leader was finally arrested.　

Seventh coup d’ é tat: From June 29th to July 2nd, 1951, the Thai navy staged a coup to protest against the government’s reduction of naval expenditure, which was finally suppressed by force.

Eighth coup: On November 29th, 1951, the military expressed dissatisfaction with the 1949 Constitution, which was eventually abolished and restored to the 1932 Constitution.

Ninth coup d’ é tat: On September 16th, 1957, due to fraud in the general election, the army staged a coup to overthrow the government of Mao Piwen and appointed a civilian as the prime minister of the transitional government.

Tenth coup: On October 20th, 1958, because the Prime Minister was unable to cope with the internal contradictions of the government, the military staged another coup, and soldier Sarit Thanarat came to power and took over the state’s military and political power.

Eleventh coup: On November 17, 1971, thanom kittikachorn, the prime minister of the military government, staged a coup against the parliament’s revision of the military government budget. In 1968, the constitution was abolished and the parliament was dissolved.

Twelfth coup: On October 14, 1973, King Bhumibol announced that he would withdraw his support for the military government, and thanom kittikachorn had to go into exile.

13th coup d’ é tat: On October 6, 1976, Admiral Chaloryoo of the Ministry of National Defense staged a coup on the pretext that there were communist party people in the cabinet, and then the military appointed Tanin Gaiwei, a conservative judge, to move out as prime minister, and the army actually took power, and communist party, Thailand, went downhill from then on.

14th coup d’ é tat: On March 26th, 1977, different factions in the army staged a coup d’ é tat over the distribution of military posts. The coup d’ é tat was shattered after only six hours, and the mastermind, General Chala, was executed.

Fifteenth coup: On October 20, 1977, Admiral Shae Charoru staged a coup because the Prime Minister interfered with military affairs. After the coup was successful, General Jiangsa Chamanan was appointed as Prime Minister.

Sixteenth coup: From April 1 to April 3, 1981, Chipatima, deputy chief of staff of the Army, staged a military coup because of differences of opinion, which was finally suppressed by troops loyal to the government.

Seventeenth coup: Manon, one of the leaders of the 16th coup in September, 1985, was unwilling to fail in the coup again, and finally the coup failed, and many senior Thai officials were arrested for being involved in this matter.

18th coup: On February 23rd, 1991, the government led by General chatichai choonhavan was overthrown by the military, and the regime fell into the hands of the National Peacekeeping Commission led by General Sunthorn Khongsompong.

19th coup d’ é tat: From September 19th to September 21st, 2006, the economic problems of Thaksin family triggered a political crisis. The military announced the dissolution of the cabinet led by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and the military organization took over the state power.

Twentieth coup: On May 22nd, 2014, Thai military leaders announced that they would seize all the powers of the caretaker government.