ID :
186287
Fri, 06/03/2011 - 12:40
Auther :

Minister: Soldiers are neutral and will not intervene in the election

BANGKOK, June 3 (TNA) - Thai caretaker defence minister General Prawit Wongsuwan confirmed on Friday that he has ordered soldiers to be neutral and not to intervene in the country's forthcoming general election, set on July 3, and has also asked politicians not to try to involve the Thai military in politics.

General Prawit insisted that he had ordered his subordinates in the last meeting of the Defence Council to be politically neutral, urging political parties to, on the other hand, refrain from making any remark which would affect the Thai military.

The Thai caretaker defence minister acknowledged that the Royal Thai Armed Forces are duty-bound to ensure national order, solve security problems in the country's southern border region and tackle narcotics and other issues, and that the Thai military also wants the nation to develop reconciliation and to move forward sustainably.

Regarding Thai soldiers’ advance voting, General Prawit said that the move complies with the 2007 Constitution, as everyone has to cast their votes in line with the Constitution, and that soldiers are abided by laws not to support any electoral fraud. (TNA)

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