NCPO unlikely to lift martial law as opposition remains
Play
The National Council for Peace and Order is unlikely to lift the martial law in the near future as groups campaigning against the junta have been detected both in Thailand and abroad.
The NCPO Friday did not discuss the lifting of martial law during its meeting Friday as earlier expected.
Prime Minister and NCPO chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha assigned NCPO secretary-general and Deputy Defence Minister Gen Udomdej Sitabutr to chair the meeting.
First Army Area Command Lt Gen Thirachai Nakwanit had said the NCPO might be asked to consider lifting martial law in tourist areas during the Friday meeting.
But the meeting did not discuss the lifting of the martial law. A source said the regional Army areas are still in the process of evaluating the situation before considering whether the martial law should be lifted.
The source said the Second and Third Army areas, which cover the North and Northeast, have detected underground groups campaigning against the NCPO.
The two regional Army areas found that the groups dared not campaign against the NCPO openly because martial law is still imposed.
The meeting was also informed of campaigns against the NCPO via online media. The meeting was informed that a group of opponents also campaigns against the NCPO in Japan and had submitted a letter to the Japanese prime minister, alleging that the junta is torturing opponents.
Intelligence officials also reported to the meeting that opponent groups had revived their campaigns against the junta since the Cabinet was formed.
The officials said the groups did not dare to campaign openly because the martial law is still imposed so they demanded the lifting of the martial law first.
