No plan to lift martial law : Prayut
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The United States has failed to give an answer when asked what it would do if it faced the political problems like Thailand, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said Tuesday.
Thai Foreign Minister Tanasak Patimapagorn raised the question when he met visiting US Assistant Security of State Daniel Russel on Monday.
In the meeting, Russel expressed concerns on the political situation in Thailand particularly on the remaining of the martial law. “The Thai foreign minister then explained the reasons and the need of the law, saying that there is no laws that can effectively control the situation.”
Prayut quoted Tanasak as asking Russel what the law the US will use to control the situation if it was facing the similar problems.
“The US Assistant Secretary of State could not give an answer, saying that he would go back to think about it,” Prayut said.
The United States has strongly condemned the May military takeover and repeatedly called for a swift return to democracy after the army seized power following months of protests against Yingluck's elected government.
Russel also met former PMs Yingluck Shinawatra and Abhisit Vejjajiva as part of the Thai leg of a Southeast Asia trip in which he also held talks with government officials and civil society representatives in the capital.
In a speech delivered at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok he said "the perception of fairness is important", three days after Yingluck was impeached by a junta-stacked parliament and prosecutors announced corruption charges that could see her jailed for 10 years.
"When an elected leader is deposed, impeached by the authorities that implemented the coup, and then targeted with criminal charges while basic democratic processes and institutions are interrupted, the international community is left with the impression that these steps could be politically driven," he said.
Russel stressed that the US was not picking sides in Thai politics but advocating a "more inclusive political process".
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that in talks with Foreign Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn, Russel had "underlined that our relationship with Thailand cannot return to normal until democracy is re-established".
