Thai military rulers appoint anti-Thaksin advisers
Thai military rulers appoint anti-Thaksin advisers
Pracha Hariraksapitak
Wed May 28, 2014
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2014/05/3494.jpg
1 of 8. Demonstrators hold up signs during a protest against military rule at Victory Monument in Bangkok May 27, 2014.
Credit: Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha
Thailand's junta has appointed two retired generals with palace connections as advisers, putting powerful establishment figures hostile towards former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra firmly in the ascendant in the country's long-running power struggle.
Hoping to show things are getting back to normal, the military also relaxed a night-time curfew brought in after it seized power in a May 22 coup, and is expected to speed up efforts to get the economy moving again after months of debilitating political protests.
Data on Wednesday showed trade shrank in April and factory output fell for a 13th straight month, underscoring the damage political unrest has caused and the tough job the military government faces reviving an economy on the brink of recession.
The Information Technology Ministry said it had blocked Facebook at the request of the military to stem protests. But the site was back up after about 30 minutes and the military denied involvement, saying a technical problem was to blame.
The military has issued warnings about the spread of what it considers provocative material on social media.
The junta's team of advisers includes a former defense minister, General Prawit Wongsuwan, and former army chief General Anupong Paochinda.
The two men are towering figures in Thailand's military establishment and have close ties to coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha. All three are staunch monarchists and helped oust Thaksin, who remains at the heart of the political crisis, in a 2006 coup.
A Reuters report in December revealed that Prawit and Anupong had secretly backed the anti-government protests that undermined the government of Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra. She was removed by a court on May 7 for abuse of power and the coup ousted remaining ministers two weeks later.
It is not clear what powers the advisers will have, but their appointment would suggest little prospect of compromise with the Shinawatras.
SOME DETAINEES RELEASED
The military has sought to stifle opposition to its power grab, detaining scores of politicians and activists and imposing censorship on the media.
Deputy army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said 200 people summoned after the coup had been detained but 124 of them had since been released. Seventy-six were still being held, while another 53 people had not responded to a summons.
Later, the army released at least 10 pro-Thaksin "red-shirt" activists including their leader, Jatuporn Prompan.
Yingluck and Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister in a rival government who led six months of protests against her, are among those who have been released.
"Those released must tell us where they live and where they plan to travel," Winthai said. "If they violate these rules they'll be invited to meet us."
People being released are asked to sign a document saying they will not organize rallies, he said.
There have been daily protests in Bangkok against the coup and on Wednesday about 200 people confronted troops and police at the Victory Monument. Protesters jeered and threw plastic water bottles and spray-painted "Get Out" and "No Coup" over an army Humvee.
At least one person was detained, a Reuters reporter said.
A seven-hour curfew the army imposed after the coup has been shortened to four hours, from midnight.
ECONOMY IN DOLDRUMS
The junta's new advisers also include Pridiyathorn Devakula, overseeing the economy. A former central banker, he was finance minister in an interim government after the 2006 coup, when strict capital controls were introduced to hold down the baht, causing the stock market to tumble 15 percent in one day.
Highlighting the task ahead, factory output fell 3.9 percent in April from a year earlier, the 13th monthly drop in a row.
The Commerce Ministry reported another slump in imports, down 14.5 percent in April from a year before as companies, unsure how the politics would develop, stopped importing machinery and consumers reined in spending.
Exports have not been able to offset the depression in the domestic economy: they fell 0.9 percent in April, although the ministry said it was hopeful for 5 percent export growth this year.
Gross domestic product shrank 2.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014 as the anti-government protesters harassed ministries, damaged confidence and scared off tourists.
The military has moved quickly to tackle economic problems, notably preparing payments for hundreds of thousands of rice farmers that the ousted government was unable to make.
Some economists think the outlook could improve under the military, with the rice payments that will allow farmers to start spending again and a vow that a new budget will be on time and new investment plans all boding well.
NO ELECTION TIMETABLE, U.S. CONCERNED
General Prayuth has not set any timetable for elections, saying broad reforms are needed first.
That may further complicate relations with foreign governments that have called for a speedy return to democracy, an end to censorship and the release of politicians, protest leaders, journalists and others detained.
"We're going to have to continue to calibrate how we'll work with the government and military when they don't show any pathway back to civilian rule," a senior U.S. official told Reuters in Washington. "We're very concerned and there will be an impact on our relationship."
Thaksin has not commented on the coup except to say he was saddened and hoped the military would treat everyone fairly.
The Shinawatras' strength is in the north and northeast, populous, mostly rural regions that have won them every election since 2001. Some Thaksin loyalists had vowed to resist a coup and the army and police are hunting for weapons.
Many Bangkok voters support the establishment and approve of the coup if it means ending Thaksin's influence. They say he is corrupt and disrespectful to the monarchy, an accusation he denies.
(Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Orathai Sriring, Manunphattr Dhanananphorn in Bangkok, Andrew R.C. Marshall and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Writing by Robert Birsel and Alan Raybould; Editing by Alex Richardson and Nick Macfie))
reuters.com
Army: Coup Was To Avoid Failed State Scenario (DPA)
Army: Coup Was To Avoid Failed State Scenario (DPA)
29 May 2014
BANGKOK (DPA) — Thailand's military staged last week's coup to prevent the nation becoming a failed state, the army said Thursday.
The army was forced to step in because of the worsening political situation, deputy chief of staff, Lieutenant General Chatchalerm Chalermsukh, told reporters.
"No side could see eye to eye. We found weapons caches belonging to political groups. The army is not willing to let this nation become a failed state like Syria or Libya," Chatchalerm said.
The general said Thailand was not in a state to survive more political turmoil.
Thailand's economy contracted in the first quarter of 2014, something that had not happened in years.
Exports had fallen to a two-year low and industrial output had slowed, according to reports in the Bangkok Post.
Chatchalerm said the army was only willing to return to civilian rule when the political climate allowed such a transition.
"We have nothing to gain from this coup. We are sacrificing ourselves for the nation. If we don't succeed, we will go to jail. Treason is punishable by death," he said.
The army seized power last week after seven months of anti-government protests that led to violence and a political stalemate.
Rights groups have been quick to protest the junta's detention of key dissidents and its censorship of the media, something the army says is needed to calm political tensions.
en.khaosod.co.th
Military Tries to Control Coup Narrative
Military Tries to Control Coup Narrative
29 May 2014
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
BANGKOK — The Thai military is stepping up efforts to control the narrative behind the coup it staged last week by releasing propagandist videos and continuing to censor alternative histories.
In a press conference this morning, deputy chief of staff Lt. Gen. Chatchalerm Chalermsukh told reporters that the coup was an effort to prevent Thailand from becoming “a failed state like Syria or Libya.”
He stressed that the military takeover was not driven by self-interest.
"We have nothing to gain from this coup," Lt. Gen. Chatchalerm said. "We are sacrificing ourselves for the nation. If we don't succeed, we will go to jail. Treason is punishable by death."
The military also interrupted all state-owned television broadcasts this morning to air a self-promoting video about how the military has already begun solving Thailand’s “deep-rooted problems.”
The video opened with a female narrator explaining that while Thais are free to choose their own political views, deepening ideological differences in recent years have polarized Thai society and caused violence.
“Democracy has failed to solve this problem” and it is clear that “elections will lead to losses,” the narrator said over footage of the rival protest groups that were camping out in Bangkok prior to the coup.
The military tried to step in to resolve the dispute, but the two sides "failed to reach any agreement, forcing the military take control of power," the narrator said, followed by a clip of army chief and coup-leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha declaring the military takeover on national television.
Gen. Prayuth announced the coup d’état after talks with rival political factions failed to solve the country’s decade-long political crisis in two days.
The twenty minute video went on to praise Gen. Prayuth for his efforts to "swiftly solve" the country’s problems while refraining from invoking martial law’s harshest powers.
Under martial law, the military is authorized to censor the media, search and detain people at will, and violate a number of other internationally-recognized human rights.
“We try our best to avoid violating human rights,” the video showed Gen. Prayuth saying in a press conference with foreign media.
The short film ended with shots of rice farmers receiving overdue payments for the paddies they sold to the government last year under its controversial rice-subsidy program.
The military announced earlier this week that it would distribute billions of baht to the more than 800,000 rice farmers that are still owed money from the rice scheme. The former government failed to pay farmers on time because of internal mismanagement and crippling anti-government protests that led to the dissolution of Parliament in December.
Thailand’s rice farmers are among the former Pheu Thai government’s strongest supporters.
The military is actively broadcasting its version of the 2014 coup while it simultaneously clamps down on media outlets and individuals that offer different narratives.Over 200 websites have been banned since the military seized power last week, and plans for a national internet gateway are currently underway.
In addition, hundreds of political dissidents have been summoned to report to the army, many of whom have have been detained.
Yesterday, Facebook was made inaccessible for millions of Thais for about an hour; the army initially took responsibility for the shutdown, but later insisted it was an innocent “technical glitch.”
en.khaosod.co.th