Bangkok: The leaders of Thailand's bloodless coup, that ousted caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have assured the public that their action was temporary and they will facilitate political reform.
"The council has no intention to run the country by ourselves and will return power under the constitutional monarchy to the people as soon as possible," Thai Army Chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin promised in a televised address flanked by four other leaders of the Political Reform Council that seized power in a bloodless take-over on Tuesday night.
The council has delcared a national holiday on Wednesday and appointed country's four regional army chiefs as executive heads of their regions with power over civil servants.
The coup leaders have called a meeting of top bureaucrats, business leaders and diplomats based in Bangkok on Wednesday to explain the situation and give them future directions.
Meanwhile, ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has cancelled a planned speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, hours after the armed forces seized power in a coup in Bangkok.
The UN Secretariat, which made the announcement, gave no further details. The Thai leader, who had been due to address the world body at 0700 hrs (0430 IST) had earlier declared a state of emergency from New York.
In New York, the US urged a peaceful and democratic resolution to the political situation in Thailand. "We have seen various reports of military movements as well as a reported declaration of a statement of emergency in Bangkok by Prime Minister Thaksin," said White House National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones.
"We are monitoring developments closely, but the situation at the moment is unclear," he said. "We look to the Thai people to resolve their political differences in a peaceful manner and in accord with the principles of democracy and rule of law," Jones said.
A senior state department official said the Thai Prime Minister had faced serious political problems at home for months and what had happened was not unexpected. "I was not entirely surprised that this happened but I think the real question will be -- will there be an immediate return to civilian rule, what is the status of the fall elections and where does the king stand on all of this," the official said.
He said it was too early to determine exactly what was ahead for Thailand, adding that the US ambassador was in touch with Thai authorities and Washington was closely monitoring the situation.
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