The latest postponement of a long-promised general election underlines the junta’s fear of the Shinawatra family’s lingering influence, at a time when the new king is still settling in.

Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej turns 87 today. Crowned in 1946, he is the world's longest reigning monarch. But the Bhumibol era is coming to an end.

Since seizing power from an elected government more than three months ago, Thailand's National Council for Peace and Order - the governing body of the coup makers - has continued to violate people's freedoms.

Four days after the Thai military overthrew the elected Puea Thai-led government, King Bhumibol Adulyadej endorsed the coup, giving legitimacy to the unlawful intervention. Indeed, the royal endorsement will be crucial for implementing the junta's cast-iron policies to fully control politics.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej celebrated his 86th birthday yesterday, which was also Thailand's national day. This much-anticipated event came amid escalating political conflict between the Yingluck Shinawatra government backed by her fugitive brother, former prime minister Thaksin, and its opponents in the old establishment camp represented by the elitist opposition, the Democrat Party.