Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha has claimed that soldiers have little choice but to abandon their usual principle of staying out of politics, since the military wants to prevent the current political crisis escalating into a "people’s war".
Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha (left) and military leaders arrive at the Royal Thai Armed Forces headquarters on Saturday. He was there to attend a forum held to allow groups from all sides of the political divide and academics to give their views on resolving Thailand's ongoing political conflict. Photo by Thiti Wannamontha
Gen Prayuth made the comments in a statement delivered to the media by Col Winthai Suwaree, deputy spokesman for the army.
“The current political situation has never occurred in Thailand before so the saying that soldiers don’t get involved with politics can no longer be fully applied for the time being, because soldiers are not only state officials but have duties as Thai citizens as well,” Gen Prayuth said.
Apart from security-related tasks, the armed forces must also build national unity and strive to reduce division among all groups of differing political ideologies, he said, adding that people are entitled to have different political views but must be able to reach agreements through peaceful means in order to allow state mechanisms to function.
“Currently, the military is intent on finding ways to prevent the ongoing political conflict from possibly escalating into a 'people’s war', as has occurred in other countries,” Gen Prayuth said.
“All parties should accept the rule of law and stop blaming one another so much that it is impossible to find a solution to the problem.
“If the system of law is destroyed until there is nothing left to adhere to, that would pose a danger to the country.”
The army chief said the military is prepared to be criticised over its neutral stance on the current political conflict, but insisted that armed forces leaders are willing to take advice from all sides of the political divide.
However, the army cannot act on the recommendations of political groups if their demands require a breach of the law because doing so would only satisfy one party while dissatisfying their opponents, he said.
No matter what, the armed forces will maintain a balanced and neutral position that does not undermine the military’s principles of encouraging love and unity among Thai people, he said, adding: "Soldiers will always belong to the nation, religion and the people."