BANGKOK — Junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha today vowed to escalate the suppression of his military regime’s critics and asked the media not to give them a platform.

In an angry outburst to the press at Government House today, Gen. Prayuth warned that his regime, which seized power from the Pheu Thai-led government last May, will escalate its measures against politicians who continue to criticize his government through passport cancellations, military detention, prison terms and even “taping their mouths shut.”

“You cannot oppose me. No one will let you to do that. I hold it that I have given you many chances already,” said the general, who upon seizing power in 2014 placed a ban on protests, political activities and any kind of public challenge to his rule.

Prayuth’s tirade came just amid an uptick of actions against dissenters, all aligned with the former government he removed from power. Just today, junta officials confirmed that Pheu Thai politician Pichai Naripatapan was taken into indefinite military detention yesterday for “attitude adjustment” after he refused to stop criticizing the military junta. Pheu Thai’s Karun Hosakul was also reported today to have been detained today, and last week it pulled the passport of another frequent critic, Chaturon Chaisaeng.

Below is an excerpt of Prayuth’s speech at Government House today.

Reporter: Why did security officers summon Pichai this time? What was his fault?

Prayuth: It’s in accordance with the order, which is about expression of opinions. You media, do you think his opinions are good? What good does it do for the society? Is it going to cause unrest again? I don’t want to use my power, but I have already assigned my power [to the security force]. Therefore, it’s up to them to deliberate. If the opinions appear to challenge the state power, can it be allowed? I have let them off the hook many times already.

Reporter: Is this summons for attitude adjustment or detention?

Prayuth: Oh, we want to give him free food, I guess? Yeah, we treat him to meals.

Reporter: Is he going to be detained for seven days?

Prayuth: I don’t know. They are deliberating on it. How many days can my power detain him? Is it seven? I don’t know. It’s up to the conclusion of the interrogators. That’s how they are taught: The sooner the [detainees] confess, the faster it’s over. If they do not confess, then the case will go on.

Reporter: Was Karun Hosakul also summoned?

Prayuth: Probably.

Reporter: Apart from Pichai, who else will be summoned?

Prayuth: I already told you, I will deliberate on this myself. Whether there will be harsh or soft measures is up to me.

Reporter: So there will be more summons?

Prayuth: I don’t know. We have to see, what causes trouble and unrest in our country. Does the media want this country to be peaceful? People who say bad things and cause harm with their words, should they say those things? If you don’t want to have peace and order, bring them all out. Let them speak whatever they want. And don’t blame me for that. Don’t make me responsible for that.

Reporter: Will you take any action against websites that criticize you?

Prayuth: Relevant officials and the Ministry of ICT [Information, Communication and Technology] are working on it. But I don’t know what they can do, because these websites are based abroad. We can only do something about websites in our country, and we are doing something. If these websites are from abroad, how can we shut them down? For example, YouTube. In legal terms, they don’t have 112 [lese majeste law]. They don’t have that kind of law. We have to respect that.

Reporter: Apart from revoking passports and detentions, will there be other measures?

Prayuth: I’m just going to tape their mouths shut. We are working on this matter. The media doesn’t have to ask everything every day. Don’t force the prime minister to order everything. And as for politicians and political parties that keep talking these days, I beg you, if you don’t slander me with your words, I will leave you alone. But if you still attack the government, let me ask you, who will let you do that? Especially my type of government. No one can speak like that. In the past, I let you talk and write on social media. You can write anything. But you cannot oppose me. No one will let you to do that. I hold that I have given you many chances already.

Reporter: So only harsh words [will be punished]?

Prayuth: If you are parents with kids, and your children say that kind of thing to you, will you let them? I am not their parent. But let me ask you, if your children disobeyed your order, would you tolerate that? Those people who like to break the laws, they cannot do that to me.

Reporter: What if these people won’t stop?

Prayuth: If they won’t learn, they will be jailed again and again. That’s all. How hard can be it? If they do something wrong again, they will be jailed again.

Reporter: Is this an attempt to discredit you before you travel to the United Nations Assembly?

Prayuth: Why? Are they not going to invite me? The media has to help me sometimes. I ask you, the people who do this kind of thing, do they do good things? The media has to present news with both sides. If you only present the other side, and this country goes to hell, who will be responsible? And this network doesn’t cause me any trouble. When I go abroad, no one shows disgust at me. And when I go abroad, I have someone taking care of the country for me. I am not afraid. If I am afraid, I wouldn’t be standing here.

I know the danger, but 60, 70 million people lost opportunities for all their lives. Farmers, crop growers. What are you going to say to them? Does the media look at them and talk about them at all? You only write for the two sides to fight each other. That’s it. The media never helps me. They only [criticize] me. I am not saying all politicians are bad. Any of them who knows they are bad and fight the case in justice system, and if the system says they are not guilty, then they are not guilty. If they are guilty, they should try to find solutions in the justice system. This is reconciliation.

But these days, they still fight me about the justice system. And why do the media write for these people? Some people seek out foreign news that criticizes me and criticizes Thailand, and they translate it into Thai. I beg you, the media, to show me some fairness. Think carefully: People whose cases are still in the justice system, should you write news for them? You don’t even know if they are going to jail. Why are you helping them? People who fled convictions, who fled abroad, who support anti-monarchy activities, why are you still talking to them? You don’t love the monarchy? You don’t love the country? You question me and make me angry. Society will pressure me. And how can we live like this? We won’t have happiness.

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BANGKOK — The ruling military junta said today former minister Pichai Naripatapan’s latest detention in an army camp – said to be his seventh since the coup – will only end when it deems him to be “cooperative.”

Soldiers showed up to take Pichai away from his home in Bangkok’s Pratunam area yesterday morning and placed him in indefinite military custody at an army camp for “attitude adjustment” due to his criticism of the junta’s economic policies, junta spokesman Winthai Suvaree confirmed today.

“It was necessary to invite Pichai to exchange opinions and reach some understanding with us, in accordance with our usual measure of maintaining peace and order,” Winthai said today, using junta euphemisms for involuntary detention of dissenters. Recenty, Pichai started to express his opinion in violation of the conditions that we asked him to cooperate with.”

Answering a reporter who asked when Pichai – who served as energy minister under the previous government – would be released from custody, Winthai said, “Officials will attempt to create understanding with him. How long it takes depends on his cooperation, and on the judgement of the responsible officials.”

Less than a month had passed since Pichai was taken into military custody 11 Aug. Two days ago on Tuesday, Pichai wrote online that the recent delay to returning Thailand to civilian rule would damage the economy and open the kingdom up to sanctions from democratic nations. His comments were widely reported in the media.

“It’s like he has an agenda to discredit the government with his personal attitude,” Winthai said. "He presents facts in a way that slanders the government with his incomplete information and his attempt to mislead society into losing confidence in the state.”

Former Pheu Thai MP Karun Hosakul is also reported today to have been detained by the military as well, though officials have yet to provide confirmation.

Dissent Unwelcome

Shortly after seizing power from the Pheu Thai-backed government in May 2014, the junta summoned key Pheu Thai politicians and held them up to a week in army camps for “attitude adjustment.” They were later released on the condition that they refrain from criticizing the junta and seek its permission to travel abroad.

The junta, known formally as the National Council for Peace and Order, also outlawed political activities, protests and any public challenge to its rule.

While most Pheu Thai politicians complied with the ban, some have repeatedly defied the junta’s order, such as Pichai, who has often criticized the military government’s economic policies in interviews with the media.

Army chief Udomdet Sitabutr confirmed Pichai is in military custody because “his opinions do not match and comply with the way that we have agreed upon.”

Like Winthai, Gen. Udomdet declined to commit to releasing Pichai at any specific time.

However, according to the special order issued by the junta in April, soldiers can detain individuals without charge for a maximum of seven days.

Chaturon Chaisaeng, another former Pheu Thai minister who has been voicing criticism of the junta, posted on his Facebook today that the military government would end up ruining the country if it refuses to hear dissenting views.

“Restricting Mr. Pichai’s freedom is a signal that the government does not wish to hear different opinions,” wrote Chaturon, who is facing a military trial for turning down a junta summon last May. “There will only be negative consequences if the country administrators only choose to listen to opinions that match their own, and those close to the government don’t dare to challenge that. In the end, they will lead each other to ruin.”

On Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revoked Chaturon’s passport, claiming it was done under a regulation banning people with outstanding criminal cases from traveling abroad upon request from police.

But junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha said Chaturon lost his passport for unrelenting criticism of his military regime.

Related stories:

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BANGKOK — When the military government invoked a special power to strip former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of his police rank recently, it said it was done to ease His Majesty the King’s “burden.”

But it has ignited a debate touching on the sensitive issue of whether the government has overstepped the power of King Bhumibol, as alleged in a complaint filed Monday, for circumventing the royal approval required by such government orders under Thai law.

An on-and-off campaign over the years to dismiss Thaksin’s status on the basis of a 2008 corruption conviction found new vigor after the military seized power in 2014 to dismantle the power structures and influence remaining in place long after the man had left Thailand.

Then-PM Thaksin Shinawatra greets former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in Bangkok in November 2005.

Thaksin fled Thailand shortly before the court verdict and has maintained the corruption conviction was politically motivated.

Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha on Saturday revoked Thaksin’s police lieutenant colonel rank using Section 44 of the interim constitution, which provides legal cover for him to unilaterally take any action he deems necessary.

That came after months of dithering from police brass, who under pressure had empowered a committee to do the same. After deliberating on the matter, members of the committee said in June they didn’t think it could be done legally. But the Ministry of Justice and other agencies gave them a green light, and on Thursday the Royal Thai Police issued an order to remove Thaksin’s rank.

Thus, Prayuth’s decision Saturday to invoke Article 44 came as a surprise, as two days earlier he had signed the long-expected police order. That order was on its way to the palace for approval by King Bhumibol, who as the Head of State of Thailand, is required by the constitution to give his ceremonial signature to most government orders.

Prayuth said the next day he invoked Section 44 rather than wait for King Bhumibol’s signature because he did not want to burden the monarch with the procedure.

“It’s a way to ease His Majesty’s burden,” Prayuth said. The 87-year-old monarch is currently residing at Siriraj Hospital for treatment of several illnesses.

A day later, on Monday, a lawyer filed a criminal charge against the junta, accusing it of lese majeste (insulting the monarchy) for issuing the order without waiting for the king’s formal signature.

“According to Section 28 of the Royal Thai Police Act, it clearly states that stripping rank needs to be announced with the king’s signature. But invoking Section 44 has no power to do so,” the lawyer, Thanadet Puangpoon, said.

Thanadet told reporters he is an independent lawyer who has no connection to Thaksin, but he has represented causes aligned with the Redshirt movement built by Thaksin, such as a Redshirts-operated TV station which successfully sued over their right to broadcast in July.

Thanadet argued that Prayuth had exercised a power reserved only for His Majesty.

“As a lawyer and a citizen, I cannot accept this. … The authorities must investigate this, whether it amounted to violating the Royal Power,” he said. “I think this is an extremely inappropriate action. I am a citizen who loves His Majesty the King. I cannot accept this.”

Deputy Prime Minister Visanu Krue-ngam dismissed Thanadet’s complaint yesterday, saying that any action Prayuth takes under Section 44 is final and legally binding and “has nothing to do with the Royal Power.”

Visanu admitted the “normal path” to rank-stripping is to submit an act to parliament the King can later approve with his Royal Signature. “This has nothing to do with the Royal Power,” Visanu said.  

“But there was certain necessity, so we had to make a left turn. Our intelligence unit fears that it may disturb His Royal Authority. So we used another way: Let the [junta] chairman take the responsibility. Once this path is taken, it’s over.”

King Bhumibol has been on the throne for more than 60 years and is widely revered.

Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a former Thammasat history professor and prominent critic of the Thai monarchy, wrote that he believes instead of waiting for royal approval, the junta balked at the last minute to avoid any perception of the rank-stripping as a contest of power between Thaksin and the King.

Somsak wrote that in Western constitutional monarchies, the signature of a royal figurehead is seen as nothing more than a ceremonial gesture, whereas in Thailand the King’s signatures are perceived as royal endorsements.

“Because of this circumstance, when the issue of Thaksin’s rank-stripping came up, it became a double-edged sword,” Somsak, who is living in exile in France to avoid lese majeste charges, wrote on Facebook. “As in, when it reaches the moment the King signs it, they cannot simply claim that ‘the king had nothing to do with it.’”

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