Thai police and soldiers on Bangkok streets
In a televised address late on Friday, General Prayuth Chan-ocha said the military would need time to reconcile Thailand’s antagonistic political forces and to engineer reforms.
Chan-ocha, who ousted the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after months of protests, appealed for patience from Thailand’s international allies after outlining his reform plan.
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Hide Ad“We understand that we are living in a democratic world. All we are asking for is give us time to reform,” Chan-ocha said in his address. He was seated at a table with flowers and portraits of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit on a wall behind him. “We believe that you will choose our kingdom before a flawed democratic system.”
The response from foreign governments was to keep up the pressure on the ruling junta to call elections quickly.
At a conference yesterday in Singapore, the United States called for free and fair elections. Meanwhile Australia scaled back relations with the Thai military and banned coup leaders from travelling there.