THAI army-installed Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said yesterday that he planned to lift martial law but bring in a measure his opponents dub the “dictator law.”

Human rights groups, lawyers, political parties and academics have all condemned Article 44 of the junta’s interim constitution.

It would give Mr Chan-ocha unchecked authority over the government, parliament and courts but absolve him of any legal responsibility for his actions.

As head of the army, he led last May’s coup against the elected government of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Mr Chan-ocha told reporters yesterday that he was seeking King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s approval to revoke martial law — considered a formality.

The prime minister has faced growing pressure to end the military oversight of national public security, but swapping martial law for Article 44 may not improve matters.

In the 1960s and early ’70s the Thai military junta used similar powers to carry out thousands of summary executions, including of at least 3,000 communists.

“Article 44 essentially means Prayuth is the law,” Pravit Rojanaphruk, an outspoken columnist for The Nation newspaper, wrote yesterday.

“He can order the detention of anyone without charge, without having to put the person on trial and for as long as he desires,”

Mr Chan-ocha tried to wave away concerns, telling reporters that he would use the powers “constructively” to tighten security.

“If you’re not doing anything wrong, there’s no need to be afraid,” he said.

by Our Foreign Desk