On the first of April Thailand’s military junta lifted martial law in a presumed step towards a return to full democracy. This comes after almost a year after the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinwatr was deposed in a coup. But does the lifting of martial law marks a return to democracy? And were the military the neutral arbiters in the decade long conflict that they claimed they were. History professor and author of the classic “Mapping Siam”, tell us why he thinks the endgame of the coup is to create the conditions for royal succession.
This was a report by Sharaad Kuttan.