BANGKOK – Thailand’s Prime Minister has said that the nation’s powerful military and its revered monarchy should stay removed from politics as the country moves on from its worst civil unrest in decades.

Both institutions have played active roles in the turbulent politics of the kingdom, which was rocked by two months of anti-government Red Shirt protests in Bangkok that turned deadly in May, killing 90 people and injuring nearly 1,900.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, accused by critics of being a “puppet” for an unelected Thai elite and the army after he came into power in 2008 with military backing, stressed his political independence during the recent crisis.

He said that the army, which has staged 18 attempted or actual coups since 1932 – most recently in 2006 when the hero of the Reds, Mr Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted as Premier – should play a reduced role in ensuring stability in the future.

TODAY