Thai army chief Anupong Paochinda said yesterday the prime minister should have stepped down to take responsibility for bloody clashes between police and protesters last week, but said he was not about to launch a coup.
"If I were prime minister, I would have resigned, not hang around," Mr Anupong said in a live television interview.
The heads of the navy and air force, as well as the national police chief, also appeared on the same interview panel, prompting frenzied media speculation that the military was about to take over.
Thailand's last military coup, against billionaire prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006, was led by the "Council for National Security" - the heads of the three armed forces plus the country's top policeman.
"I am making an appeal to the government, not putting pressure on it," Mr Anupong said. "Responsibility has to be taken for what was done because you cannot be above the pools of blood."
Two people died and almost 500 people, including dozens of police, were hurt in last week's clashes outside parliament. Police were accused of brutality for firing teargas grenades that blew off several people's limbs.
Prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, a brother-in-law of Mr Thaksin, has expressed sorrow for the bloodshed, but made clear he wishes to remain in charge. "I am convinced we still can look after the country and continue to perform our jobs," Mr Somchai told reporters, although his comments were not believed to be in direct response to Mr Anupong.
Thailand has been riven by political conflict for three years, since the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) started its street campaign against Mr Thaksin and his allies, accusing them of corruption, cronyism and threatening the monarchy. The dispute between the Thaksin camp and the military and royalist elite who despise him has seen a coup, elections and more street protests, but appears to be no nearer a conclusion.
Some analysts have speculated this week's border conflict with Cambodia could be a deliberate distraction by the military, which has come under pressure from the PAD to launch a coup.
- (Reuters)