Military threatens Thai protest crackdown

Thailand’s ruling military council yesterday warned it will not tolerate protests over its takeover of power.

The warning came a day before coup leader, Army Commander Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, was expected to receive the king’s endorsement formalising his status as head of government.

After that, it’s anticipated Cmdr Prayuth may announce plans for reshaping Thailand’s political scene with an interim constitution to replace the one scrapped by the army after Thursday’s coup, and an appointed legislative body.

After three days of tense but mostly non violent confrontations between protesters and security forces, a spokesman for the ruling National Council for Peace and Order warned that officials may need to strictly enforce an army-imposed law that prohibits people from demonstrating against the coup.

The warning came as publicity-savvy protesters confronted police and soldiers outside a McDonald’s restaurant yesterday, a spot chosen because it was the centre of a failed and bloody anti-government protest in 2010. The government deposed on Thursday rose to power in a landslide election in 2011.

The turbulence has played out against a backdrop of fears about the future of Thailand’s monarchy. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is 86, has been silent on the crisis.