As ever, martial rule saw military officials being slotted into top positions within the civilian administration at both the provincial and central levels as well as in semi-government and autonomous organisations.
Silence, too, from the leaders of the Commonwealth, who acted so swiftly to suspend Pakistan when that country imposed martial rule to clamp down on lawlessness and corruption.
Martial rule allows Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to declare emergency zones, impose curfews, censor publications and other media, authorize phone taps and for the detention of suspects without charge for up to 30 days.