UpdateCoup leader Prayuth gets Thailand king's backing to run the country
General says he seized power to restore order and tells public not to 'create new problems'
Bolstered by a royal endorsement yesterday to run the country after last week's coup, Thailand's junta leader warned citizens not to cause trouble, not to criticise and not to protest - or else face a return to the "old days" of street violence.
Dressed in a crisp white military uniform, General Prayuth Chan-ocha said he had seized power in order to restore order after seven months of violent confrontations and political turmoil between the now-ousted government and demonstrators who had called repeatedly for the army to intervene.
"I'm not here to argue with anyone. I want to bring everything out in the open and fix it," Prayuth said at his first news conference since taking power last Thursday.
"Everyone must help me," he said, before adding: "Do not criticise, do not create new problems. It's no use."
Watch: Angry Thai anti-coup protests despite junta warnings
The warning came as an aide to former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra said she had been released from military custody. Yingluck, who was forced from power by a controversial court ruling earlier this month, had been held at an undisclosed location without a telephone since Friday.