Us Won’T Impose Sanctions On Thailand

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A top US diplomat  said Tuesday the declaration of martial law by the Thai Army is allowed by the nation’s constitution and won’t trigger sanctions, AP reported.

But he called for the early restitution of democracy and free and fair elections, according to American diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Russel.

Under the U.S. law, sanctions kick in if a country receiving American military aid suffers a coup. Following Thailand’s last military coup in 2006, the U.S. froze military assistance for a year-and-a-half until democracy was restored,  AP reported.

It also reported from Washington that State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the military  actions so far have not triggered such a response.

But she said the U.S. expects the Thai military to abide by its commitment that martial law is a temporary step to prevent violence and it will respect democratic institutions, including freedom of the press.

“As you may know, martial law, the declaration of that is allowed for in the Thai constitution. But we’re certainly closely watching what’s happening on the ground, and we’ll continue to make evaluations of what’s happening,” Psaki told a regular press briefing.

Human Rights Watch’s Asia advocacy director in Washington, John Sifton,  said it was concerned the U.S. response amounted to de facto acceptance of the army seizing power from the civilian administration.

“Instead of making excuses for the Thai military, or offering misplaced legal justifications, the US should be calling for martial law to be ended,” he said.

via US won’t impose sanctions on Thailand | Thai PBS English News.

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