Thai Official in Paris Monitors Reports of Coup Back Home

A senior Thai government official traveling in France said Tuesday he was working to confirm whether a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had actually taken place in Bangkok.

Peeraphan Premabhuti, permanent secretary of the prime minister's office and a former major general, was visiting France as part of a six-week Thai cultural program. He said the situation remained unclear but that he intended to return home as planned on Wednesday.

Peeraphan said his civil service status would remain unaffected regardless of any political upheaval: "It does not matter whether or not there is a coup," he told AFP.

A separate Thai official, Suranand Vejjajiva, a minister also attached to the prime minister's office, called off a scheduled trip to Paris. Peeraphan suggested Suranand may have received orders to stay in Thailand.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.