Thai coup leader receives king’s seal of approval

The leader of Thailand’s coup, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, received the royal seal of approval to run the country at a ceremony in Bangkok yesterday, as the country settled in to what is looking increasingly like a prolonged period of military rule.

The 86-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej did not attend the ceremony at army headquarters but the move to endorse the army frees up the military to run the country for a prolonged period.

Dressed in a white military uniform, Gen Prayuth lined up alongside other military chiefs to receive the royal endorsement, which gives major legitimacy to the coup because the monarchy is widely loved.

“To restore peace and order in the country and for sake of unity, the king appointed Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha as head of the National Council of Peace and Order to run the country,” the royal command said.

Stability Gen Prayuth said the aim was to return stability to Thailand after months of unrest, and while he promised a return to “genuine democracy”, no time frame was given.

“I’m not here to argue with anyone. I want to bring everything out in the open and fix it,” he said at a news conference.

There are still sporadic if small protests against the military putsch on the streets of Bangkok and graffiti have begun to appear showing that opposition has not gone away but is merely regrouping.

Gen Prayuth said there was no point in protesting.

“Everyone must help me . . . Do not criticise, do not create new problems. It’s no use,” he said.

He has also pledged to keep the economy on track, and yesterday met the heads of the central bank and stock exchange and other economic officials to discuss ways of protecting growth in southeast Asia’s second biggest economy.

There was no word from the king or any other members of the royal family but the monarchy tends to stay out of the public side of government.

Bangkok remains under a 10pm curfew and while the military presence on the streets is light it is strategically placed.

One piece of graffiti showed a penguin in an army hat alongside the increasingly common slogan: “F*** the coup.”

“We don’t like the army being in charge but things were really bad and it’s hard to see what else could have happened: they wouldn’t talk to each other,” said one Western businessman, who asked to remain anonymous..

“There was no real movement on either side before the army intervened. Thaksin is very strong but now the army has started paying the farmers for their rice he will see his support diminish.”

The army also pledged to come down hard on anti-military protests. The ruling junta will most likely set up a national legislative assembly, which will be required to come up with an interim constitution and name a new prime minister.

Leaders detained The military has detained scores of political leaders from both sides of Thailand's seemingly intractable political divide, including former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who many see as still wielding potentially divisive power in Thailand, even though he lives in exile in Dubai.

The Nation newspaper reported that the army was considering legal action after Mr Thaskin said he was considering setting up a government in exile.

Many journalists and academics have also been called in by the army.

Thailand’s political stalemate dates from 2006, when the military ousted Mr Thaksin in a coup. The Shinawatras have strong support in rural areas and have won every election for more than a decade.

But they are despised by the mostly royalist middle class and urban elite, who formed the heart of the protest movement that began working to oust Ms Yingluck in last November.