Flowers for soldiers

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Thailand's Muslim coup leader could soothe Islamic unrest
YALA, Thailand (AFP) - Thailand's southern Muslims, who widely despised ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, say they hope the Muslim general who overthrew him will follow through on his offer to hold peace talks with Islamic separatists.

"I hope that (General Sonthi Boonyaratglin) will be able to solve the problem in the south as he himself is Muslim and can reach out to villagers," said Kordiya Mapae, 45, a Muslim worker in Yala province.

The three Muslim-majority provinces bordering Malaysia have been plagued by separatist violence and other unrest since January 2004, and Thaksin's decision to impose emergency rule there in 2005 was widely criticized.

Ousted Thai PM: 'I am a jobless man'
BANGKOK, Thailand - Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra lay low in London as the junta that overthrew him purged his followers Thursday and took steps to possibly go after the vast assets of the tycoon turned politician.

Thailand's capital back to work
The people of Thailand have returned to work less than 36 hours after a military coup ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Tanks and tourism
UK holidaymakers heading to Thailand despite the coup. As tanks continue to fill the streets of Bangkok, UK tourists appear to be going about their holidays relatively unaffected. Tour operators say they have no plans to cancel flights to Thailand, and UK holiday companies insist that "it's very much business as usual".

We're not as stupid as he thinks we are | ROBIN GRIFFITHS, MISSIONARY, ONGSIT, KANCHANABURI PROVINCE | Robin Griffiths

We have lived through about ten different coups since we moved to Thailand in 1973.We are about 160 miles (260km) north-west of Bangkok in Kanchanaburi province.Mr Thaksin had a lot of support around here, basically because of the handouts he gave the village people. They were giving out rice and free mobile phones to schoolchildren.

This was before the April elections, although it's been going on since then too.

But people were beginning to see through it.
One of our neighbours said recently: "We're not as stupid as he thinks we are. He's not going to bribe me with his giveaways". But two years ago, this man was a big Thaksin supporter.