Thailand’s military rulers may lift martial law
Thailand’s prime minister has asked King Phumiphon Adunyadet for permission to lift martial law in the country.
“I have already submitted permission to the king to lift martial law. The king will have to approve whether martial law is lifted,” media outlets quoted the premier, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, as saying on Tuesday, who added, “A new order (to replace martial law) will be issued very soon.”
General Chan-o-cha formerly served as the head of the armed forces. He became prime minister after the government went under the control of a junta. The prime minister is expected to use the junta’s interim constitution to create the new order protecting Thailand’s security.
The Thai military is also expected to retain significant powers under the new conditions.
The government has recently been under immense pressure to lift the martial law.
Sunsern Kaewkumnerd, a deputy junta spokesman, said, “Foreign countries were concerned over our use of martial law.”
The army seized power last year, removing then prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, from office on May 7, following months of anti-government protests and a disputed election in the country.
Yingluck, the first female premier of Thailand, was removed for assigning a family member to a senior government post. She has been also indicted for her involvement in a controversial rice subsidy scheme.
Ever since the junta seized power in Thailand, individuals accused of national security offences have been prosecuted in military courts with no right of appeal. Senior junta officials say the military courts would still be used for security offences, but convictions could now be appealed to higher tribunals.
Over the past months, media freedoms have been suppressed and political gatherings of more than five people are banned.
Critics have expressed concern that the new order could end up being even more draconian than martial law.
In October 2013, the Yingluck administration proposed an amnesty bill that could have pardoned Thaksin Shinawatra, setting the scene for his return to the country. The move prompted the protests that ended in the junta takeover of power.
Opponents viewed Yingluck to be a proxy for her elder brother, Thaksin, who himself had been toppled in a coup in 2006. Thaksin has been living in self-exile since 2008 to avoid a two-year prison sentence.
JR/HSN/SS
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