Does the Australian Government back the actions of the Thai Prime Minister and the military operation?
STEPHEN SMITH: What we back is Thailand resolving its political difficulties in a peaceful and civilised and lawful manner and that message was relayed to the Thai authorities yesterday on my behalf by our Ambassador in Bangkok. What Australia wants to see is all parties engage in a peaceful resolution of what are clearly very difficult political circumstances in Thailand. REPORTER: So, what’s your view then of the military operations so far? STEPHEN SMITH: Well, we certainly don’t want Thailand to remove itself from democracy, so any military action needs to be action which is consistent with Thailand’s constitution, consistent with the law and consistent with keeping peace and law and order. REPORTER: And do you think the military operation has been consistent with that? STEPHEN SMITH: It’s not for me to be able to make a judgement about that. Certainly we’ve seen very violent clashes on the TV screens. We’re urging all parties to exercise restraint. We’re not making judgements about
