Prayuth Chan-ocha made his first public appearance at an exhibition this morning since he was suspended from the premiership by court order.
Prayuth, who was stripped of his duties by the Constitutional Court while it prepares to rule on whether his eight-year term has expired, refused to answer any questions and instead played with a number of guns, according to reporter to the military stars Wassana Nanuam.
Prayuth, who continues to serve as defense minister, reportedly arrived in a black Mercedes-Benz to the Defense & Security 2022 exhibition at Impact Muang Thong Thani. Wassana said the event was also attended by representatives of Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
Walking through the hall with other army brass, Gen. Prayuth, who seized power in a 2014 coup d’etat, refused to answer questions. He was filmed sighting down a long rifle before a representative of European arms maker SIG Sauer intervened to regain control of the weapon.
Pressed to comment on whether he would fight his suspension, he only said he was attending the event to talk to its organizers.
Prayuth praised the military exhibition’s importance in bringing together state-of-art weapons and security technologies from various countries. Over 30 nations participated in the exhibition.
“บิ๊กตู่” ส่งสัญญาณสู้?
— Deep Blue Sea (@WassanaNanuam) August 29, 2022
จับปืน เล็งปิน ทุกบู๊ท
ลั่น กำลังใจยังดีอยู่
.
พลเอกประยุทธ์ สวมบทสนามไชย1 เดินนิทรรศการอาวุธยุทโธปกรณ์ Defence and security 2022
เน้นเดินดู ปืนทั้งปินยาว ปืนสั้น
และหยิบขึ้น เล็งยิง เกือบทุกบุ๊ท
“บิ๊กตู่”บอก กำลังใจยังดีอยู่https://t.co/1787bDJVlN pic.twitter.com/NkTKWJxBY8
Prayuth was suspended from his duties on Wednesday, eight years to the day after he installed himself as prime minister. The new, military-drafted constitution he helped usher in prescribed a term limit of eight years for the top political job. The court said it will take up to a month for it to make a ruling.
In the meantime, Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan – Prayuth’s longtime No. 2 – has taken the reins as acting prime minister.
Related
Is it too soon to remember some of our fave Prayuth moments?
You shall not pass: Thai PM turtles up behind shipping containers
Suspend Prayuth and enforce term limit, opposition party petitions court
Reader Interactions