BANGKOK (AP) — The general who led the military takeover
of Thailand is known as an ardent defender of the monarchy, an adversary
of the former prime minister at the center of the nation’s political
crisis, and a prickly personality prone to snap at unwanted questions.
In
orchestrating the coup Thursday, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha was exercising
what is almost a traditional prerogative of Thai army commanders: The
country has endured 12 successful coups since becoming a constitutional
monarchy in 1932.
He spent most of his career in the 21st Infantry
Regiment, known as the Queen’s Guard, and has shown particular loyalty
to Queen Sirikit, consort of 86-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He
played a key role in the 2006 coup that toppled Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, but became commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army after
Thaksin’s sister Yingluck rose to power.
A court threw Yingluck
out of office this month, and the coup dislodged what was left of her
administration. The military on Friday summoned Yingluck and her
temporary replacement, Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan, and has detained
Cabinet ministers, as well as protest leaders on both sides of the
unrest that has wracked the nation for more than six months.
Prayuth
said the takeover is intended "to keep peace and order and solve the
country’s problems," though he also has shown disdain for the government
he supplanted.
Asked before the coup if he had informed the
government about earlier declaration of martial law this week, Prayuth
said: "Where is the government now? . I don’t know . Let them do their
work. They should work, if they can work.
"But I don’t bother the
government. Now, the civil servants and the military are working for the
country. I don’t care about the others," he said.
The general’s
patience has at times worn thin under reporters’ questioning. When one
asked if he would enact a curfew, Prayuth asked, "Do you want me to?"
When the reporter suggested it might be a good idea, Prayuth said, "Then
I’m going to impose it on the media first. Curfew the press first."
He eventually ordered a 10 p.m. curfew — for everyone.
Born
in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, Prayuth, 60,
followed a conventional path to the top ranks, attending Chulachomklao
Royal Military Academy.
Thaksin was toppled by a military coup in
2006 after being accused of abuse of power, corruption and disrespect
for King Bhumibol. At the time, Prayuth was deputy commander of the army
region covering the capital.
It is widely thought the 2006 coup
was launched to make sure Thaksin would not have a say in royal
succession issues, as the king, now 86, was ailing at the time. Many
believe the same issue triggered the latest takeover.
Prayuth was
promoted to army chief in October 2010, five months after Thailand saw
one of the deadliest political conflict in decades, when troops moved in
to disperse an anti-government protest in Bangkok’s central business
district.
At the time Thaksin’s opponents were in control and his
supporters, the so-called Red Shirts, were protesting. Two months of
confrontations left at least 91 people dead and more than 1,500 hurt.
Prayuth was reported to have taken a hard line in advocating force be
used.
Thaksin, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid serving
prison time for a conflict-of-interest conviction, remained influential
in Yingluck’s Pheu Thai Party, which won elections in 2011. Before they
were held, Prayuth delivered what was considered to be a slap at the
party when he said offenses against the royal institution had been
increasing and voters should chose "good people" who "know what is right
and wrong."
Seeking to appease the military, Yingluck’s
government approved army promotion lists without interference — a
sensitive matter that helped derail Thaksin — and gave the green light
to its budget requests. Yingluck also downplayed her party’s links to
the Red Shirts, weakening the grassroots movement.
It is widely
believed that other deals were made behind the scenes. A matter of
concern to both sides was the prospect that Thaksin could be allowed to
return to Thailand without serving prison time.
When Yingluck’s
government proposed a law that would have granted Thaksin amnesty late
last year, it set in train the events that led to the latest coup. Top
figures in the opposition Democrat Party resigned their House seats to
lead a protest movement that occupied key areas of Bangkok for months,
demanding that the government step down.
Yingluck called early
elections, but the protesters insisted they not be held before an
appointed government carried out reforms. They occupied government
offices, clashed with police and disrupted the polls, leading to a
political deadlock. Court rulings, and the behavior of the military,
have been seen as favoring the protesters.
As the conflict
escalated, Prayuth conspicuously refused to rule out a coup. "That door
is neither open nor closed," he said in December.
Kevin Hewison, a
Thai studies expert who heads the Asia Research Centre at Australia’s
Murdoch University, said in an email interview that Prayuth’s actions
during anti-government demonstrations were "biased towards the
anti-government side, protecting and promoting them under the guise of
the military being ‘neutral.’"
The royal family is a particularly
sensitive issue for Prayuth. In 2012, Thai academics hit his sore spot
when they proposed amending the country’s lese majeste law, which calls
for up to 15 years in prison for remarks offending the monarchy.
Those
who supported such an amendment, he was reported saying, should "go and
live abroad." He warned the academics behind the proposal that "If you
guys play hardball, I’ll have no choice but to do so, too." Addressing
them indirectly, he pointedly asked, "Were you born in Thailand?"
Prayuth
has not revealed how or when he expects Thailand to emerge from
military rule. He had been set to retire in September, but the Bangkok
Post on Saturday reported that the general and the rest of the governing
military council were expected to remain in power until new elections
are held.
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Associated Press writer Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report.