Prayut seeks time to make Kingdom stronger, rejects outside assistance

He said the country had cooperated with the global community in hundreds of international peacekeeping missions over the past several decades, and now it was time for it to take care of its own problems.

“I would like to tell the world community that my government would like to request time to do things for Thai people and Thailand, too. We [are the ones who] now have problems,” the PM said.

“We have done work in many other places. We don’t want help from others now. 

“Just allow us to get stronger, and we will do our duty to the best of our ability,” he added.

Prayut also said that he listened to comments from all of the Kingdom’s allies, but that he would decide whether to believe them.

The prime minister was speaking during his weekly national broadcast as part of the TV programme “Returning Happiness to People in the Country” last night. He was apparently responding to the recent diplomatic drama between Thailand and the United States after Daniel Russel, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, called |for the lifting of martial law |and described the impeachment |of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra as “politically driven”.

Prayut said last year’s coup was staged with the goal of ending political violence that had led to many deaths and injuries.

“We don’t want to be a burden to our allies. If we can’t solve our problems, we may end up having to need other countries to take care of us,” he said.

“In fact, we have been an independent country for centuries. It’s a shame to seek help from other countries to solve our own problems,” he added.

Meanwhile, officials from the US Embassy this week sought a meeting with red-shirt leaders in the Northeast, a source said yesterday.

A group of embassy officials led by first secretary Timothy Trengle on Thursday travelled to Udon Thani seeking to meet with Kwanchai Praipana, a key red-shirt leader of the region. 

However, Kwanchai could not meet them because he had business to attend to in Chon Buri, a source said.

Colonel Winthai Suwari, spokesman for the National Council for Peace and Order, said yesterday he was unaware of such a trip by US Embassy officials with the goal of meeting red-shirt leaders.

He believed the US mission would not, however, do anything that would adversely affect bilateral ties.

Deputy Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai yesterday said it was good manners for diplomats not to interfere with the internal affairs of the country in which they are stationed. He urged the US government to consider why many Thai people had been angered by its latest moves involving Thailand.

PM’s Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana, meanwhile, said he was disappointed with the US, adding that for almost two centuries of Thai-US ties, the Kingdom had helped its ally in preserving its security interests. 

In response to Russel’s remarks, Suwaphan said: “The US should take into account the long relations [between the countries], and they should know what to say.” 

Thailand had the right to conduct its domestic and foreign policy as it sees fit, he said.