Academics should toe the line and stay within the law because the country is not yet back to normal and is still in need of reconciliation, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said on Monday morning.
Gen Prawit, who is also defence minister, was referring to 60 academics from 16 universities who on Sunday signed a petition against the action taken by police and soldiers who abruptly cut short a forum on "The Decline of Dictatorships in Foreign Countries" on Sept 18 at the Rangsit campus of Thammasat University.
The forum was moderated by Prajak Kongkirati and those in attendance included prominent historian Nidhi Eoseewong and Janjira Sombatpoonsiri. The three scholars, along with students who organised the forum, were detained for questioning before being released.
In their petition yesterday, the 60 scholars asked the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to show more respect for academic freedom. The action against the forum's participants was "highly unacceptable".
On the academics' call for the authorities to allow them room to express their opinions, such as through a seminar, Gen Prawit said they could submit a request to organise a forum to the NCPO.
"I want to stress that everything must be done according to the law. Since the NCPO wants peace and reconciliation, I am afraid we can't allow a politically-related (seminar) to be held," he said.
Asked what if the seminar concerns academic matters, he said the NCPO would consider it at a meeting. There would not be any problem if it were clear that the seminar was purely academic and not politically oriented. he added.
Asked how the NCPO would operate in parallel with the government, Gen Prawit said he believed the NCPO must meet regularly to discuss its work, but Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha had not yet decided how often it should meet.
Regular meetings were necessary because the government must follow the policies laid down by the NCPO, he said.
Gen Prawit said the NCPO has been on the right track and the people were satisfied with its performance.