Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Thai politics; this is merely a summary of the current state of affairs as I understand it as a foreigner living in Thailand. This is not my fight, so I do not endorse either side. I am a mere observer.
As I write this, it's Friday around noon, and I'm at home, not at school. Why? Because yesterday around 5 PM, the Thai military announced it was taking over the government. A coup! How exciting. But how does this affect me personally? Well, there's a countrywide curfew in place from 10 PM - 5 AM, and they closed all of the schools until Sunday. So uh, thanks for the 3 day weekend? In Salaya, life goes on as usual. I am safe, and my friends who live in Bangkok are safe as well. As a political science major, it's a pretty interesting time to be living here.
If you're new to Thai politics, you may be wondering, "WHOA GUY, what do you mean there's a COUP? What the deuce is going on?!" To answer that, let's back up a little, to when I was brand new to Thailand. Almost the entire time that I've been here (6 out of the 7 months), there have been anti-government protests (the yellow shirts) going on, mostly in Bangkok. They believe the government, led by now-ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, is corrupt (read more in detail -- older articles but decent background info: PolicyMic, CNN). Her brother is Thaksin Shinawatra, a business tycoon and former PM who is in self-imposed exile abroad because he was found guilty of corruption charges. This is a very simplified version of what's going on from a farang, but essentially the Bangkok elite have accused the Shinawatras and their political party of buying votes (among other abuses) in the rural provinces (especially the northeast) of Thailand, which is where they get all of their support. They are protesting the corruption, and they want to set up a new government.
Meanwhile, the pro-government supporters (the red shirts) have their own counter-protests, and so for months now they have been demonstrating back and forth trying to change the government. Usually, the protests are peaceful, but there have been incidents where it has turned violent and people have died. Then, earlier this month, Yingluck was ousted from her post by a court ruling, and a caretaker PM stepped in. This past Tuesday, we woke up and found out that the military had imposed martial law overnight, claiming that it was necessary to "restore order" and it was not a coup. That lasted about 2.5 days, as yesterday afternoon, they announced that this was in fact a coup, and the military had taken over the government.
Not long after I found out about the coup, I went to dinner with my next door neighbor, who is an officer in the Thai navy (another story for another time). The dude likes to talk, and he couldn't stop talking about the coup, understandably. What was interesting was his perspective on it, especially as part of the Thai military. He said that the coup was a good thing, that the military guys are very smart and "will fix everything." He said that the problem was the "uneducated" people who were corrupt and accepted money from Thaksin. "The educated people know better, but the uneducated people do not think, they do not know." He also said that coups were normal in Thailand (?!?!), which actually isn't too far from the truth, since the last one was in 2006. The US State Department and other Western countries are issuing statements condemning the coup and its effect on democracy, but this naval officer, a highly educated Thai person, was in support of the coup, and firmly believes it will help solve the country's problems, and prevent a civil war. Just goes to show that there are always going to be widely different opinions on how to go about solving crises. It remains to be seen where this coup will lead the country, but I'll be here, watching and listening.