NCPO grants police powers to military

[Artisi]

Is this the Georgia route? Will we see the useless police force completely disbanded as soon as the military feels comfortable in its new role?

Shutting down the police force farce will have zero negative effect on the daily running of Thailand. Every position in the police farce should then be deemed vacant and positions opened for applications to refill the vacancies, employment to be based on merit, education, and backed by references from normal Thai citizens, not bought positions, or mates of mates or special hand-shakes.

[Artisi]

"...rooting out underworld influences and unduly “influential people” in the economy and society."

This is exactly what most people have been demanding for decades.

Using soldiers to arrest heavily-armed underworld groups and crime-bosses, is just basic common sense, because many serious gangsters have the kind of firepower that would put the lives of normal policemen and policewomen in danger.

So I will wait and see, I hope that they do break up underworld gangs, and apprehend the crime bosses.

I know I will be barbecued for writing this.

naive and surprising from you I must say

I'm surprised that it is surprising. I've been flame-grilled on this site for being a Junta Fangirl for several years, just for basically recognising that action must be taken to prevent macro corruption on all levels of society, and for not wanting to see more crime-related misery in the lives of normal honest working people.

The other point about army being used to break-up organised crime and corrupted positions in society, is two main points.

One, local police have to live in the same community, and they may be working under positions that have been compromised. So it may be hard to even engage in operations against influential local villains, if those villains have compromised certain positions in the force. On this same point, police in the area should rightly fear repercussions against themselves or their families, if they are identified as being involved in busting corrupt underworld figures, who have tentacles everywhere.

Secondly, and connected to the first point, is that army can be drafted in from other regions, they remain anonymous to the local crooks who may have compromised positions in the local force. Police can not really be moved from other regions, as that would leave their home regions vulnerable to higher crime rates. But a national army is by its nature national and can be relocated for purposes of anonymity, in situations where corruption and intimidation has spread deeply into a local community.

There is no actual way to convey the damage that corruption and crime does to a nation, how it saps the wealth from the nation, or the fear that normal working people have to live in, when there are compromised and corrupted authority positions in their community. So you have to weigh those terrible problems, alongside a military component in response to the problems.

And how is making one of the principal corrupting forces responsible for "law and order" without any checks or balances going to help?

and do you think the BIB have any responsibility what-so-ever for law and order, and would they even know what a check or balance is, unless it's a cheque or a (bank) balance.

[Artisi]

"...rooting out underworld influences and unduly “influential people” in the economy and society."

This is exactly what most people have been demanding for decades.

Using soldiers to arrest heavily-armed underworld groups and crime-bosses, is just basic common sense, because many serious gangsters have the kind of firepower that would put the lives of normal policemen and policewomen in danger.

So I will wait and see, I hope that they do break up underworld gangs, and apprehend the crime bosses.

I know I will be barbecued for writing this.

As you should be chicken little. In order to stamp out corruption, it must be replaced with something. Most Thai officials cannot survive on their wages alone. Giving heavy handed oafs god like powers is just creating government sponsored gangsters. Thinking like this puts the whole country at risk. Thailand needs to create courts that are not swayed be politics.

I eagerly await your complete manifesto for reforming a system with macro-corruption on all tiers.

"Needs to create courts that are not swayed" is of course essential in all nations, but is not in itself a solution to the current situation at ground level here.

On the wages, we agree. And the hope would be that once a nation stops losing so much money to corruption, it will benefit everyone financially long-term. Not least because a tourist nation such as Thailand, will see a huge increase in middle-class big-spending family-tourism, if that nation eradicates corruption and crime.

"In order to stamp out corruption, it must be replaced with something." Yes, it must be replaced with "no corruption." By using force to break-up organised crime and compromised authority figures.

" "In order to stamp out corruption, it must be replaced with something." Yes, it must be replaced with "no corruption." By using force to break-up organised crime and compromised authority figures."

Step No 1 for Thailand's recovery.

[Thian]

The Police also work nationwide. I know one policeman who regularly works at the other side of the country, for a week or months in row.

My point, which you deftly side-stepped, was that army units from another region, would most likely not be known to the crooks who have a corrupt stranglehold in a different region. Local police in that region would be very much on display, troops from another region would not. Was my point.

Allright i 'll write it in baby-language, hopefully you understand it then.

My policefriend from Bangkok is member of a special team which works in Phuket, Chaing mai, Pattaya to arrest the bad boys there. After that they come back to BKK for a while and get a new mission.

Now you figure out why they work that way......

[MZurf]

I'm a fan of Prayuth. I'm not a fan of the BIB. The only time the BIB do their jobs is if they can get paid. A big part of Thailand's problems is the corruption and the police are just not going to do anything about it. Therefore, Prayuth makes this move.

Let's save the condamnation. It's ridiculous. He's trying to clean the cesspool.

"A big part of Thailand's problems is the corruption and the police are just not going to do anything about it. Therefore, Prayuth makes this move."

Agreed about the police force being a big problem. So why doesn't Uncle Too start reforming the police? Have you ever asked yourself that question? If you had then this might have cleared up some misconceptions you apparently have about the motivation of the self styled PM.

"Let's save the condamnation. It's ridiculous."

No, it's not. It's based on tons of previous experience.

"He's trying to clean the cesspool."

You do understand that in order to clean a cesspool cleaning only a small part of it still makes it a cesspool, right? Now, if he threw open the books on all junta members and welcomed scrutiny then THAT would be a first meaningful step towards reform.

Everything else is just window dressing and access to trough assurance.

[retarius]

This is an extremely bad development. Military for external threats, police for internal. If only we could get the police to enforce laws instead of having two-week quick money crackdowns. RTP is a failed institution. It needs an enema.

[jesimps]

"...rooting out underworld influences and unduly influential people in the economy and society."

This is exactly what most people have been demanding for decades.

Using soldiers to arrest heavily-armed underworld groups and crime-bosses, is just basic common sense, because many serious gangsters have the kind of firepower that would put the lives of normal policemen and policewomen in danger.

So I will wait and see, I hope that they do break up underworld gangs, and apprehend the crime bosses.

I know I will be barbecued for writing this.

Not really. Just wondering why it took one of you fanboys so long to invent an excuse.

[Yunla]

The Police also work nationwide. I know one policeman who regularly works at the other side of the country, for a week or months in row.

My point, which you deftly side-stepped, was that army units from another region, would most likely not be known to the crooks who have a corrupt stranglehold in a different region. Local police in that region would be very much on display, troops from another region would not. Was my point.

Allright i 'll write it in baby-language, hopefully you understand it then.

My policefriend from Bangkok is member of a special team which works in Phuket, Chaing mai, Pattaya to arrest the bad boys there. After that they come back to BKK for a while and get a new mission.

Now you figure out why they work that way......

That is very sensible.

How many of those special mobile teams are there? Are they numerous and solid enough to face down serious criminal networks in every major city and town? I don't doubt for an instant that there are police such as those you describe. I do however doubt that they are in the sort of numbers that may be needed for prolonged large-scale anti-corruption purges.

The army are numerous enough, and solid enough for this task. And they would be leaving bases, not leaving active policing posts in other regions.

[tuanku]

Not a dictatorship (forum rules) but a Khakistocracy

Khakistocracy (from khaki and kakistocracy) is a portmanteau word used to refer to the military rule of a country often in collusion with the elite and business classes. This is primarily done to garner support and to perpetuate the military regime. This has been observed in countries as diverse as Nigeria, Pakistan, Egypt, Portugal, Thailand, Iraq, and North Korea. Nice club to be in! What a pleasant group of countries!

[HenryB]

For all of us who fellow the law Thailand shall become a better place

[Artisi]

Nothing to do with supplementing/assisting the police in fighting organized crime, everything to do with further consolidating the grip on power.

And @ "Pedro 01", it began with the coup. Just because it hasn't impacted your lifestyle doesn't mean that it isn't happening, nor does it mean that it isn't affecting the Thais.

Still, you've got your chill pills - possibly the most naive and foolish response - as well as being staggeringly contemptuous of the people amongst whom you live.

Aaaaah "The Thais".

Well - my wife is Thai, my kids are Thai, my employees are Thai, my Maid is Thai, I have lots of Thai relatives.

None of these people have been negatively impacted by the coup. I know that because we are allowed to discuss it openly without fear. And so we do.

The only observable impact is that we no longer have to worry about street protests. Having been caught in Silom when shooting started and having the army come and grab me to get me to shelter, I am happy for that.

I've discussed this with many of the Thais I know, with very few exceptions (the girl that cuts my hair), people feel much safer now but there is a general sentiment of disappointment about the lack of action since the coup.

So you can comment I an naive, foolish and contemptuous if you like. Carry on saying it's like Nazi German here, that there are no freedoms ya de ya de ya. What I am is informed. You guys banging the "fear" and "nazi" drum are out of touch with reality.

Life hasn't changed here.

I agree, all my extended Thai family that range from highly qualified academics, business people to shop-keepers to stay at home mums etc. are getting on with life very nicely, some disagree with the coup, some don't, some dislike Payut, some like him, some have no opinion what-so-ever on the subject - but nothing has impacted their lives and most agree that everything is running a lot more smoothly and many "Big-Noodles" are getting their just desserts and not before time.

So "fear", "nazi" regime etc. is just meaningless waffle from the ill-informed or those with a vested interest who don't want change as it will impact their life style / benefits / position.

[jamesbrock]

Is this the Georgia route? Will we see the useless police force completely disbanded as soon as the military feels comfortable in its new role?

Shutting down the police force farce will have zero negative effect on the daily running of Thailand. Every position in the police farce should then be deemed vacant and positions opened for applications to refill the vacancies, employment to be based on merit, education, and backed by references from normal Thai citizens, not bought positions, or mates of mates or special hand-shakes.

That is actually one possible good that might be able to come from this power grab that I hadn't considered.

With the RTA doing the job of the RTP, it would be a great time to do a complete top-to-bottom restructure of the RTP, decentralising its command structure, and transferring its reporting to the Ministry of Justice, recruiting overseas advisors/trainers, imposing strict ethical guidelines, sacking every single one of the tens of thousands of criminals currently sitting in inactive posts, thinning out the bloated top echelons, and providing a living wage to officers.

Of course, a properly functioning police force is just the start; a fair and impartial Judiciary, an effective democratically elected government, reforming the military and making it accountable to the democratically elected government, removing military personnel from all government positions and board/management positions in all state enterprises, and establishing government-appointed independent oversight bodies for both the military and RTP, and make their budgets transparent would pretty much be the end-goal. I can't see Prayuth even contemplating any of that.

[smedly]

"...rooting out underworld influences and unduly “influential people” in the economy and society."

This is exactly what most people have been demanding for decades.

Using soldiers to arrest heavily-armed underworld groups and crime-bosses, is just basic common sense, because many serious gangsters have the kind of firepower that would put the lives of normal policemen and policewomen in danger.

So I will wait and see, I hope that they do break up underworld gangs, and apprehend the crime bosses.

I know I will be barbecued for writing this.

naive and surprising from you I must say

according to you everyone on TVF is naïve apart from yourself, it is a word you constantly use to undermine other contributions to TVF

as far as I can see there are two issues here

1. Is there something that needs done about local mafias and influential people, I think that most would agree there is

2, should it be the military or current government taking the initiative, well as I keep saying on these discussions - nobody else has ever made such a bold move, it remains to be seen and will be measured by results

nobody else is going to do and that is for sure

[thesetat2013]

So does this mean I can go get a soldier to arrest a cop for trying to make me pay a bribe?

This country is slipping further away from freedom of its people and soon, will affect its tourism dollars if it continues.

Yu'p sure can, But it'll cost ya 400 bath for the soldier rather than the 200 bath for the cop, Now that's progress huh.

And where are the TVF fanboy's of this mob? conveniently quiet yet again when there is a story like this. Difficult to justify this as well huh fella's...

Oh they will.

"But but Thaksin....."

Hard to say which would be better! A PTP dictator ruling or the current Junta. I'm going to have to say the Junta because so far nobody has disappeared or been killed.

[baboon]

Nothing to do with supplementing/assisting the police in fighting organized crime, everything to do with further consolidating the grip on power.

And @ "Pedro 01", it began with the coup. Just because it hasn't impacted your lifestyle doesn't mean that it isn't happening, nor does it mean that it isn't affecting the Thais.

Still, you've got your chill pills - possibly the most naive and foolish response - as well as being staggeringly contemptuous of the people amongst whom you live.

Aaaaah "The Thais".

Well - my wife is Thai, my kids are Thai, my employees are Thai, my Maid is Thai, I have lots of Thai relatives.

None of these people have been negatively impacted by the coup. I know that because we are allowed to discuss it openly without fear. And so we do.

The only observable impact is that we no longer have to worry about street protests. Having been caught in Silom when shooting started and having the army come and grab me to get me to shelter, I am happy for that.

I've discussed this with many of the Thais I know, with very few exceptions (the girl that cuts my hair), people feel much safer now but there is a general sentiment of disappointment about the lack of action since the coup.

So you can comment I an naive, foolish and contemptuous if you like. Carry on saying it's like Nazi German here, that there are no freedoms ya de ya de ya. What I am is informed. You guys banging the "fear" and "nazi" drum are out of touch with reality.

Life hasn't changed here.

Life hasn't changed here for you, you mean, which is all you care about.

Of course you and yours can discuss what is going on without fear: you are playing on the side of the House.

As for "Carry on saying it's like Nazi German here, that there are no freedoms ya de ya de ya." Freedom is how free your opponent is.

Look, let's cut to the chase here. Soldiers last night were granted sweeping authority to conduct warrantless searches of homes, seize assets and detain civilians without charge and you are just fine with that. I think that tells the reader all they need to know about you.

[Plutojames88]

I am genuinely saddened by the direction Thailand is taking, having spent many decades here; I just cant believe what has happened here over the past 5 years

At lease We expats have the choice to leave and tourists have many other Countrys as options, but the average thai is basically in an open military prison

Very sad day for thailand and this can only end in blood

We're you in a future time reading these events as they unfold from a book the period at hand , regarding Thailand and present day Military.

You might get tempted were you the anxious reader to guess the next few pages.

Warning signs are usually Hallmarks in Historical events and their lead ups.

German ghettos and the Star of David as an example might have you thinking what's next.

Absolute power in other circumstances ?

Slow degradation of civil rights and arrests in another.

Puppet politicians ...words that seem to point to the Road ahead.

Changes.

We're something major to transpire in the future that we at present can't yet read.

Surely the page we are currently on sound off alarm bells.?

Read this again....Soldiers can enter and arrest citizens .....

They may do worse .?

Media may never hear.

Suppression .

It's now officially a military state in practice ...

Draconian in nature

The beginning of a true military authority exercising demands .

Fear.

At what point do Expats pause and quietly in the light of day consider what's unfolding?

Could this be the warning sign?

A time where leaving now or soon is still a very easy option with complete safety .?

Suddenly this isn't a political game

International relations will not stand for these types of interventions .

This in turn could spark protests and then clashes .

It's getting dangerous

Edited March 31, 2016 by Plutojames88

[Thian]

The Police also work nationwide. I know one policeman who regularly works at the other side of the country, for a week or months in row.

My point, which you deftly side-stepped, was that army units from another region, would most likely not be known to the crooks who have a corrupt stranglehold in a different region. Local police in that region would be very much on display, troops from another region would not. Was my point.

Allright i 'll write it in baby-language, hopefully you understand it then.

My policefriend from Bangkok is member of a special team which works in Phuket, Chaing mai, Pattaya to arrest the bad boys there. After that they come back to BKK for a while and get a new mission.

Now you figure out why they work that way......

That is very sensible.

How many of those special mobile teams are there? Are they numerous and solid enough to face down serious criminal networks in every major city and town? I don't doubt for an instant that there are police such as those you describe. I do however doubt that they are in the sort of numbers that may be needed for prolonged large-scale anti-corruption purges.

The army are numerous enough, and solid enough for this task. And they would be leaving bases, not leaving active policing posts in other regions.

Those special teams are not allowed to speak about their job/missions. They just "work for the government" if asked. I don't know what they do but they carry guns, all of them because i sometimes meet many friends of them at parties. They just do the more dangerous jobs.

The normal police should do these tasks but they can't/won't do it.

So i'm happy the army steps in since it has to be done to make Thailand a non-corrupt safe country. The police won't arrest themselves or their political leaders so somebody else has to do it.

[MZurf]

Nothing to do with supplementing/assisting the police in fighting organized crime, everything to do with further consolidating the grip on power.

And @ "Pedro 01", it began with the coup. Just because it hasn't impacted your lifestyle doesn't mean that it isn't happening, nor does it mean that it isn't affecting the Thais.

Still, you've got your chill pills - possibly the most naive and foolish response - as well as being staggeringly contemptuous of the people amongst whom you live.

Aaaaah "The Thais".

Well - my wife is Thai, my kids are Thai, my employees are Thai, my Maid is Thai, I have lots of Thai relatives.

None of these people have been negatively impacted by the coup. I know that because we are allowed to discuss it openly without fear. And so we do.

The only observable impact is that we no longer have to worry about street protests. Having been caught in Silom when shooting started and having the army come and grab me to get me to shelter, I am happy for that.

I've discussed this with many of the Thais I know, with very few exceptions (the girl that cuts my hair), people feel much safer now but there is a general sentiment of disappointment about the lack of action since the coup.

So you can comment I an naive, foolish and contemptuous if you like. Carry on saying it's like Nazi German here, that there are no freedoms ya de ya de ya. What I am is informed. You guys banging the "fear" and "nazi" drum are out of touch with reality.

Life hasn't changed here.

I agree, all my extended Thai family that range from highly qualified academics, business people to shop-keepers to stay at home mums etc. are getting on with life very nicely, some disagree with the coup, some don't, some dislike Payut, some like him, some have no opinion what-so-ever on the subject - but nothing has impacted their lives and most agree that everything is running a lot more smoothly and many "Big-Noodles" are getting their just desserts and not before time.

So "fear", "nazi" regime etc. is just meaningless waffle from the ill-informed or those with a vested interest who don't want change as it will impact their life style / benefits / position.

"... and many "Big-Noodles" are getting their just desserts and not before time."

So who are these big noodles, and what's the colour of their shirts?

[Mangostin]

Looking forward to hear what Human rights organizations have to say about this 'Democratic' decision .

You mean the saudis??? They'll probably just behead anyone which doesn't agrees with it, the world is doomed.

[MZurf]

"...rooting out underworld influences and unduly “influential people” in the economy and society."

This is exactly what most people have been demanding for decades.

Using soldiers to arrest heavily-armed underworld groups and crime-bosses, is just basic common sense, because many serious gangsters have the kind of firepower that would put the lives of normal policemen and policewomen in danger.

So I will wait and see, I hope that they do break up underworld gangs, and apprehend the crime bosses.

I know I will be barbecued for writing this.

naive and surprising from you I must say

according to you everyone on TVF is naïve apart from yourself, it is a word you constantly use to undermine other contributions to TVF

as far as I can see there are two issues here

1. Is there something that needs done about local mafias and influential people, I think that most would agree there is

2, should it be the military or current government taking the initiative, well as I keep saying on these discussions - nobody else has ever made such a bold move, it remains to be seen and will be measured by results

nobody else is going to do and that is for sure

Catching criminals is a police job. Since the RTP is dysfunctional the junta leader( with sweeping article 44 powers) would start by reforming the police force top to bottom if he was serious about catching criminals.

But we all see that this isn't happening and most of us understand the reason why. Too bad you're not one of them.

[LannaGuy]

"...rooting out underworld influences and unduly “influential people” in the economy and society."

This is exactly what most people have been demanding for decades.

Using soldiers to arrest heavily-armed underworld groups and crime-bosses, is just basic common sense, because many serious gangsters have the kind of firepower that would put the lives of normal policemen and policewomen in danger.

So I will wait and see, I hope that they do break up underworld gangs, and apprehend the crime bosses.

I know I will be barbecued for writing this.

naive and surprising from you I must say

according to you everyone on TVF is naïve apart from yourself, it is a word you constantly use to undermine other contributions to TVF

as far as I can see there are two issues here

1. Is there something that needs done about local mafias and influential people, I think that most would agree there is

2, should it be the military or current government taking the initiative, well as I keep saying on these discussions - nobody else has ever made such a bold move, it remains to be seen and will be measured by results

nobody else is going to do and that is for sure

Not at all as the vast majority can see it for what it IS and many, unlike you, have greatly matured their view regarding the junta. Nice try but substitute 'everyone on TVF' for 'minority on TVF' and you will be correct and not misrepresent me.

[Artisi]

Is this the Georgia route? Will we see the useless police force completely disbanded as soon as the military feels comfortable in its new role?

Shutting down the police force farce will have zero negative effect on the daily running of Thailand. Every position in the police farce should then be deemed vacant and positions opened for applications to refill the vacancies, employment to be based on merit, education, and backed by references from normal Thai citizens, not bought positions, or mates of mates or special hand-shakes.

That is actually one possible good that might be able to come from this power grab that I hadn't considered.

With the RTA doing the job of the RTP, it would be a great time to do a complete top-to-bottom restructure of the RTP, decentralising its command structure, and transferring its reporting to the Ministry of Justice, recruiting overseas advisors/trainers, imposing strict ethical guidelines, sacking every single one of the tens of thousands of criminals currently sitting in inactive posts, thinning out the bloated top echelons, and providing a living wage to officers.

Of course, a properly functioning police force is just the start; a fair and impartial Judiciary, an effective democratically elected government, reforming the military and making it accountable to the democratically elected government, removing military personnel from all government positions and board/management positions in all state enterprises, and establishing government-appointed independent oversight bodies for both the military and RTP, and make their budgets transparent would pretty much be the end-goal. I can't see Prayuth even contemplating any of that.

Now, let's not over-do-it, one step at a time will suffice.

[webfact]

Prawit defends giving sweeping power to military personnel to tackle crimes



BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon said yesterday that the prime minister's order giving sweeping power to soldiers to crack influential people because the Royal Thai Police has insufficient personnel to handle the task.

He said it was aimed at thwarting criminals who cause trouble for the public.

The deputy prime minister in charge of security was commenting on the announcement of Order No 13/2559 by the prime minister under Section 44 of the interim constitution yesterday giving law enforcement power to soldiers same as the law giving power to the police.

Gen Prawit however said he did not want the public to term the move merely as an anti-mafia operation.

He said there are not enough policemen and therefore the military officers are needed to do the job.

He made clear that the move has nothing to do with police performance.

Under Order 13/2559, military officers from the rank of sub-lieutenant up are given police powers to summon, arrest and detain suspects.

According to Bangkok Post, They are authorised to conduct searches, seize assets, suspend financial transactions and ban suspects from travelling. They can search any property they believe is linked to suspects or their assets.

Besides, searches can be conducted without warrants when there are grounds to believe that suspects could escape before a warrant is obtained.

All officers from the three armed services with the rank of sub-lieutenant and higher will become claw enforcement officers with lower ranks acting as assistants.

They are authorised to deal with a wide range of crimes, ranging from extortion, human trafficking, robbery, fraud, defamation, loan shark, alien workers, gambling, immigration, child protection, , forest encroachment, prostitution, price collusion, and firearms.

The offences must involve either coercion, threats or illegal activities.

Royal Thai Police deputy spokesman Pol Col Krisana Patanacharoen welcomed the move saying this was timely.

Under the current circumstances, enforcement of laws in some criminal case might be time consuming which could disrupt investigation.

It was then necessary to seek help from the military, he said and dismissed claim that the move stemmed from underperformance by the police.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/157662


-- Thai PBS 2016-03-31

[Mangostin]

I seem to recall this EXACT SAME THING happening in Europe about 75 years ago when Hitler gave all his SS commandos police powers.

That worked out great didn't it?

Last week the .PM was on TV around 9:00 pm. He said something along the lines, that children who see their parents doing something wrong or damages the countries image, should tell to stop doing it. English subtitles. I thought at the time is this how it started in 1930s Germany? What next encourage the children to report their parents?

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

Sometime i really struggle to understand what you people really means when writing things like that....

[Mango Bob]

Why not let them give out traffic tickets and let the police do their job. I believe a lot of innocent people will get hurt just like the War on Drugs.

[Just1Voice]

And if people really believe this clown, let me tell you about a bridge I have for sale in Brooklyn. Going cheap.

[Eric Loh]

Serious about ridding the underworld and criminal elements; junta PM should use Art 44 to totally reform the police reform. If he is not doing that than this granting of unbridle power to the military is for political reason. This one-off action will never get rid of the underworld; just drive them underground and stay low until the heat is off. Nothing short of a major reform and revamp of the RTP will eradicate the criminal scourge.

[CantSpell]

I'm a fan of Prayuth. I'm not a fan of the BIB. The only time the BIB do their jobs is if they can get paid. A big part of Thailand's problems is the corruption and the police are just not going to do anything about it. Therefore, Prayuth makes this move.

Let's save the condamnation. It's ridiculous. He's trying to clean the cesspool.

He is a white angel from heaven as all the military generals are?

None of them have any "dark connection"??

"...rooting out underworld influences and unduly “influential people” in the economy and society."

This is exactly what most people have been demanding for decades.

Using soldiers to arrest heavily-armed underworld groups and crime-bosses, is just basic common sense, because many serious gangsters have the kind of firepower that would put the lives of normal policemen and policewomen in danger.

So I will wait and see, I hope that they do break up underworld gangs, and apprehend the crime bosses.

I know I will be barbecued for writing this.

naive and surprising from you I must say

I'm surprised that it is surprising. I've been flame-grilled on this site for being a Junta Fangirl for several years, just for basically recognising that action must be taken to prevent macro corruption on all levels of society, and for not wanting to see more crime-related misery in the lives of normal honest working people.

The other point about army being used to break-up organised crime and corrupted positions in society, is two main points.

One, local police have to live in the same community, and they may be working under positions that have been compromised. So it may be hard to even engage in operations against influential local villains, if those villains have compromised certain positions in the force. On this same point, police in the area should rightly fear repercussions against themselves or their families, if they are identified as being involved in busting corrupt underworld figures, who have tentacles everywhere.

Secondly, and connected to the first point, is that army can be drafted in from other regions, they remain anonymous to the local crooks who may have compromised positions in the local force. Police can not really be moved from other regions, as that would leave their home regions vulnerable to higher crime rates. But a national army is by its nature national and can be relocated for purposes of anonymity, in situations where corruption and intimidation has spread deeply into a local community.

There is no actual way to convey the damage that corruption and crime does to a nation, how it saps the wealth from the nation, or the fear that normal working people have to live in, when there are compromised and corrupted authority positions in their community. So you have to weigh those terrible problems, alongside a military component in response to the problems.

That is a good post and would be a very valid point in maybe another country...

They take police power to clear the mafioso with "dark connections"?

In the country were I live, all the rich and influential have connections, that is how they are influential...

As said in a movie: "who is going to control the ones in control"

So who is to decide, of all the people with connections, who is "dark" and who is not??

Sounds to me like the witch hunt has stepped up one pace..

I would be very glad if they could show 100% that they are "angels from heaven" but what we saw in the last two years has definitely not convinced me yet...

[smedly]

I think there are a few people here that don't realise just how deep this problem is in Thailand or they are part of it, either way there is a criminal corrupt organised devisive element in this country and it is getting worse, if the current administration feel the need to invoke special powers to deal with it then they get no argument from me, it happens everywhere in the world when a problem gets so serious, USA UK do it and watch what is going to happen in the EU over the next 12 months, just a few days ago 4 governors were removed from office, slowly but surely these people are being routed out and cleansed from Thai society for good - I hope it continues

[TKDfella]

"...rooting out underworld influences and unduly “influential people” in the economy and society."

This is exactly what most people have been demanding for decades.

Using soldiers to arrest heavily-armed underworld groups and crime-bosses, is just basic common sense, because many serious gangsters have the kind of firepower that would put the lives of normal policemen and policewomen in danger.

So I will wait and see, I hope that they do break up underworld gangs, and apprehend the crime bosses.

I know I will be barbecued for writing this.

The other alternative, and in my opinion the correct one, would be to improve the police force and other investigation depts. Danger is what one should expect if signing to be a policeman anywhere and hardened gangsters don't just operate in Thailand. This move, imo, is just an excuse by the junta to have more power over the people. What's the next one, dismantling the judicial system and have all army tribunals?

Edited March 31, 2016 by TKDfella