Public opinion of the 2006 Thai coup d'état

"It may have been an authoritarian, unconstitutional and undemocratic move, but Thailand will emerge stronger out of this and its democratic institutions will strengthen in the long run," said Wipat, an economics student [4] The Nation noted that local reaction was largely subdued.

Although the Bangkok middle class was gladdened by the coup, Thaksin's rural supporters lacked real leaders to register strong voices of dissent.

[5] In the days following the coup, many Thai people in Bangkok and surrounding area supported the soldiers in their positions by bringing food, drinks, and flowers.

A soldier who agreed with the coup although he said it wasn't democratic said "I talked to people protesting against Thaksin Shinawatra who said they could do anything and would sacrifice their lives.

The military has a duty to protect the country, the religion and the King"[7] On Friday, a group of lecturers and students from Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon rallied briefly in front of the Army head office to call on their counterparts from Chulalongkorn and Thammasat universities not to be opposed to the coup leaders.

"[9] Thailand's last coup in 1991 had deposed, arrested, and seized the assets of Kraisak's father, former Premier Chatichai Choonhavan.

CPD Secretary-General and People's Alliance for Democracy spokesperson Suriyasai Katasila blamed the deposed government, stating "Thaksin was wrong to stay on and lead the country into a political deadlock.

[12] Anand Panyarachun, one of Thailand's most respected intellectuals,[13] head of drafting committee of the 1997 Constitution, and former coup-installed Prime Minister, noted his criticism of the coup in an interview with the Far Eastern Economic Review (italics added): You have to remember that since 1992, we have had four general elections; we had peaceful transfers of power; we had governments who served full four-year terms.

In 1991 [following Thailand's previous coup], the military wanted to come back to power and replace the elected government.

[16] The Political Satire Group of Thammasat University erected a large sign at Rangsit Center protesting the coup.

[17] Reports on the numbers, extent and nature of public demonstrations against the coup and the military government are often contingent on national media whose freedom of speech is limited by the censure imposed by the CDR.

The Independent reported that when the first protester, a female student, began reading out a statement, armed police forced their way through the crowd and grabbed her.

The protest included a political discussion on "Why we must resist the coup", and was organized by the "Dome Daeng (Red Dome)" group of Thammasat University, the "Chula Students for Liberty" group, and students from Mahidol, Ramkhamhaeng and Kasetsart universities and King Mongkut's Institute of Technology.

"If they [the military] arrest or harm us, we won't fight back, but it will show that their talk about political reform is not for real," said Uchaen Cheangsane, an organizer of the "Dome Daeng" group.

[29] The one-hour rally featured a banner mocking the "Council of Demented and Ridiculous Military"; there was no presence of uniformed police officials.

Pattawit Thambutdee, a political science student at Chulalongkorn compared the coup to an act of burning a flower garden to remove the weeds.

[31] On 14 October 2006, the 33rd anniversary of the mass movement that rejected the military government of Thanom Kittikachorn, 300 protesters marched along Rajdamnoen Avenue from Thammasat University to Democracy Monument.

[32] Four law lecturers at Thammasat University issued a statement condemning the coup makers for "disrespecting the will of the people".

The groups, led by well-known law lecturer Vorajaet Phakeerat, added that the forced nullification of the 1997 People's Constitution also destroyed the social contract and was "unacceptable".

[31] An active online petition organized by Thongchai Winichakul, of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, was also set up at the PetitionOnline website to urge the junta not to arrest or harm protesters.