NEW YORK: Holed up in a plush New York hotel, Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra could do little but watch his own apparent ouster on television, as mutinous generals staged a coup in Bangkok.
As tanks rumbled through darkened Bangkok streets, Thaksin huddled with top aides in the luxurious confines of the 1,400 room Grand Hyatt hotel, which towers over fabled 42nd Street in the bustling heart of Manhattan.
Cut off, 11 times zones from home and with his political fate hanging by a thread, Thaksin launched a desperate, cross-continental rearguard action.
But as the coup raced to a climax, his aides in New York admitted they were losing touch with events.
In an ironic twist, the man who made billions from telecoms, couldn't get in touch with home, after rebellious troops seized government communications lines, a Thai official said on condition of anonymity.
"It is very difficult to communicate with people, to get to know the exact situation there," a harried official said.
Thaksin's aides wouldn't say whether he had been in touch with Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej -- the country's beacon of stability as fragile democracy emerged from decades of political turmoil and coups.
As messages flashed across Thai television screens, declaring martial law in Bangkok, defiant Thaksin aides insisted he would not relinquish power.
"The Thai prime minister is quite calm," a senior Thai official said.
"He watched President George W Bush speaking at the UN General Assembly from his hotel room," the official said.
