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The Thai government Thursday denied opposition claims that it faces a military coup amid intensifying street protests and ahead of expected elections. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected the suggestion, by a politician and leader of the anti-government "Red Shirts," that the army was poised to intervene in Thai politics. "No, they are not thinking of a coup," he said, adding that he was "confident" that army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha was not plotting to oust him. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban also denied the claims, but acknowledged that some in the deeply divided nation would support a military move - which would be the 19th actual or attempted coup in Thailand since 1932. "There may be some groups calling for a coup, but don't call for that, it's not the solution for our country," he said, less than five years after the military ousted the Red Shirts' hero, then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd also denied any such plans. "The army chief has repeatedly insisted that he will not stage a coup, and in the current circumstances, no military figure would dare to mount a coup," he said. The government and military were responding to comments by Puea Thai lawmaker Jatuporn Prompan, who said he had learned that some of the country's top military leaders had recently met to map out a coup plot. AFP |
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