BANGKOK – Thailand’s Appointed Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha who orchestrated a successful coup d’etat against a Democratically Elected Government in 2014 said yesterday that the “Sucking” of former MPs into a political party has been in practice long before the establishment of the National Council for Peace and Order and it is a part and parcel of “Thai Democracy.”
He made the above statement in response to an allegation by Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva that the junta has been trying to “suck” former MPs into its fold in preparation for the formation of a party to support Prime Minister Prayut as the next prime minister after the election.
In his weekly nationwide address on Friday night (April 27), the prime minister said that his government’s main responsibility is to make the election a reality and, as such, has to remain impartial politically.
Regarding the “sucking” allegation against the NCPO, he said members of the public should be able to judge by themselves what is good for the country as a whole and what are meant for good of vested interest groups.
Members of the public, he added, should be able to choose whether they want to elect good or bad politicians into the parliament.
The government, said the prime minister, is not in a position to stop politicians to quarrel with one another, but what it can do is to start political reform step-by-step.
Without mentioning name, he lashed out at a former MP who accused the government of misusing state fund to the tune of tens of billions baht form a political party to support him as the next premier.
Accusing the ex-MP as shepherd’s boy, he said the former did not have evidence to back up his allegation.
Source: Thai PBS
The Thai Junta and Democracy
Earlier this year the International Federation for Human Rights published a detailed study entitled: “Under Siege: Violations of Civil and Political Rights under Thailand’s Military Junta.” The group cited “rampant” arrests, unlawful punishments, poor prison conditions, travel restrictions, civilian trials before military courts, restrictions on freedom of expression and opinion, increased lese majeste prosecutions, charges against critics, limits on academic freedom, media censorship, protest bans, and the flawed constitutional referendum. That’s quite a bill of particulars.
In reviewing the events of last year Human Rights Watch criticized the junta’s failure to fulfill its promises “to respect human rights and restore democratic rule. A new constitution, which will entrench unaccountable and abusive military power, was adopted in a referendum marked by repressive tactics against critics of the proposed constitution.” Government censorship, arbitrary detention, and lack of accountability continued.
According to the Huffington Post, Human Rights Watch’s Asia director, Brad Adams, noted that the military was moving backward, and had “increasingly persecuted critics and dissenters, banned peaceful protests, censored the media, and suppressed speech in the press and online.”
Amnesty International reached similar conclusions on Thailand. Stated AI: “The military authorities further restricted human rights. Peaceful political dissent, whether through speech or protests, and acts perceived as critical of the monarchy were punished or banned.
