Reuters AlertNet Lite - CHRONOLOGY-Political crisis in Thailand

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CHRONOLOGY-Political crisis in Thailand

29 Mar 2007 11:19:55 GMT
Source: Reuters

March 29 (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said on Thursday he had rejected military demands he use tough emergency powers against small, peaceful but growing rallies and that a post-coup general election would be held in December. Here are some of the political and economic milestones that have shaken the country over the last year:

-- Jan. 23, 2006: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family sells a controlling stake in Shin Corp to Singapore state investment firm Temasek. The tax-free $1.9 billion sale angers Bangkok's middle class and fuels weeks of street protests.

-- April 5: Thaksin steps down and hands day-to-day power to a deputy three days after an opposition boycott renders a snap general election he called invalid.

-- Sept. 19: Tanks surround Government House in a bloodless military coup, Thailand's first in 15 years, which ousts Thaksin while he is preparing to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

-- Oct. 1: Former army commander-in-chief Surayud Chulanont is sworn in as interim prime minister. Thaksin, exiled in London, steps down as Thai Rak Thai leader two days later.

-- Dec. 19: Thai stock exchange plunges 14.8 percent, its biggest one-day drop since 1990, one day after Bank of Thailand chief Tarisa Watanagase announces stringent capital controls to stem the baht's rise.

-- Dec. 31: A string of bombs in Bangkok kill three people and wound more than 30 as crowds gather to celebrate New Year's Eve.

-- Jan. 9, 2007: Foreign investors receive another shock as controversial changes to the Foreign Business Act (FBA) are proposed.

-- Feb. 21: Economic advisor Somkid Jatusripitak, an ex-finance minister and the architect of Thaksin's pro-business policies, resigns six days after his appointment outrages critics of the old Thaskin government.

-- Feb. 28: Finance Minister Pridyathorn Devakula quits, blaming cabinet infighting. His successor, Chalongphob Sussangkarn, is appointed on March 7.

-- March 26: Prosecutors charge Potjaman Shinawatra, Thaksin's wife, her brother and her secretary with tax evasion. But complaints continue about the slowness of the investigation into allegations of corruption under Thaksin.

-- March 29: Surayud refuses a demand by coup leader General Sonthi Bonyaratglin to use emergency powers to prevent small anti-government rallies growing out of control. A general election will be held on Dec. 16 or Dec. 22, Surayud says.

Sources: Reuters

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Last updated:Thu Mar 29 11:23:23 2007