Bolstered by a royal endorsement yesterday to run the country after last week’s coup, Thailand’s junta leader warned citizens not to cause trouble, not to criticize, not to protest — or else face a return to the “old days” of street violence.
Dressed in a crisp white military uniform, Thai General Prayuth Chan-ocha said he had seized power to restore order after seven months of violent confrontations and political turmoil between the now-ousted government and demonstrators who had called repeatedly for the army to intervene.
“I’m not here to argue with anyone. I want to bring everything out in the open and fix it,” Prayuth said in his first news conference since taking power on Thursday last week.
“Everyone must help me,” he said, before adding: “Do not criticize, do not create new problems. It’s no use.”
In a gruff, 20-minute appearance, Prayuth warned the media and social media users to avoid doing anything that could fan the conflict.
He also called on anti-coup protesters who have staged small-scale demonstrations in Bangkok and several other cities for several days to stop.
“Right now there are people coming out to protest. So do you want to go back to the old days? I’m asking the people in the country, if you want it that way, then I will have to enforce the law,” he said.
Earlier yesterday, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej officially endorsed Prayuth to run the country in a royal command that called for “reconciliation among the people.”
Bhumibol, who is 86 and in fragile health, did not attend the ceremony at the army headquarters in Bangkok.
The monarch’s statement removed any speculation that the palace, which has been silent so far, might withhold its support from the Thai junta.
Thursday’s coup, Thailand’s second in eight years, deposed an elected government that had insisted for months that the nation’s fragile democracy was under attack from protesters, the courts and finally the army that had rendered it powerless.
The country is deeply split between an elite establishment based in Bangkok and the south that cannot win elections on one side, and a poorer majority in the north that has begun to realize political and economic power on the other.
Prayuth justified the takeover by saying that “when the conflict intensified, and there was the threat of violence, we had to act.”
“We are not doing this for the soldiers. I’m doing this to protect honor and dignity of all Thais. We cannot step back anymore. We have to stop arguing,” he said. “The most important thing right now is to keep peace and order in the country.”
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