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In a bloodless coup d'état on Tuesday, September 19th, 2006, the Thai military took over control of government. Scheduled elections were cancelled, the constitution was suspended, parliament was dissolved, and the country was placed under martial law. Recently, the Thai Prime Minister lifted most of the country out of martial law, but democracy and civil/human rights have yet to be fully restored, and some southern provinces remain under martial law. Complications and complexities involving the the situation in Thailand include:

- Thailand has a long history of military dominance and coups.

1. -The Internal Security Act, which the Prime Minister has credited with enabling the lifting of martial law, has been described by Human Rights Watch not only as giving “unprecedented power” to the military, but also as a threat to democracy and human rights.
   

1. -Terrorist and rebel attacks remain somewhat frequent in the Muslim-majority southern provinces of the country.  These are the regions that have been left under martial law.
   

1. -Some Thais have reportedly indicated that they don’t necessarily mind military dominance. They say that many military regimes have been less corrupt than their Democratic counterparts, and that Thailand has a history of prospering under strong, centralized leadership.
   

1. -An ongoing “war on drugs,” as well as conflicts in neighboring Burma and Laos, have created some instability in and around Thailand:  Human rights have allegedly been violated in the war on drugs, which HRW says has involved arbitrary killing, and Thailand is under heavy pressure from NGO’s to open its borders to, and stop deporting, refugees and asylum seekers from its neighboring countries.