Thai armed soldiers stand guard after a meeting between the army and the main political rivals. Thai Army Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha announced a coup after his efforts to reconcile rival political factions failed.
Bangkok (dpa) -- Thailand's ruling junta Friday barred 155 politicians, protest leaders and activists from leaving the country and summoned them to appear in Bangkok.
The move came a day after the military staged a coup when its effort to bring rival factions together to hash out a solution to the country's political impasse ended in failure.
The country has been under martial law since early Tuesday, and army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha assumed the powers of the premiership on Friday.
The military's National Peace and Order Maintaining Council has summoned 155 politicians and activists to the Army Auditorium in the capital for still undisclosed reasons.
The council has barred the 155 from leaving the country and threatened to arrest them if they did not answer the summons.
Former prime minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan, ousted by Thursday's coup, and his predecessor Yingluck Shinawatra, arrived at the auditorium Friday, dispelling rumours that they were planning to establish a government in exile.
"I think they want to hold them for the time being until things have calmed down," said Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University.
The military on Thursday detained the 30 senior politicians and protest leaders who had attended the failed talks at the First Infantry Division.
Thailand's last coup was on September 19, 2006 when the military ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's brother, who has lived abroad since 2008 to avoid a two-year jail sentence for abuse of power.
Thaksin is seen as the de facto leader of the Pheu Thai Party, which led the now ousted government.
Anti-government protests have been staged in Bangkok aimed at toppling the Pheu Thai government since early November, after parliament pushed through an amnesty bill that would have pardoned Thaksin had it not been shot down by the Senate.
Thursday's coup has been widely criticized by the international community with cautionary statements quickly issued by the United Nations, United States and European Union calling for the restoration of civilian rule.
Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Friday that she was "gravely concerned."
"It is a volatile situation," Bishop told national radio.
Japanese Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Friday expressed regret over the coup and pledged to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals and companies in the country.
"It is an extremely regrettable situation," the minister told a news conference.
"We are strongly calling for the country's political situation to be resolved peacefully through sincere dialogue," he said.
Malaysia's Foreign Ministry on Friday advised citizens to avoid travelling to Thailand "for personal safety and security reasons."
It said Malaysians living in Thailand should obey the curfew and "maintain sufficient stocks of food and water at home."
- See more at: http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/world/detail/2?page=16&token=MjgyYTkyZW#sthash.S1ofGEYx.dpuf
No comments:
Post a Comment