Iain McKenzie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain McKenzie on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Thai government on the restoration of democracy in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire

Following a statement by the Foreign Secretary on 22 May, I made a statement on 25 May expressing my strong concerns about the situation in Thailand and calling for a clear timetable for elections and the restoration of democracy.

Our Ambassador to Thailand has communicated through senior Thai civilian officials our serious concerns about the military takeover. Through them, he has urged the Thai military authorities to provide a clear and detailed timetable for the restoration of civilian government. Most recently he met with the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 3 June. The Head of ASEAN Department in London met the Thai Charge d’affaires, also on 3 June to deliver the same message. Our Defence Attaché in Bangkok meets members of the Thai military on a daily basis and repeats these points each time.

We have made it clear to the Thai authorities that we will not continue to have normal bilateral relations until an elected government is in place. We are currently reviewing the scope of our cooperation with Thailand.

We are consulting with EU members, the US, Australia and other allies, to ensure that the international community speaks with one voice on this.