
Thailand’s powerful army chief on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of staging a new coup, hours after Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declared a state of emergency in the capital.
“There is no possibility of a coup. We must turn to the parliamentary mechanism,” General Anupong Paojinda told reporters.
“If we use military means to solve this problem, that would not be acceptable. This door is totally shut,” he added.
Samak declared the state of emergency early on Tuesday after one person was killed and dozens were injured during the night as a week of mass protests calling for his resignation spilled over into bloodshed.