The Thai PM today responded to accusations of human rights abuses in Thailand, saying it was not his fault if dissenters violate a security measure that allows the military to detain people without charge.
In a year-end speech where he reminded Thais that the junta would hand back power in 2017, junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha became upset when addressing the abuse accusations.
“The law says you can’t do this and they still do it,” said a visibly angry Prayuth. “Then they say I violate human rights.”
After the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) seized control in May 2014, overthrowing an elected government and putting an end to protests against then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, it brought in a special security measure that allows security forces to make arrests without court warrants and detain people without charge.
It has also drafted a new constitution and reforms which critics say are designed to limit the powers of political parties and neutralize those seen as loyal to controversial former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s brother who was ousted in 2006.
The junta, which says it is now entering “phase two” of its reform plan, has repeatedly delayed planned elections, claiming the country is not yet stable enough to hold a poll.
Prayuth said the junta was sticking to its plan to hand back power in 2017.
“We have one year and six months left starting January 2016 to July 2017 and the government will lay the foundations for the things it did not do and if it cannot complete them they will be put in the reform plan,” he said in a televised speech.
“We are entering phase two now.”
The military government, led by coup-maker Prayuth, has stifled dissent, prompting stern criticism from rights groups, the United Nations and Western governments.
Nineteen months after the coup it is struggling to revive Thailand’s export-dependent economy.
Although it has announced big-spending on large road and railway projects, domestic demand remains weak and record-high household debt is hurting Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
Despite an order that bans public gatherings, open opposition to the junta has increased over the past year.
The coup was the latest chapter in more than a decade of conflict in Thailand with the country bitterly divided between supporters of Yingluck and Thaksin and the country’s military establishment.
Story: Reuters
