--- title: Thai Junta Leader Prayuth Chan-ocha Defends Rights Abuses description: "We are operating in unusual circumstances," he said, in a year-end speech canonical: https://time.com/4159825/thailand-prime-minister-prayuth-speech-human-rights/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-23T09:05:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T13:36:15.251Z article:section: World og:title: Thai Junta Leader Defends Rights Abuses og:description: "We are operating in unusual circumstances," says Prayuth Chan-ocha. og:url: https://time.com/4159825/thailand-prime-minister-prayuth-speech-human-rights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd457715cbf7a9945/698876a7a988cab09e6b5db3/gettyimages-501952936.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Prime Minister Of Thailand Prayuth And Prime Minister Of Cambodia Hune Sen Attend News Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Thai Junta Leader Defends Rights Abuses twitter:description: "We are operating in unusual circumstances," says Prayuth Chan-ocha. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd457715cbf7a9945/698876a7a988cab09e6b5db3/gettyimages-501952936.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Thai Junta Leader Has Defended Rights Abuses in His Year-End Speech by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Dec 23, 2015 9:05 AM CUT  Prayuth Chan-Ocha speaks during a news conference in Bangkok on Dec. 19, 2015 Prayuth Chan-Ocha speaks during a news conference in Bangkok on Dec. 19, 2015Dario Pignatelli—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Dec 23, 2015 9:05 AM CUT The boss of Thailand’s military regime, Prayuth Chan-ocha, made a comprehensive [speech](http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/thai-pm-calls-for-country/2371940.html?cid=twtcna "undefined") Wednesday providing justifications for the junta’s increasing authoritarianism. The head of the junta that seized power in a May 2014 coup also reiterated a promise to hold democratic elections in 2017, Channel News Asia reports. “Some say I came to power illegitimately,” Prayuth said, referring to the military coup of May 2014\. “I’d say we came in to fix things and push needed reforms.” The military junta has been stifling dissent since coming to power last year. Journalists and activists critical of the government have been [arrested](http://news.yahoo.com/thai-editor-loses-final-appeal-over-royal-slur-052648800.html?soc%5Fsrc=mediacontentstory&soc%5Ftrk=tw "undefined"), and many have accused the country’s leaders of misusing the [lèse majesté law](http://time.com/3650981/thailand-lese-majeste-article-112/ "undefined") — which ostensibly exists to protect the standing of the Thai royal family — to [silence](http://time.com/4152981/thai-woman-jailed-lese-majeste/ "undefined") opposing voices. “To those who say we lost our democracy, I’d say I am sorry, but we cannot afford to waste the time we have now to change our country,” Prayuth said. “Those accusing me of breaching human rights, they need to understand that we are operating in unusual circumstances.” The dictator has also sought to raise public morale through music, releasing his second patriotic song this week. The ballad, entitled “Because You Are Thailand,” is his New Year present to the people of Thailand, [according](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-politics-idUKKBN0U50SU20151222?irpc=932 "undefined") to comments cited by Reuters. It includes lyrics such as: “If we join hands and breathe together, the day we hope for is not far away,” and “Because you are Thailand, you will not let anyone destroy you.” The Prime Minister’s first morale-boosting musical release, entitled “Returning Happiness to Thailand,” was [released](http://time.com/2851467/thai-coup-junta-happiness-song/ "undefined") soon after last year’s coup and is a regular fixture on Thai radio and television. Meanwhile, a [new poll](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/23/thailands-junta-releases-poll-showing-993-of-citizens-happy-with-its-performance "undefined") released by the Thailand government on Wednesday also revealed overwhelming support for the country’s military rulers by its citizens, with nearly all respondents reporting they were happy with the authoritarian government’s performance thus far, according to the _Guardian_. The poll released by the Thai National Statistics Office said 99.3% of the 2,700 people surveyed nationally were satisfied with the military junta’s performance since last year. The poll also showed that 98.9% of respondents expressed confidence in the government’s ability to address the Southeast Asian nation’s problems. — _With reporting by Yenni Kwok_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4159825/thailand-prime-minister-prayuth-speech-human-rights/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4159825/thailand-prime-minister-prayuth-speech-human-rights/"},"headline":"The Thai Junta Leader Has Defended Rights Abuses in His Year-End Speech","datePublished":"2015-12-23T09:05:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:36:15.251Z","description":"His speech comes as an official poll finds that more than 99% of Thais are happy with the junta","url":"https://time.com/4159825/thailand-prime-minister-prayuth-speech-human-rights/","keywords":["Thailand","elections","democracy","Prime Minister","Speech","Prayuth Chan-Ocha","Junta","2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd457715cbf7a9945/698876a7a988cab09e6b5db3/gettyimages-501952936.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd457715cbf7a9945/698876a7a988cab09e6b5db3/gettyimages-501952936.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Prime Minister Of Thailand Prayuth And Prime Minister Of Cambodia Hune Sen Attend News Conference","caption":"Prime Minister Of Thailand Prayuth And Prime Minister Of Cambodia Hune Sen Attend News Conference","creditText":"Dario Pignatelli—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/thailand/","name":"Thailand"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4159825/thailand-prime-minister-prayuth-speech-human-rights/","name":"The Thai Junta Leader Has Defended Rights Abuses in His Year-End Speech"}}]}] ```