Royal approval for coup leader

Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Monday endorsed Gen. Prayuth (pictured) as head of a ruling military council, a significant formality in the Southeast Asian country.

In a televised press conference in the Thai capital Bangkok, his first since the coup, Gen. Prayuth threatened to "intensify law enforcement" if anti-coup protests flared up again.

"Will we go back to where we were before? If you want to do that, I will need to use force and impose the law strictly," Prayuth said, "You will have to forgive any tough measures as they are necessary."

Prayuth said that the most important thing right now is to "keep peace and order in the country." Defending the takeover he added, "When the conflict intensified, and there was the threat of violence, we had to act."

He also said he aimed for an election as soon as possible but gave no further details.

The Thai military seized power on May 22 after months of violent protests against the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The Senate was then dissolved, the media were censored and critics of the military were arrested.

Since the takeover, the military has detained high-ranking political figures including former Prime Minister Yingluck, most of the deposed government's Cabinet, and dozens of politicians and activists.

However, Yingluck has since been permitted to go home under military supervision. Early on Monday, her main opponent, ex-lawmaker Suthep Thaugsuban, who had led the demonstrations against her government, was also released.

hc/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)