Ousted Thai PM asks junta to return rights, freedom to people

Yingluck became Thailand's first woman prime minister in 2011 and was stripped of her post by the military in a coup in 2013

Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has expressed concern over the ruling junta's performance and called on the kingdom's generals to return power to the people as the country marked the second anniversary of the coup that toppled her elected government.

Yingluck, 48, who became Thailand's first woman prime minister in 2011 after a thumping election victory, was stripped of her post by the military in a coup to "put an end" to the then-intense political protests, starting in 2013 following her government's attempt to pass an amnesty bill.

She is still facing charges on the controversial rice pledging scheme which was implemented during her tenure.

In a Facebook post, she asked the military formed National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to urgently address problems being faced by the people.

"I have growing concerns because today people are suffering from economic hardship, poverty and critical social issues including increasing drug use," she said.

Yingluck said the junta had justified the coup claiming that her government could no longer govern the country and it needed to take charge to proceed with reconciliation process.

"I would like to ask them whether the reconciliation process has been inclusive and if it is going in the right direction or not," she said on her Facebook page on Sunday.

She asked the NCPO to accelerate the implementation of reforms that will move the country back towards path to democracy as specified by their own roadmap.

"It was also the day that the people's rights and freedom were taken away. I wish that they will swiftly return happiness to the people. By happiness, I mean the basic rights and freedom that will allow the people to once again choose their own destiny.

"This will ensure that the past two years would not have been wasted. I remain hopeful that this will be the case," she was quoted as saying by local media.

Meanwhile, more than 200 people marched on Sunday to protest military rule on the second anniversary of the coup that toppled the country's elected government on May 22, 2014 in the military's 12th successful putsch.

Yingluck is the younger sister of former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra who is on a self imposed exile and wanted in Thailand on corruption charges.