What's ahead for Thaksin Shinawatra ?

'For a man so unused to defeat, Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must be bewildered by how quickly he lost power'. Thaksin went to New York to deliver a speech to the UN, but instead received news that he had been overthrown in a military coup.

He initially phoned a Thai television station to declare a state of emergency, but was cut off by military censors after 10 minutes.

His speech to the General Assembly that was scheduled for Wednesday was brought forward to Tuesday evening before it was cancelled altogether.

The billionaire businessman-turned-politician has not been heard from since, although he is expected to fly to London later on Wednesday.

With telephone links affected, Mr Thaksin was reported to be able to do little but watch events unfold on a TV set in his room at the plush Grand Hyatt hotel.

"It is very difficult to communicate with people, to get to know the exact situation here," one official was quoted as saying.

Another said Mr Thaksin was "calm" and had watched US President Bush's speech to the General Assembly from his hotel room.

Thailand's coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin had said Mr Thaksin may return to the country, but warned that he could face criminal charges.

He refused to be drawn on whether the military would seize Mr Thaksin's considerable assets in Thailand, saying only: "Everything will comply with the law. Anybody who has committed a wrongdoing must be held responsible."

The sale of Mr. Thaksin's stake in the telecoms firm he founded, Shin Corp, to Singapore investors at the beginning of the year led to the current political crisis.

But while support for him has dropped in Thailand's urban areas, Mr Thaksin retains support from the countryside.

Thai political economist Dr Pasuk Pongpaijitr said it may be difficult for the ousted leader to return in the short term, "but there's always a possibility he'll return one day".

"Having a lot of money means he definitely has options," she added.

(Thailand news)

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Thai coup leader promises to return power: To the people Thailand's Army Commander-in-Chief who led a bloodless coup d'etat on Tuesday night and dismissed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while the ex-premier was in New York said Wednesday the coup was necessary to reunite the kingdom and vowed to return power to the people soon.

Flanked by the three armed forces chiefs and the head of the national police force, Army chief Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said in a televised address to the nation early Wednesday that the coup was necessary to bring back unity to the country which had become deeply divided under the administration of Mr.Thaksin.

It is Thailand's first coup attempt in 15 years. There were 19 military interventions, or attempts to change the government of the day, in the nearly 60 years between 1932 and 1991. Gen. Sonthi pledged that the military had no intention to hold onto power and will return power to the Thai people as soon as possible.

The army chief reemphasised that the Administrative Reform Council carried out the coup to end the serious rift in society, rampant corruption in the government, activities deemed 'lese majeste' to His Majesty the King, and interference in the work of independent organizations.

It is unclear whether the ousted prime minister intends to return home. Mr. Thaksin has been staying at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York and reportedly wants to go to London.

Thaksin has been at the centre of Thailand's months-long political crisis after marathon street protests since March to pressure him to resign amid allegations of corruption and abuse of power. His policy towards the simmering insurgency in the far South, which has claimed more than 1,700 lives since it erupted in 2004, has been blamed for intensified violence.

The U.S. State Department said it was uneasy about the military takeover, and said in a statement it hopes "the Thai people will resolve their political differences in accord with democratic principles and the rule of law.''

"It's unacceptable for the military just to overthrow a government in this way," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer who is in New York attending the UN General Assembly meeting told local media, urging a return to democracy in Thailand.

He made the comments as Canberra issued a travel advisory warning to its nationals to reconsider their planned travel to Thailand following the overnight coup.

Within ASEAN, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he was "really shocked" by the coup and called for a return to democratic rule in Thailand but his government had not advised Malaysians to avoid their northern neighbour, Malaysia's Bernama news agency reported.

(TNA)