Caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who is also defence minister, defended compulsory military conscription on Wednesday, saying it is necessary and draftees play an important role in safeguarding the country’s borders.
The former army commander-in-chief was speaking to reporters at Government House, when he sent his best wishes to Thai people on the eve of Songkran Day, the traditional Thai New Year.
He wished everyone a safe journey home.
“On the way home, please have sympathy for the officials who are on duty along your route. They are like the 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers who are in their positions along the border and are not able to return home.
“Let us be sympathetic toward them. We can live safely inside because they defend the borders for us. Who are they? They all are our children. Some of them came into the armed forces through conscription before stepping up to be non-commissioned and commissioned officers. Without care for one another there cannot be unity. Without unity, the country will not be safe,” Gen Prayut said.
Gen Prayut’s remarks came amid election campaign calls by some political parties for an end to compulsory military conscription and its replacement with voluntary enlistment.
He said it is necessary that civilians, police and the military stick together as one for the sake of national security. “Without soldiers at our borders, there would be more problems than we now have,” he said.
As the current defence minister, Gen Prayut said, he would do his best on behalf of the government, regardless of political differences.
He asked all people to look beyond Thailand’s borders and see what is happening and where there is conflict, outside of domestic politics.
The government was doing all it could to cope with changes in and outside the country and was not indulging in political one-upmanship, he said.