Yingluck asks NCPO to return power to the people

Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is surrounded by supporters as she arrives at the Supreme Court for the seventh hearing of prosecution witnesses in the rice-pledging programme case on April 21, 2016. (Bangkok Post file photo)

As the National Council for Peace and Order marks the second anniversary of its seizure of power on May 22, 2014, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has called for the junta to return power, rights, independence and freedom to the people.

Ms Yingluck posted her call on her Facebook page on Sunday.

"Today (May 22) is the second anniversary of the coup that seized administrative power from my government. In fact, it was when the people were deprived of their power, rights and freedom under the pretext that my government was not capable of running the country's administration," she wrote.

Ms Yingluck said the NCPO justified the power seizure by claiming that it wanted to restore unity, build legitimacy for all concerned and reform the country.

"I can only hope that the NCPO will not forget its promises. I would also like to raise a question: Whether unity and legitimacy have been created for all concerned in the right direction? I hope the NCPO will step up its efforts to carry out reforms toward true democracy according to the road map.

"Today the people are increasingly sufferring from economic hardships, poverty and social problems including drugs. I want the NCPO to return happiness to the people by giving them back their power, rights, independence and freedom and solving conflicts in society instead of returning happiness with uneasiness.

"By doing this, the people can choose their own way of life. This is the best way out, so that the past two years will not be years of waste," Ms Yingluck wrote.

Pichai Nariptaphan, a former energy minister and core member of the Pheu Thai Party, said after two years the majority of the people felt the country had gone backwards, particularly in the economic field.

He said Thailand sufferred the lowest growth compared to other Asean countries during the past two years -- 0.7% in 2014 and 2.8% in 2015.

Although the country recorded 3.2% growth in the first quarter of 2016, it was still very low compared to neighbouring countries, he said.

He believed the total growth in 2016 would be lower than the government's target of 3.7%.

Augmented by human rights problems, for which the country had been rebuked by the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, foreign countries' confidence in Thailand had dropped.

While the NCPO called for the people to respect its laws and regulations, the people had become confused as to why they government had not complied with the UN charter and international laws, causing the country to have problems over its image and credibility, he said.

Mr Pichai called for the NCPO to bring the country back to democracy as soon as possible.