'No coup'

Top brass including General Songkitti declare govt won't be overthrown

In an unprecedented move, top commanders came out yesterday to declare there would definitely be no military overthrow of the government.

"We ask you not to believe the rumours that soldiers will stage a coup. The Thai Armed Forces strictly abide by the Constitution under constitutional monarchy. Soldiers will not get involved in any political affairs," supreme commander General Songkitti Jaggabatara told a news conference together with the chiefs of the three armed branches.

He also warned that any military unit moving out of its barracks without orders would be charged with treason.

"I insist that all the armed-force commanders will not get involved. The public can be assured that the military does not interfere with politics. We know our duty - what to do and not to do. Any unit that makes a force movement without orders will be regarded as committing treason," he said.

"There have been such rumours from time to time over the past four to five years. Some people spread the rumours although they knew nothing or little about it. But when someone well informed denied the rumours, people were not convinced."

Songkitti also dismissed rumours that the military was pressuring certain politicians or political parties in a bid to influence the result of the upcoming general election.

"If you are pressured by any soldier, please let us know and we will investigate the complaint," he said, adding that any soldier with political ambitions would be encouraged to leave the service.

The supreme commander had called the news conference "to curb the public confusion" at the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters after meeting with top military commanders. "Please stop citing the military [for political advantage]. Do not push the Armed Forces away from the people. We prefer to focus our work on developing the country in a constructive way. We hope that from now on there will be no reports that will separate the public from the Armed Forces," he said.

Army commander-in-chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, Navy chief Admiral Kamthon Pumhirun, and Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Itthiporn Supawong, as well as Pol General Pongsapat Pongcharoen, who represented the national police chief, were also present at the news conference.

The Army chief has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of a coup under his leadership. There were also occasions recently when Prayuth appeared annoyed after being pestered by reporters' questions about speculation of coup. Once he even urged them not to ask him such questions again.

The most powerful of the Armed Forces, the Army was involved in most of the country's successful coups and abortive coup attempts in the past - most recently the bloodless power seizure against the government of Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006.

Politicians, mostly from the opposition, have talked about rumours of attempts to prevent a new election taking place - something they term a "silent coup". This is coupled with a call by some yellow-shirt leaders for a "political vacation" in which a royally appointed prime minister heads a special government for three years to "clean the house" before an elected government is allowed to resume running the country.

The speculation of a coup has gained weight after some reliable figures such as election commissioner Sodsri Satayathum mentioned a plot to stage a coup to prevent a new election being held.

For some observers, yesterday's rare move by the top brass did not just deny rumours of a coup, but also showed strong unity among the Armed Forces' commanders. The presence of all top commanders could boost the military's bargaining power against politicians and show their readiness to work with whichever political party wins the next election.

Yesterday's event reminded political observers of a strong military presence in mid-October 2008. General Anupong Paochinda, who was then the Army chief, called a televised news conference asking then-prime minister Somchai Wongsawat to resign after a bloody crackdown on yellow-shirt protesters. The call was ignored but Somchai, who is Thaksin's brother-in-law, had to step down shortly afterwards when his People Power Party was disbanded by court order for electoral fraud.