Bangkok Post and Thai Rath reporters have been summoned by the army for posing “inappropriate” questions to Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha on Monday.
Bangkok Post's senior security reporter Wassana Nanuam and Thai Rath's Suparirk Thongchairit yesterday met army secretary Maj Gen Polpat Wannaphak who told them Gen Prayuth was unhappy with the way they asked him about the time frame for fresh elections.
Maj Gen Polpat said the chief of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) was upset because he felt he was being “cornered” by a string of aggressive questions from the pair, despite having the journalists that it was too soon to give answer, considering the current political situation.
During the question and answer session, Mr Suparirk asked whether Gen Prayuth would be interim prime minister and whether a national assembly would be established “any time soon”. Ms Wassana asked the army chief to say how long it would take the military government to pave the way for an election. She also asked Gen Prayuth if he would be prime minister.
Gen Prayuth was frustrated because he declined to respond to the questions, but the reporters continued to press him.
“That was considered inappropriate,” Maj Gen Polpat told the journalists. “We would like to ask for your cooperation not to ask questions that way.”
The NCPO is concerned about public sentiment toward the military and such aggressive questioning could affect confidence in Gen Prayuth’s leadership, Maj Gen Polpat added.
The senior military officer said Gen Prayuth asked him to tell the reporters that he is now not only the army chief, but also the country's leader, in both administrative and legislative terms.
"As a result, Gen Prayuth needs to make careful considerations before answering any question. It is not the time to answer questions about the appointment of prime minister and election," said Maj Gen Polpat, adding Gen Prayuth intends to solve the country's problems and the media should give him moral support.
Gen Prayuth is aware of the complexities of his role following the coup and stressed on Monday that he knows he must be careful in exercising power because “it’s wrong to believe that power can be used to do anything”.
The army yesterday also asked Ms Wassana to find ways to stop her Facebook fans from posting comments that will spark quarrels feared to worsen the political conflict. Ms Wassana said she could not block comments from her 5,000 friends, though she earlier asked them to avoid contentious issues.
Meanwhile, TV and print editors resolved that media workers would continue providing normal news coverage but with greater awareness for the unusual situation, said Thai Journalists Association (TJA) chairman Pradit Ruangdit. The NCPO has told editors to avoid reporting issues that will lead to conflict and confusion.
Reporters should be allowed to ask straightforward questions on the condition that the NCPO and reporters “respect one another,” he said.
The TJA, together other professional media associations, believes reporters will not be hindered by the NCPO’s orders if they base their work on the national interest. Some of the NCPO's orders have been criticised for restricting media freedom.
Gen Prayuth, who chaired the NCPO meeting yesterday, has meanwhile assigned a working group to brainstorm ways to end the “coloured shirt conflict,” that he said is dividing society.