Bangkok: Thailand is expected to publish data on Friday showing stagnant consumption and investment, more evidence of a stumbling economy that will lend urgency to the military junta`s efforts to get the country working again.
Southeast Asia`s second-biggest economy has been battered by political turmoil since late last year, when protesters backed by the royalist establishment launched a bid to oust the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The government hung onto power even after a court forced Yingluck out of office for abuse of power on May 7, but the military ousted it in a coup on May 22, saying a takeover was necessary to restore order and prevent further violence.
Military rulers have held out little hope for early elections, despite calls from the United States and other allies for a quick restoration of democracy.
Army chief and coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha has spoken of the need for broad reforms before an election. Another top officer said on Thursday that conditions had to be right and divisions healed before a return to civilian rule.
Despite martial law and a ban on gatherings, small peaceful protests against the takeover have been held daily in Bangkok. Activists, spreading word through social media, say they will hold a big show of opposition on the weekend.
A military spokesman said on Friday the junta was "carefully checking" the Internet for the planning of protests.
"If there are gatherings then we will start with negotiations with the crowd but if there is no understanding then we will have to apply the law strictly," deputy army spokesman Winthai Suvaree told reporters.
Thailand has become polarised between supporters of Yingluck and her influential brother, deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and the royalist establishment that sees Thaksin and his populist ways as a threat to the old order.
Despite the animosity of the elite and the Bangkok middle class, Thaksin`s popularity in the rural north and northeast has ensured that he or his allies have won every election since 2001.
Gross domestic product shrank 2.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014 as the lengthy anti-government protesters damaged confidence and scared off tourists. Friday`s private consumption and investment data for April are likely to show the slump continued into the second quarter.
Data on Wednesday showed factory output fell for the 13th straight month in April, imports plunged and exports remained weak, underscoring the difficulty the military government faces in averting recession.
`PRESSING TASK`
Navy commander Admiral Narong Pipattanasai, the junta member overseeing tourism, told reporters on Thursday that 26 million people were expected to visit this year, down from a targeted 28 million, because of the unrest.
He said revenue from tourism was expected to drop to 1.8 trillion baht ($55 billion). The authorities had been banking on 2 trillion.
"We will do our best to improve the situation," Narong said. "The next pressing task is to build confidence among tourists and to show them that they can travel in Thailand freely ... through campaigns and other methods."
Tourism accounts for about 10 percent of the economy. Many foreign governments have issued warnings about travelling to Thailand, which can affect insurance cover.
Narong said a nationwide night-time curfew, imposed on the day of the coup for seven hours but cut to four hours on Wednesday, could be shortened again in tourist areas. Even in Bangkok, the curfew is not being strictly enforced.
The protests in Bangkok have been rowdy and tense at times but there has been no serious violence. For a day or two after the coup there were also small protests in the northern city of Chiang Mai, but tourist resorts have been unaffected.
The National Council for Peace and Order, as the military junta is known, has imposed rigorous security and censorship, detaining more than 200 people including Yingluck and ministers of the ousted government, though she and many other detainees have since been released.
An ardent supporter of Thaksin and leader of his "red shirt" activists said upon release from detention he was washing his hands of politics for the sake of national reconciliation.
Suporn Attawong, known by followers as "Rambo Isarn" after the northeastern heartland of Thaksin support, said he had not been pressured by the army to quit politics.
"I had a lot of time to contemplate and realised that some of us need to back down for Thailand to be at peace. I have been in politics since I was 20 years old, it`s time to step away," Suporn told Reuters on Friday.
