Former Thailand Education Minister Arrested, Doesn’t Condone Recent Coup
Chaturon Chaisaeng, Thailand’s former education minister, was recently arrested after he came out from hiding to condemn the coup. He said the coup would be bad for Thailand.
And, right before being arrested, Chaiseaeng said he wouldn’t mobilize a resistance or go underground.
Coup leaders, Monday, combined their legal hold after getting the king’s endorsement. Last week, the military snatched power in the country, with the goal to give Thailand stability after months of civil unrest.
The move comes on six months of political standstill with protesters trying to get rid of the Yingluck Shinawatra government. During the protests, nearly 30 people were killed with several hundred others injured.
Of course, international criticism over the coup has been stirred.
Chaturon is just one of over 100 opposition figures, activists, academics summoned to join the military after the coup. And, many of those people who voluntarily reported to the military are still in custody.
Chaturon was arrested at Bangkok’s Foreign Correspondent’s Club, in front of reporters, after hiding for nearly a week and emerging to do a brief press conference. During the interview, before being detained, Chaturon said he was ready for his arrest.
Chaturon said when he told them he would not go to the military council, he wasn’t going to escape either. He said he wasn’t going to bring a group of people together to resist the military action or go into hiding.
He said the Thai legal system is done and coup makers made their royal proclamation, and his time to be arrested is now. Chaturon said he did not condone the takeover, saying the coup wasn’t good for the country and is bad for democracy. He said the coup will only lead to the country’s demise.
Experts have said the coup is not likely to heal the nation’s divisions.
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