Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday said he has asked King Bhumibol Adulyadej for permission to lift martial law, which has been in place since before a coup 10 months ago, replacing it with a law that maintains the army’s wide-ranging powers.
Critics of the junta warned that the new law could prove more draconian and would allow Prayuth to exercise unrestricted power by citing a risk to national security.
Thailand’s military seized power on May 22 last year, after months of sometimes violent street protests in Bangkok. It imposed martial law days before the coup.
Photo: EPA
Prayuth told reporters that once martial law is lifted it will be replaced with Article 44 of the interim constitution.
“We are now waiting for the king to royally approve the disuse of martial law,” Prayuth said. “We have prepared Article 44 and will use it soon.”
He did not give a timeframe for when the law would be lifted.
The junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order, has used strong-arm tactics to keep a lid on dissent.
Prayuth, who is also junta leader, said Article 44 contained six sections that address national security. It would allow the military to detain people for up to seven days without charge and would allow soldiers to apprehend groups and detain people without an arrest warrant.
Military tribunals will continue to be used for national security cases.
“Soldiers will be able to apprehend people, if an incident occurs, without an arrest warrant,” Prayuth said.
Under terms outlined in the article, Prayuth will be able to issue any order to “disrupt or suppress” any threat to national security or to the monarchy.
Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch said replacing martial law with Article 44 would give Prayuth near-total impunity.
“Under Article 44 there is no limit to power and whatever is decided will be considered constitutional and will be difficult to challenge,” Sunai said. “It is an ultimate power without accountability. This is something very unique and worrying and it is not going to improve the rights situation and ongoing repression.”
In other developments, two television channels affiliated to the opposition Red Shirt movement will be taken off air for seven days for “violating” junta orders, an official said yesterday.
Suspension letters are being drafted for Peace TV, which features a daily program by Red Shirts chairman Jatuporn Prompan, and 24 News, a senior official at Thailand’s National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) said.
“NTC has decided to suspend the license for two television channels for seven days on the grounds they violated junta announcements,” said the official, who declined to be named, without elaborating on the nature of the violation.
“The suspension will begin as soon as they receive the official notification letter,” he said.
On his mid-morning program yesterday, Jatuporn said military officials who monitor the show had accused him of causing “divisions and misunderstandings.”
“They allege that my speech has incited unrest. I want to ask are there any people going out and protesting against the authorities,” he said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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