page_title: Prayut Chan-o-cha
section_title: Prime ministerial viewpoints
hierarchical_section_title: Prayut Chan-o-cha / 2014 coup d'état and premiership / Prime ministerial viewpoints
caption_attribution_description: Português: (Osaka - Japão, 28/06/2019) Presidente da República, Jair Bolsonaro, durante foto de família dos Líderes do G20. Foto: Alan Santos/PR
context_page_description: Prayut Chan-o-cha is a Thai politician, retired Royal Thai Army general officer and former leader of the National Council for Peace and Order, the military junta which governed Thailand between 22 May 2014 and 10 July 2019. As of August 2019 he serves as Prime Minister of Thailand, Thailand's Defence Minister, and head of the Royal Thai Police. In addition, he assumed the duties of Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak as head of the government's economic team and oversees the Justice Ministry's Department of Special Investigation.
  Prayut is a former dog trainer and Commander in Chief of the Royal Army from October 2010 to October 2014. After his appointment as army chief, Prayut was characterised as a royalist and an opponent of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Considered a hardliner within the military, he was one of the leading proponents of military crackdowns on the Red Shirt demonstrations of April 2009 and April–May 2010. He later sought to moderate his profile, talking to relatives of protesters who were killed in the bloody conflict, and co-operating with the government of Yingluck Shinawatra who won parliamentary elections in July 2011.
context_section_description: In the aftermath of the slaying of two British tourists on Ko Tao, Prime Minister Prayut observed that, "There are always problems with tourist safety,...They think our country is beautiful and is safe so they can do whatever they want, they wear bikinis and walk everywhere....Can they be safe in bikinis...unless they are not beautiful?" He later admitted during his weekly televised speech that his words were harsh but only had the intention to encourage tourists to be more cautious in certain places especially at night. He expressed his sympathy to the family of the victims and apologized.
  The prime minister has asked the media not to report on human trafficking to suppress the country's flaws without considering how the news will impact the country's seafood industry and its reputation abroad. "Please don't escalate this news," Prayut told reporters in advance of a Channel 3 report about Thai nationals forced into slaving on Thai fishing boats in Indonesian waters. "The media should consider the impact the news will have on the country," he said. "It may cause problems, and affect national security ... If this news gets widely published, [it could raise] problems of human trafficking and IUU [[[Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing]]]." He warned that if any news reports cause Thailand's seafood industry to lose customers, "the people who published the news will have to be held responsible." The government will summon the Channel 3 journalist, Thapanee Ietsrichai, who has been reporting on the plight of Thai men labouring on the ships. "Let me tell you now, Thapanee will have to come see officials," said Prayut.
  In a speech marking Thailand's National Media Day on 5 March 2015, Prime Minister Prayut urged journalists to go beyond merely "reporting the facts". "This morning, someone said the media needs to be impartial. No. I don't think they should say that. It isn't good,...What they should say is, first, media should report news that is factual. Second, they should support the government's efforts to move the country forward. And third, they should help reduce conflicts in society, and create understanding about the government's policies that give clear results. Can you not do these three or four things together, dears?" He went on to say, "If this person says, this side good, that side not good, if media keeps presenting news like that, when will our country have peace?" The general then wished the media happiness and told the journalists to "be good reporters, be quality reporters, and be lovely reporters."
  Gen Prayut pledged to use Article 44 powers to address the nation's failure to meet the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards. The prime minister placed the blame on staffing issues, noting that the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) only has 13 aviation safety inspectors. The DCA employs 1,514.
  In his weekly Friday night "Returning Happiness to the People" televised broadcast of 24 April 2015, Prime Minister Gen Prayut conceded that Section 44 powers will not be enough to resolve illegal fishing issues that have prompted an EU warning and possible ban on Thai exports within the six-month period stipulated by the EU. He noted that it was a long-standing problem and that, "I cannot use Article 44 to solve every problem, I cannot use it to solve expensive lemons, to solve the economy or to solve the ICAO aviation safety concern problem.  Section 44 is just for allowing military officers to do what they could not do in the past." During the same program, the prime minister reported progress on tackling forest encroachment,  saying the government had reclaimed more than 35 million rai (56,000 km²) of illegally occupied public forests.
  At an anti-corruption event in Bangkok on 8 June 2015, Prayut vowed to eliminate corruption and repair Thailand's tarnished international image. At one point, responding to media questions, he stated, "Don't try to fool me and act like you can do or say anything 'because we are a democracy....'" "Do you misunderstand something? Today, I am the
caption: Prayut at 2019 G20 Osaka summit
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