Thailand's army declared martial law on Tuesday in order to restore order after six months of anti-government protests which has killed almost 30 people since beginning last November, but denied that it was staging a military coup, according to the Associated Press.
The caretaker government led by supporters of self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was still in office, military officials and the country's justice minister said, following the surprise announcement on television at 3 a.m. on Monday, the AP reported.
Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha said the military was taking charge of public security because of violent protests that had claimed lives and caused damage, according to the AP.
"We are concerned this violence could harm the country's security in general. Then, in order to restore law and order to the country, we have declared martial law," Prayuth said, the AP reported. "I'm asking all those activist groups to stop all activities and cooperate with us in seeking a way out of this crisis."
Thailand has been stuck in political limbo since Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin's younger sister, and nine of her ministers were dismissed on May 7 after a court found them guilty of abuse of power, according to the AP. Since then, an acting prime minister has taken over.
The crisis, the latest instalment of a near-decade-long power struggle between former telecoms tycoon Thaksin and the royalist establishment, has brought the country to the brink of recession, the AP reported.
The military, which put down a pro-Thaksin protest movement in 2010, has staged numerous coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, according to the AP. The last one was in 2006 to oust Thaksin, a billionaire who commands huge support among the rural poor.
Army chief Prayuth had warned last week, after three people were killed in a gun and grenade attack on anti-government protesters in Bangkok, that troops might have to be used to restore order if the violence continued, the AP reported.
Although the caretaker government's supporters are wary of the army, given its past interventions on the side of the establishment, the acting justice minister said it welcomed the move to keep the peace, according to the AP.
