Thai allies cut military links

Speaking at an Asian security conference in Singapore on Saturday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said the US had suspended military ties with Thailand, and was reassessing its future assistance to the country's armed forces.

Hagel condemned Thailand's "retreat from democracy," calling for the coup leaders to "move immediately to restore power to the people of Thailand, through free and fair elections."

"Democracies are our closest friends," he said, urging the Royal Thai Armed Forces to end curbs on free speech and civil liberties - which include a ban on gatherings of five or more people - and to free scores of detainees.

Regional power Australia also suspended military cooperation with Thailand on Saturday, with three training exercises for Thai soldiers in coming weeks being suspended.

"The Australian government continues to have grave concerns about the actions of the military in Thailand," said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. "In line with our concerns, Australia is reducing our engagement with the Thai military and will lower the level of our interaction with the Thai military leadership," she said.

Within days of declaring martial law, coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha announced on May 22 that a military administration would be in place until the peace and stability could be restored to the country. The country's constitution was suspended and a curfew was put in place, with demonstrators from both sides of the political divide cleared from the streets.

'Approximately a year, depending'

In a televised address late on Friday, Prayuth said the military needed more time to bring together Thailand's bitterly opposed political forces and to introduce reforms.

The coup leader outlined a three-stage process to restore democratic rule, without giving a timeframe, including a period of "special law" during the first phase, before the establishment of a national assembly and reform council.

"All that I have outlined will not succeed if all sides do not cease demonstrating politically," he said. "This process will take approximately a year, depending on the situation."

Thailand's military has staged numerous coups since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. The last one, in 2006, was to oust the then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has lived abroad since 2008 but who is still said to wield enormous political influence.

Thailand had been in political limbo even before Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the younger sister of Thaksin, was removed from office on May 7 after being found guilty of abuse of power. Months of protests and confrontation - between supporters of Yingluck's populist policies and the pro-Royalist, pro-establishment opposition - had preceded the takeover.

rc/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)