Bangkok: Thailand’s military junta said on Saturday it would detain former premier Yingluck Shinawatra and other ousted government leaders for up to a week, tightening its grip over the country following a coup that has provoked an international outcry.
As sporadic protests flared in Bangkok, a senior military source said coup leader General Prayut Chan-O-Cha also had submitted a letter on his actions to the revered king, whose blessing has traditionally been sought to legitimise Thailand’s recurring military takeovers.
Briefing the media for the first time since Prayut deposed the civilian government on Thursday to halt months of escalating political turmoil, the military declined to specify detainees’ whereabouts but said they were in no danger.
“They will be detained for up to one week depending on how directly they were involved (in Thailand’s political tumult),” Army spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree told reporters.
General Prayut has “submitted a letter to the king concerning the coup” the military source said on condition of anonymity.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, now 86, commands great respect among his subjects and his blessing for the coup would further strengthen the general’s already formidable hand. No immediate response was seen.
Meanwhile, Washington, which has led calls for a restoration of civilian rule, took its first concrete steps. It suspended $3.5 million in military assistance to its ally about one-third of its Thai aid and the state department said it was considering further cuts.
Under the new regime, civil liberties have been curbed, media restrictions imposed, most of the constitution abrogated, and rival political protesters cleared from Bangkok’s streets. A night-time curfew has tamed the capital’s notoriously rowdy night-life, further demoting tourism.
