Thai prime minister decries soap operas, and threatens to write his own

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday criticised television soap operas for promoting violence and divisions in society. He said he wanted scripts to encourage reconciliation, and would write them himself if he had to.

Prayuth, who is also army chief, staged a coup on May 22, overthrowing an elected government after six months of violent anti-government protests.

"I have ordered that scripts be written, including plays on reconciliation, on tourism and on Thai culture," Prayuth said.

"They are writing plots at the moment and if they can't finish it I will write it myself," he said of a team of government-appointed writers.

The junta has ruled unchallenged since taking over and has cracked down on pro-democracy dissidents and supporters of the fallen government of Yingluck Shinawatra. Yingluck, Thailand's first woman prime minister, is the sister of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecoms tycoon who shook up politics by winning over poor voters with populist policies.

Prayuth bemoaned hugely popular television soap operas which he said encouraged violence rather than peace. Some television dramas have also been criticised for trivialising rape and domestic violence.