Prayut urges journalists to report responsibly

He said he did not want to use his power to oppress the media as it was impossible to control all agencies and Thailand was meant to be democratic, the premier said. 

Some said that it was because the junta did not use its power, so the country became messed up, he said. The prime minister did not want to see people became “drug resistant”, so he did not use his power to handle all issues, Prayut added. 

The junta pledged to return democracy to the country and the government has been dealing with ingrained challenges in a bid to reform the nation, said the premier. 

Prayut voiced concerns over a rumor that a so-called “five rivers” panel wouldn’t be able to work together, claiming that the reform process was ongoing and certain issues might take time before reaching solid results. 

He promised that the “five rivers”, the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA), the Cabinet, the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) would work together to reform the country. 

For those who were ousted abroad, they had tried to ignite conflict, said the premier. If they wanted to influence the country, they had to enter the judicial process, he continued, and should not say anything from overseas as they were just condemning themselves. 

The prime minister was jovial during the press conference and even answered more than four questions. The government had previously made a rule that journalists could only ask the prime minister four questions in total during a press conference.

 Questioners had to stand at a microphone and introduce themselves before addressing the prime minister as previously ruled.