After decades of rule, the Army is finally losing its grip on Thailand

I think comments like this were inevitable, but I also think that they are too late; you can’t put the genie back in the bottle.
The junta is rapidly approaching the four year mark which is the traditional end to a regular government; Thais expect that there will be an election and expectations are powerful things. Further, an election has been promised (though delayed) and there is only so many times that you can promise something then take it away. Whether the junta listens or not, the international community and perhaps more importantly international investors, have been promised a poll; breaking that promise leads to severe lack of credibility. Finally, look at the protests; they are a small bunch of brave people trying to assert their rights and they can’t be considered a threat to the stability of Thailand, and the Thai people can see that with their own eyes. To sum up, the race has already started and achieved a life of its own; you can’t just stop it, even if you are a military junta.
We will certainly hear noise like this from now on, but I think the effectiveness of the threat diminishes each and every time they are uttered. Thailand will have an election soon(ish), and if the junta tries to delay it much further, then there will be terrible repercussions.
I truly hope that the junta doesn’t let it get that far. 
Samui Bodoh
Prayut: “Some groups try to create chaos.”
What utter twaddle – unless of course you see freedom of speech, the right to assembly, and the right to be heard as “chaos”. 
Chaos is defined by the NCPO as anything that cannot be controlled or prescribed by them and that includes what and how people think. ... actually come to think of it from their perspective they may actually be right?  
jonclark
The lack of order comes from military rule. He and his junta have failed and what we see now is evidence of failure. Threatening a postponement of elections is just another example.  
yellowboat
People with good intentions make promises. People with good character keep them. 
Tukkytuktuk
The Army has effectively been in charge for decades, although for a period at the beginning of the century it looked like the power may have been prised from their grip.
One of the main features, and causes of their hegemony has been their almost total control of the media, and their invariable presence on the boards and committees which control various governmental and semi-governmental agencies and commercial enterprises.
The first is becoming much less important, the influence it yielded simply evaporating with the emergence of new, decentralised media and channels of communication which they cannot control. Concurrent with that, and fuelled by it, it is becoming more and more apparent that much of the governmental and commercial activities of which they maintain control, do little or nothing to benefit vast swathes of the population.
I think change is inevitable, the pace at which it is coming will increase inexorably and some form of popular power will emerge, driven/enabled by this new technology and media. The question is, will it be peaceful or bloody? That is in the hands of the Army. I hope for the former, I expect the latter.
There is no doubt that this evaporating influence and power worries the junta, even if they cannot understand how to counter it. Pronouncements about “lack of order”, as well as revealing a total lack of understanding of the situation, are also symptoms of that worry. They should be very, very worried! 
JAG
ThaVisa