The Dictator must go

Clearly, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha’s time is up.

Yet the Bangkok Post, which has been atrocious in its reporting of the pro-democracy protests, seeks to throw Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha a lifeline, saying that The Dictator:

… appeared to tone down his stance against protesters.

Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said on Sunday the prime minister recognised the right to protest but said demonstrations must be held in accordance with the law.

“The government is willing to listen to everyone ‘s problems and continues to solve problems in all areas,” the spokesman quoted him as saying.

The tone seemed friendlier than on Saturday, when according to the spokesman, Gen Prayut warned people not to attend gatherings and violate the law.

Perhaps the Post is hoping that the ruling class can retain its preferred leader?

Some reports are that Gen Prayuth is open to “discussions” with protesters. Well, he has many of their leaders held in custody. So maybe he could start there? But, seriously, the time for talking with The Dictator is probably gone. Now it is time Gen Prayuth went. Perhaps exile in Germany?

Meanwhile, the Thai Enquirer lists some of the draconian measures introduced by the military-backed regime.

A recently imposed new order has also made it illegal for people to take and post selfies of the protests on their personal social media.

Those found in violation could face 2 years jail term and a fine of up to 40,000 baht.

Local news has reported that more than then ten individuals have already been arrested for violating the selfie-rule as of Friday.

Some of these selfies appear associated with defaced portraits of the king and queen.

More rules:

The new state of emergency rules allows authorities to arrest and detain suspects for up to 30 days without charge – suspending habeas corpus.

The police can also confiscate any communication tools, including smartphones and weapons or products that are being used to support actions that are in violation of the emergency orders.

News outlets can be temporarily shut down if they produce fake news or information that can lead to conflict. The state will decide what is and is not fake news.

Soldiers are allowed under the emergency decree to be mobilized in quelling dissent.

Military camps can serve as makeshift prisons.

Speaking of “fake news,” the junta’s poodle that it the reports that Army chief Gen Narongphan Jitkaewtae “dismissed a report on social media claiming the army had seized parliament…”.

It may not have “seized” parliament, but soldiers were sent to Parliament House and sealed it off. As the same report says, the Army was “deployed to guard important locations such as the Government House and parliament building.”

The soldiers used were brought from Kanchanaburi and Chachoengsao provinces, brought “to support police work in law enforcement under the emergency decree.”

Poodle Post also reports on the police/regime response on the accurate claims that they use water laced with chemicals in their water cannon. Police say “they followed international standards for crowd control and that water sprayed from cannons did not contain dangerous chemicals.”

Thinking himself too clever by half, Pol Maj Gen Yingyos Thepchamnong, spokesman for the Royal Thai Police, emphasized: “No dangerous weapons were used in the operation against a crowd of around 2,000…”. We are not sure which crowd he was looking at, but he adds: “The water sprayed at the crowd contained blue dye so that officers could identify rally participants for possible arrest later.”

Reporting him a third time on the same point, the Post says: “Pol Maj Gen Yingyos said the water did not contain dangerous chemicals or cause harm to the lives of demonstrators.”

But, then, he helpfully “acknowledged that some people might experience skin irritation. He said police officials could not confirm exactly what chemicals were used.”

There it is! They used chemicals but reckon they don’t know what they are! Seriously? Lies, deceit, and more. What a hopeless regime.