Thai prime minister ends five years of military rule with resignation

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha formally resigned as the head of the military government on Monday, saying the country would function as a normal democracy after five years of military rule.

Prayuth stays on as prime minister, with the backing of promilitary parties in parliament and a military-appointed upper house under a constitution which critics say stifles democracy and enshrines a political role for the military.

In a televised address to the nation, Prayuth said military rule had brought success in many areas, from fixing the problem of illegal fishing and human trafficking, to the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cave in 2018.

The former army chief, who seized power in a 2014 coup, said the intervention then had been necessary to restore order after six months of street protests and violent clashes, but things were getting back to normal after a March 24 election.

“Thailand is now fully a democratic country with a constitutional monarchy, with a parliament whose members are elected,” Prayuth said.

“All problems will be addressed normally based on a democratic system with no use of special powers,” he said, referring to the sweeping powers of the military government.

Last week Prayuth used those powers for one last time to end various restrictions on the media. He also transferred civilian legal cases from military to civilian court, though he retained the power to let security forces carry out searches and arrests.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn last week endorsed Prayuth’s new civilian cabinet, drawn from a 19-party coalition government that holds a slim majority in parliament.

ALL PROBLEMS WILL BE ADDRESSED NORMALLY BASED ON A DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM WITH NO USE OF SPECIAL POWERS