Army refutes Thaksin claim for reason behind coup
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The Army staged the coup on May 22 last year on its own and was not influenced by any particular group of people, as had been claimed by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Maj-General Sarayut Klinmahom, director of the Army’s Judge Advocate Office, made the statement while testifying before the Criminal Court Monday during a hearing of the Army’s libel case against the ex-PM.
“Nobody ordered the Army to seize political power,” Sarayut told the court.
He represented the Army in bringing the case to court against Thaksin, who in May made the accusation in an interview with the media in South Korea.
Thaksin’s interview later was posted on YouTube file-sharing website and social media.
Sarayut told the court that Thaksin had defamed the Army for painting it as damaging the country and admiring the dictatorial rule of Myanmar’s military government.
He said the Army staged the coup to prevent further destabilisation of the country, following months of protest, a political deadlock and loss of lives from the use of war weapons.
“The Army needed to restore peace and prevent further harm to national security. The power seizure was unlikely to cause a negative impact on the country. As many as 80-90 per cent of the people agreed with the coup. There were people who opposed it, but the number was very [low],” he said.
