NationThailand-May 31
Outgoing Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha appears to be having a hard time moving on from his crushing election loss. On Wednesday, he warned the party that won the most seats in May 14 vote – Move Forward – against amending Article 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as the lese majeste law. Soldiers, police and many more Thais do not agree with the Move Forward’s plan to amend Article 112, Prayut told reporters after a National Defence Council meeting at the Defence Ministry. Prayut is also the outgoing defence minister. When asked if he was against amending Article 112, Prayut said: “Of course. It has to be that way. It is in the heart of soldiers, police, civil servants, and many people,” he added. Move Forward promised during the election campaign that it would amend Article 112 so the crime could no longer be used as a political tool. But after Move Forward won the May 14 election, it left amending Article 112 out of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) it signed with the seven other parties that are part of its coalition. Move Forward will seek to amend Article 112 on its own, the MoU states. Move Forward also vowed to reduce the size of the military and end mandatory conscription. Prayut told reporters that the military has its own reform plans.
“To change the armed forces, one must also take the context of Thailand into account. Thailand is not like other nations. It wouldn’t be appropriate to use a model of other countries to reform our military,” explained Prayut. He led a coup in 2014 and has run Thailand ever since. Read more at:
