Thai Army Chief Prayuth Issues Another Coup Denial

[webfact]

Prayuth issues another coup denial

By The Nation

Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha once again denied rumours of a coup yesterday, saying the military had no intention of putting the country in a situation of unrest.

"The only thing we want to ask is for all parties not to violate the monarchy or bring the monarchy into their conflicts or get us involved in political conflict," Prayuth said.

He said the constitutional monarchy was the best system for Thailand but some may not accept it. That was the reason they were trying to trigger chaos.

Meanwhile, Kokaew Pikulthong, a red-shirt leader, submitted an open letter to the Army chief that strongly attacked Prayuth's recent role in allegedly exploiting the monarchy as a tool to destroy the red shirts.

"He accused us of disloyalty and [attempting to] overthrow the monarchy, although we respect the monarchy," Kokaew said.

He added that the red shirts had suffered as a result of Prayuth's actions but could do nothing in response.

In the letter, Kokaew said Prayuth did not deserve the post of Army chief, as he is supposed to protect the country's sovereignty and unity.

Prayuth was a major player behind the 2006 coup, who had failed to evict yellow-shirt protesters when they seized Government House and two Bangkok airports, leading to huge economic damage, the letter stated.

Moreover, Prayuth was one of the commanders who had ordered the military to crack down on the red shirts in May last year, which caused scars and disunity in Thai society, he said.

The letter said that exploiting the monarchy as a political tool benefited the yellow shirts and the ruling Democrat Party but actually helped to destroy the monarchy.

Kokaew asked the Army chief to review whether his role during the past three to four years had been right and asked the military, the yellow shirts and the Democrat Party to stop exploiting the monarchy.

-- The Nation 2011-04-23

[yoshiwara]

Unfortunately, when referring to the monarchy, red pronouncements have little or no value and leaders such as Jatuporn are causing significant disquiet in the ranks as to where Thaksin is heading. Better to ramp up the coup accusations to drown out the other noise.

[SICHONSTEVE]

It's a joke!! The red shirts (18 of them from memory) run down the monarchy on what is essentially their election stage and then accuse the Democrats and the like of using this as a tool, unfairly, against them. Talking about naivity and crass stupidity!!! I'm truly lost for words and THEY can't find the right one's to use clearly

Edited April 23, 2011 by SICHONSTEVE