Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha on Tuesday ruled out the rumors being spread around about military's plan to stage coup, saying its "nonsense". The army chief urged Thai reporters to stop asking about a coup and suggested that troops should not be implicated in the stories. "I have no time for this nonsensical matter. I don't want to answer this kind of question because I've answered it several times already." "The army is united and we all have the same stand. We give priority to the national interest so please stop asking and talking about it," Gen Prayuth said. Late last month some opposition Puea Thai Party MPs disclosed that a group of military leaders had held a secret meeting at a safe house in Bangkok to discuss staging a coup, naming high- ranking officers -- Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, the defence minister, and Gen Dapong Rattanasuwan, the army chief-of-staff. "Please don't implicate any soldiers in it, be he Gen D or Gen P," Gen Prayuth said.
When asked whether he would like to take the leadership to solve the country's problems as some people want, Gen Prayuth replied that he had never yearned for political power, simply because soldiers are duty-bound to protect the country's sovereignty and look after the people.
The latest coup de tat in Thailand took place in September 2006 when the Royal Thai Army stage a coup against the then caretaker government of Thaksin Shinawatra, citing the protracted political conflicts among Thaksin's allies and oppositions as well as massive corruption during Thaksin's administration.
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