Martial Law lifted in Thailand

[webfact]

Thai govt lifts martial law but sparks fears by retaining key powers
AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's junta lifted martial law on Wednesday but replaced it with new orders retaining sweeping powers for the military, raising fears the regime is tightening its grip over the kingdom.

Special security measures -- including a ban on political gatherings of more than five people -- will continue to blanket the nation, which has seen civil liberties eroded since the army declared martial law and seized power from an elected government last May.

"As of now there is a royal order to lift martial law across the kingdom," said an announcement on military television, adding that the law will be replaced with new rules under the controversial Section 44 of the interim constitution.

The royal order comes a day after junta chief and premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha said he had asked the 87-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej for permission to lift the law.

The new measures will address "any actions that will destroy peace and order, and national security, also any violations against the NCPO (junta)", said the announcement late Wednesday in a move that grants the military many similar powers as under martial law.

Political rallies of more than five people remain outlawed and the media still faces censorship with the new ruling saying authorities have the power to immediately stop the publication or presentation of any news "causing fear or distorted information".

Under martial law the army has been able to prosecute those accused of national security and royal defamation offences -- Thailand has one of the world's strictest lese majeste laws -- in military courts with no right of appeal.

On Tuesday Prayut said that while military courts would still be used for security offences post the lifting of martial law, convictions could be appealed to higher tribunals.

However the announcement Wednesday did not state whether the right to appeal had now been granted, or whether royal defamation cases would continue to be prosecuted through military courts.

- 'April Fool's day trick'? -

Thailand's generals took over last May after months of often violent street protests that led to the ousting of Yingluck Shinawatra's democratically-elected government.

It marked the latest chapter in a decade of political conflict broadly pitting Bangkok's middle classes and the royalist elite -- backed by parts of the military and judiciary -- against pro-Shinawatra urban working-class voters and farmers from the country's north.

Critics say Section 44 allows Prayut to wield even greater powers than martial law.

"No one should be fooled by the lifting of martial law... activation of Section 44 puts Thailand in a deepening dictatorship," said Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch in a statement, adding Prayut now "becomes a strongman with ultimate power in his hands".

Under Section 44, the junta chief can unilaterally issue orders to suppress "any act that undermines public peace and order or national security, the monarchy, national economics or the administration of state affairs".

Political commentator Verapat Pariyawong described the move to replace martial law "with something even worse" as an "April Fool's day trick".

"The junta realises the situation is very unstable at the moment. They know they lack legitimacy. That is why they have to maintain such a tight grip," the London-based analyst told AFP by telephone.

Rights groups say basic freedoms have been severely curtailed since the military took over and lese majeste legislation has been increasingly used to stifle political opposition.

Lifting martial law is an attempt to "convince people the situation is getting better, but the real substance of it (new orders) is worse", Verapat added.

Thailand has been mired in political turmoil since Yingluck's older brother Thaksin was toppled in a previous coup nearly nine years ago.

The populist leader or parties allied to him have won every election since 2001 and the Bangkok elite -- along with the military and swathes of the judiciary -- have spent years trying to unpick their electoral prowess -- culminating in last year's takeover.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-04-02

[CraigSchuler]

Who ever paid attention to it anyway?

[JOC]

Catch 44!!

[MaxLee]

Please leave the network communication, fashion designers alone,...

[JOC]

>>The populist leader or parties allied to him have won every election since 2001 and the Bangkok elite -- along with the military and swathes of the judiciary -- have spent years trying to unpick their electoral prowess -- culminating in last year's takeover.<<

Interesting reading for the junta-lovers...............

You are supporting people and a system belonging in a time long gone by!!!

[JOC]

>>Rights groups say basic freedoms have been severely curtailed since the military took over and lese majeste legislation has been increasingly used to stifle political opposition<<

What a shame we are not allowed to comment on that one...................

[BSJ]

As a foreigner I may not feel the effects of Article 44. I know when to stop talking and start whistling!

[Commerce]

"As of now there is a royal order to lift martial law across the kingdom," said an announcement on military television, adding that the law will be replaced with new rules under the controversial Section 44 of the interim constitution.

The royal order comes a day after junta chief and premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha said he had asked the 87-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej for permission to lift the law.

__________________________

I don't quite get this bit. A royal order to lift martial law, yet Prayut had to ask His Majesty for permission to lift the law?

Does this mean that when Prayut undertook the coup and imposed martial law it was by royal decree? I'm confused.

[ronwparker]

same old story will go on -this country was never a true democracy

[maddermax]

'Under Section 44, the junta chief can unilaterally issue orders to suppress "any act that undermines public peace and order .....'

Does this mean he will be stopping the loud events, pickup trucks and 3 car banner/speaker advertising pickups cruising at 5 kph?

As far as I'm concerned he can stay in power as he has done a better job than the politicians to date. Corruption is down and the police appear to be doing what they are supposed to do.

[Commerce]

'Under Section 44, the junta chief can unilaterally issue orders to suppress "any act that undermines public peace and order .....'

Does this mean he will be stopping the loud events, pickup trucks and 3 car banner/speaker advertising pickups cruising at 5 kph?

As far as I'm concerned he can stay in power as he has done a better job than the politicians to date. Corruption is down and the police appear to be doing what they are supposed to do.

Corruption is down and the police appear to be doing what they are supposed to do???????

Any evidence to corroborate this?

[yellowboat]

Same same, but far more authoritative ? Is that the slogan for the new t-shirt ? "Same same but different" does not seem to have same meaning anymore. Wonder if the travel insurance underwriters will fall for this scam.

[crazykopite]

By my understanding section 44 is far worse than Martial Law if this is correct Thailand is going backwards !!!!!

[NongKhaiKid]

I've seen various comments from officialdom trying to sell this by saying the international community was against martial law and we have lifted it.

Are they so stupid as to think the international community won't read Art 44 and see the absolute control it imparts with the inherent dangers that brings ?

The only ones the powers that be are conning are themselves.

[SuwadeeS]

They just rename the name "Martial law" into "Law 44".

[JOC]

"As of now there is a royal order to lift martial law across the kingdom," said an announcement on military television, adding that the law will be replaced with new rules under the controversial Section 44 of the interim constitution.

The royal order comes a day after junta chief and premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha said he had asked the 87-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej for permission to lift the law.

__________________________

I don't quite get this bit. A royal order to lift martial law, yet Prayut had to ask His Majesty for permission to lift the law?

Does this mean that when Prayut undertook the coup and imposed martial law it was by royal decree? I'm confused.

As a formality the King has to approve anything to do with the daily running of Thailand (Head of State)

For the same reason the coup makers are endorsed after the coup.

I suggest we leave it there...................

[sydneyjed]

What ever eventuates..remember it was the army that put him in power and it will be the army that takes him out!

Edited April 2, 2015 by sydneyjed

[Commerce]

They just rename the name "Martial law" into "Law 44".

Not quite that simple. There are many additional connotations to Article 44 invoking absolute power to one man. Martial law, up until recently, hasn't been a one man band.

[themerg]

I got in Thailand on 27/09/2558. I asked about 20 people about the junta and martial law. Out of that 20 people--NO ONE knew there was a junta in control, that there was another coup, that martial law was in effect or that there was a curfew. You ain't in Kansas anymore. You are in the wonderful Kingdom of Thailand.

[smedly]

By my understanding section 44 is far worse than Martial Law if this is correct Thailand is going backwards !!!!!

worse for who ?

do you want to compare the last 5 months with the same period 2013 -14 see if you can spot the difference

I'll give you a head start - the Thaksin funded red terrorist are no longer murdering people on the streets

[jacko45k]

Wasn't someone just sentenced to 25 years by a military court.

Hardly indicative of the removal of 'martial law'.....

[northernjohn]

By my understanding section 44 is far worse than Martial Law if this is correct Thailand is going backwards !!!!!

and if it is not correct-------------------------------------------

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

same old story will go on -this country was never a true democracy

Which County is? When the system only hears the voices of the bankers and big corporations then how is that considered democracy?

[emilymat]

I got in Thailand on 27/09/2558. I asked about 20 people about the junta and martial law. Out of that 20 people--NO ONE knew there was a junta in control, that there was another coup, that martial law was in effect or that there was a curfew. You ain't in Kansas anymore. You are in the wonderful Kingdom of Thailand.

I'm not sure if the 20 people to whom you refer were in Thailand or Kansas, it's not quite clear. However, I find it difficult to believe 20 Thai's/ex pats did not know about the current situation. If it was the case, maybe they did not want to say anything!.

But, I suppose you could ask any 20 people in the street about the political situation in Upper Volta and probably get a blank look.

I remember reading years ago that a poll in one of the US southern states revealed that around 8% did not know who was the US President.

That's not a dig at the US, but a fact that most people in most countries are cocooned in their own life and not particularly interested in politics - particularly that of other countries.

It's not what the ordinary people know or think, it's the attitude of foreign governments that concern this present regime.

[webfact]

Thailand junta replaces martial law with absolute power
JOCELYN GECKER, Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's junta lifted martial law in most of the nation, but 10 months after staging a coup, it remains firmly in control — with new laws invoked Wednesday that essentially give it absolute power.

The government of former army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha had faced growing pressure from foreign governments, human rights groups and particularly Thailand's own business community to revoke martial law.

Although it wasn't generally visible in everyday life — there were few soldiers in the streets — it scared off foreign investors and hurt tourism, which accounts for nearly 10 percent of the GDP. Tour operators called it a tourist deterrent, partly because many insurance companies won't cover travelers to countries under martial law.

Thailand's king on Wednesday formally approved a request from the junta that martial law be lifted.

In its place, though, the junta invoked a special security measure called Article 44 in the military-imposed interim constitution that gives Prayuth the power to override any branch of government in the name of national security, and absolves him of any legal responsibility for his actions.

Thai media have referred to it as "the dictator law." Under similar legislation in the 1960s, a Thai dictator carried out summary executions.

"From the outside, the lifting of martial law is good news for business and tourism," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist and director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

"But from the inside, we're functionally in the same boat," he said about Article 44. "Similar restrictions are still in place. And where there are pockets of dissent and political expression it is likely to be more draconian."

The main difference between the two measures is that martial law — which remains in place in several southern provinces where the army is fighting a decade-old Islamic insurgency — is very specific and Article 44 is very vague.

Martial law places the military in charge of public security and allows arrests without warrants, trials of suspects in military courts, bans on public gatherings, and censorship in the name of preserving order.

The junta issued one order with 14 articles late Wednesday under Article 44 that are similar, giving the military the authority to make arrests, conduct searches and seize assets, censor the media and crack down on any threats to national security or the monarchy. Some reiterated previous junta orders imposed after last year's coup, like bans on political rallies of more than five people and threats to jail those who violate junta orders. Other orders under the article could be issued later.

The New York-based group Human Rights Watch said the decision to invoke Article 44 marked "Thailand's deepening descent into dictatorship."

"Thailand's friends abroad should not be fooled by this obvious sleight of hand by the junta leader to replace martial law with a constitutional provision that effectively provides unlimited and unaccountable powers," said Brad Adams, the group's Asia director.

Thailand's military has a history of intervening in politics, having seized power 12 times since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.

Prayuth imposed martial law on May 20, 2014, when he was the country's army chief. On May 22, he led a coup that toppled the elected civilian government after months of sometimes-violent street protests.

Stability was restored but at a steep price. Thailand's democratic institutions were dismantled, and the country's authoritarian rulers have crushed dissent.

Critics say the coup leaders' real goal is to eliminate the political influence of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a 2006 coup. His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted by a court ruling just days before last year's coup and later barred from holding office for five years.

The coup was part of a societal schism that in broad terms pits the majority rural poor, who back the Shinawatras, against an urban-based elite that is supported by the army and staunch royalists, who see the Shinawatras as a threat to the traditional structures of power.

Since the coup, the junta has moved to consolidate power. In July, the military adopted the interim 48-article constitution and formed a junta-appointed legislature. In August, the legislature appointed Prayuth as prime minister — a post he said he will retain until elections, though no date has been set. Polls were initially promised for this year, then pushed to sometime in 2016.

Prayuth sought to downplay concerns about Article 44, saying nobody had made much fuss about it until now.

"Article 44 will be exercised constructively," Prayuth said. "Don't worry, if you're not doing anything wrong, there's no need to be afraid."
__

Associated Press writers Thanyarat Doksone, Grant Peck and Todd Pitman contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-04-02

[NanLaew]

>>Rights groups say basic freedoms have been severely curtailed since the military took over and lese majeste legislation has been increasingly used to stifle political opposition<<

What a shame we are not allowed to comment on that one...................

Now that Article 44 prevails, not only will you still be restricted from commenting on lese majeste, you will be further restricted from commenting on that restriction.

[Pib]

Wasn't someone just sentenced to 25 years by a military court.

Hardly indicative of the removal of 'martial law'.....

Done while martial law was still in effect. Lifting of martial law does not cancel actions already accomplished while martial law was still in effect such as cases tried in a military court.

[Jim walker]

There will never be democracy in Thailand as long as the military has a smidgen of power, the country has always been run by the Privy Council and probably always will until all military powers are reduced to being in a military context only like defending the people and fending off invaders like the farang hoards. Not taking over the country and punishing the elected peoples government of the land, and electing their own soldier PM of a country what a nation Thailand is no wonder the poor peoples only option is to take to the streets, they have no one to look after them only themselves.

[lucky11]

>>The populist leader or parties allied to him have won every election since 2001 and the Bangkok elite -- along with the military and swathes of the judiciary -- have spent years trying to unpick their electoral prowess -- culminating in last year's takeover.<<

Interesting reading for the junta-lovers...............

You are supporting people and a system belonging in a time long gone by!!!

So lying, cheating, making false irresponsible promises, buying votes and duping people is electoral prowess!!! Furthermore, democracy always ends at the ballot box for your lot as it seems to be a free for all once they have burgled their way into power. The 'democracy' handbook is thrown out as it is not needed any more.

You can only claim democracy once you have won a free and fair election (such as under the revised electoral system in the new charter) and abide by democratic laws and rules thereafter for the period of your tenure.

Don't worry, if, as I suspect, it is going to be nigh impossible for Pheu Thai related parties to win an election through FIXING the rules in such a way to prevent them.

Then as soon as you lot start bleating that the rules are unfair and biased against you then I will come straight back and tell you "they were democratically elected by the people" and you cannot raise a single word of complaint!!.

[Srikcir]

"As of now there is a royal order to lift martial law across the kingdom," said an announcement on military television, adding that the law will be replaced with new rules under the controversial Section 44 of the interim constitution.

The royal order comes a day after junta chief and premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha said he had asked the 87-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej for permission to lift the law.

__________________________

I don't quite get this bit. A royal order to lift martial law, yet Prayut had to ask His Majesty for permission to lift the law? alt=w00t.gif>

Does this mean that when Prayut undertook the coup and imposed martial law it was by royal decree? I'm confused.

The Junta's abolishment of the 2007 Constitution (with exception of Article 1 with the King as Head of State) and imposition of martial law was done without any apparent official endorsement. However, the Junta's Interim Charter that replaced the 2007 Constitution as the rule of law was endorsed on July 22, 2014. It is the Interim Charter that under Articles 17 and 44 that gives the Junta absolute power over Thais rights and liberties.

You should understand that Thailand is a constitutional monarchy much like the UK. Since 1932 when the Thai military overthrew the absolute powers of the King, the King of Thailand serves as Head of State like Queen Elizabeth II and spiritual leader of the country, but wields no outright political authority. As such, the role of a constitutional monarchy is often viewed as ceremonial.

I hope that helps.