'Close country' gaffe leaves Thai junta scrambling

 Thailand's junta is scrambling to limit the damage caused by a speech by junta leader-cum-prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in which he threatens to stay longer in power and "close the country if "there is no peace and order”.

The Bangkok Post on Friday quoted Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon as saying that his boss had not meant what appeared to be a direct threat “literally”.

“Don’t imagine this or that. Let me ask you what we should do if elections can’t take place. Should we let violence erupt? We can’t. That is what the prime minister is concerned about,” he added.

On Wednesday, Chan-ocha addressed what was supposed to be a parliament debate between representatives of the junta's five main institutions – the junta, the military-appointed cabinet, the National Assembly, the Constitution Drafting Committee and the 200-member National Reform Steering Assembly.

But the meeting soon turned to a one-man show, with Chan-ocha launching into an almost 2 1/2 hour diatribe against those opposing junta rule.

“Politicians do not have to be suspicious of me. The media writes every day that I intend to cling on power. I must make it clear. If there is no peace and order, I must stay on,” he said.

“If we have to close the country, so be it."

He also used demeaning language to refer to opponents, but apologized Thursday saying it was not proper to use such words in parliament.

The speech provoked a wave of criticism in Thai media.

“Little does [Chan-ocha] realize that such words spoken by a coup leader who has absolute power under Section 44 of the interim charter are not going to be taken lightly by anyone, be it a Thai citizen or a Thai businessman, let alone foreign investors and members of the Thai community,” wrote Umesh Pandey in an opinion piece in Friday’s Bangkok Post.

Section 44 of the charter authorizes the junta chief to issue any orders necessary for the sake of reforms or to maintain national security, without scrutiny from the executive, legislative or judicial powers. 

According to the Constitution, the orders are deemed “lawful, constitutional and final”.

“With countries all across the world, and especially in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN], looking to become more business friendly, pointless statements by a government leader do not go down well among investors,” Pandey added.

For Thailand, Chan-ocha's outbursts are nothing new. Last March, he said he would “probably execute journalists” who “did not report the truth”.

Chan-ocha's military seized power by overthrowing the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in a coup May 22, 2014.

Initially, the junta said elections would be held towards the end of 2015, but they were later postponed to Sept. 2016, and last month - following a rejection by the National Reform Assembly of an initial draft charter of a new constitution - moved to mid-2017.

Since the coup, the junta and the military-appointed government has stifled all expressions of dissent, and banned political gatherings, most academic debates and seminars related to politics.

In the month following the coup, Over 700 politicians, activists, journalists and academics were summoned by the military and detained for several days in military camps for what the junta has named “adjustment sessions”.

Following a lull, such summons began emerging again in September; two formers MPs, a prominent journalist and a cartoonist summoned and interrogated by the military before being released upon a written commitment not to oppose the junta.