Prayuth tells military meeting he sacrificed himself to seize power

BANGKOK: -- Coup leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha told a military meeting in the aftermath of the coup that he had to make sacrifice to seize power for the sake of national interests.

The meeting was held at 9 am in the First Infantry Regiment to monitor the situation after the coup. It was attended by Supreme Commander Gen Thanasak Patimaprakorn, commanders-in-chief of the Navy and Air Force and, First Army Area Commander Lt Gen Thirachai Nakwanit and other senior military officials.

The commanders of the Second, Third and Fourth Army areas also joined the meeting through a press conference.

Prayuth told the meeting that he decided to seize power because the conflicts could not be solved.

-- The Nation 2014-05-23

Talks failed yesterday after a cumulative total over the 2 days of 2-3 hours maximum. Hmmmmmmm ...

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.

The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character.

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave

Famous people of the world know that Prayuth is a true hero SALUTE

surely it would be easier form him to squeeze out some xxx millions from Thaksin and than retire in September.

How so very humble

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.

The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character.

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave

Famous people of the world know that Prayuth is a true hero SALUTE

I think that his retirement will not give him an easy life or be that safe ... a brave guy.

Just put the tv back on

He should have dispersed the Crowds much earlier. Had he help maintained order right before the Feb 2 elections he would never be in this position today.

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Sucks when you get a big case just before retiring.

"The commanders of the Second, Third and Fourth Army areas also joined the meeting through a press conference."? Seems to me a video conference would have made sense...

So I finally got the answer.

The Supreme Commander is not supreme. He reports to the Army Chief.

Who would wish to be in General Prayuth's shoes, right now??

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.

The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character.

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave

Famous people of the world know that Prayuth is a true hero SALUTE

lay off the hashish man of many different profile names but the same pic

Will he face the courts once a democratic elected goverment is back, or will he cover his retirement trough a new constitution? The first would be a real sacrifice, the second - not so much.

The 'old elite power' won again. Again, they did it through forcing the people at 'gun point' and the judiciary they set up and interpret laws they've written in the way that suit only their agendas. Creating chaos and hardships to people and country they premeditated and engineered. There is no way they can win the hearts and minds of the people.

It is going to be interesting to see what the reform agendas will be and how the election will be conducted. This time, election boycott and violence could be nationwide, not just in the south and some central area if election laws and constituencies structures are changed to favour the dem. They could also be nationwide demonstrations and rallies calling for the reforming of the independence agencies, judiciaries, the senate, the military and the law enforcement agencies.

The 'old elite power' should adapted themselves to the reality of the emerging power of the people and find a way to engage the people in a positive manner. The people will always be around but not war weapons.

What event can't be mentioned?

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http://youtu.be/YpMEl7wAQ6k

The general must be tired watching the pro and the anti government groups. I am sure that the coup was not his first choice.

He gave more than enough opportunities to let the parties to resolve the issue but he did not see any improvements.

Instead, the Reds were coming to Bangkok with weapons.

If he did not do the coup, we could have another riot in the city.

If he wanted to seize power, he would have done long time ago.

I hope that everything will be smooth.

In general, politicians are greedy self serving <deleted>.

If you look at the Thai politicians, that really explains how greedy and selfish they are. This is true with any politicians with any countries. They are in the dirtiest business, and they steal a lot of money legally too.

It's hard to imagine what some would have preferred as an alternative - another seven months of protests, grenade attacks, and administrative paralysis ? Prayuth wanted to put an end to the violence. He did. He wanted a peaceful end to the rallies. He got that. He wanted to hold all accountable, regardless as to political allegiance. That seems to be happening. He wanted an end to the administrative paralysis, and the formation of a functioning administration. He's on track to getting that. He wanted to get all the protest leaders off the streets - from both sides. He did. He wanted CAPO to end their sea of intimidation. They did. He wanted the Senate, independent agencies and the courts to be safe and free from provocation. They now are. His decision likely has saved lives. It also managed to sever Thaksin's strings - which is a great plus - because Thaksin brought about this very crisis himself with his monumentally selfish amnesty bill. Prayuth has provided the climate for a path forward. And he's done so peacefully.

What has he sacrificed?

What a drama queen this general is.

Talks failed yesterday after a cumulative total over the 2 days of 2-3 hours maximum. Hmmmmmmm ...

Closer to five. But they did have homework!

He should have dispersed the Crowds much earlier. Had he help maintained order right before the Feb 2 elections he would never be in this position today.

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That was the job of the police..... and....

The 'old elite power' won again. Again, they did it through forcing the people at 'gun point' and the judiciary they set up and interpret laws they've written in the way that suit only their agendas. Creating chaos and hardships to people and country they premeditated and engineered. There is no way they can win the hearts and minds of the people.

It is going to be interesting to see what the reform agendas will be and how the election will be conducted. This time, election boycott and violence could be nationwide, not just in the south and some central area if election laws and constituencies structures are changed to favour the dem. They could also be nationwide demonstrations and rallies calling for the reforming of the independence agencies, judiciaries, the senate, the military and the law enforcement agencies.

The 'old elite power' should adapted themselves to the reality of the emerging power of the people and find a way to engage the people in a positive manner. The people will always be around but not war weapons.

How do you know the' old power elite' won again? If the old power elite are the ones who supposedly back the Democrats then I would suggest they've done the Democrats no favours at all. Abhisit spoke out against the coup in 2006 and I suspect he has similar feelings about this one as well as it will make things much harder for him.

Just as a matter of interest what's going to happen to war weapons?

How many Military coups have there been in Thailand?
Have they not extended to well before Yellow vs Red days?

I lean neither yellow nor red as it is neither my business nor my country of citizenship
But, while it seems corruption is rampant on both sides
the supposed savior is no less.

Thailand coup: A brief history of past military coups

General Prayuth will either turn out to be Thailand's national hero or just another despot.... and there's a lot less competition for the former than the latter..

We shall just have to wait and see.

Edited May 23, 201412 yr by bigbamboo

Whats the "sacrifice"?

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What has he sacrificed?

Peace of mind, contentment, possibly his life, only 4 months away from retirement, what spurred the coup?

Orders from above or did the General just lose his temper or patience as he is known to do, and decide enough is enough?

Whatever, he certainly planned it well, he got all the leaders together in one room first to ensure detaining the various factions was easy.

How noble of him.

It was nothing to do with an event we cant talk about, honest it wasnt. For 6 Months he does nothing then changes his heart overnight with little or no violence. Some people still cant see the bigger picture. Amazing.

Are u on another planet, or simply trolling for fun and free?

I guess tully.. would be happier if they waited one more day

How noble of him.

It was nothing to do with an event we cant talk about, honest it wasnt. For 6 Months he does nothing then changes his heart overnight with little or no violence. Some people still cant see the bigger picture. Amazing.

thank god that you are here to enlighten us about the BIGGER picture.

ummmmm you forgot to tell us about your wonderful insight

He's absolutely correct in that he cannot talk about this matter there !

Well well well - we in the UK now have a 5 star new guest who will be most welcome to enjoy the freedoms of the UK.