Shortly thereafter, the royally appointed Anand Panyarachun, a businessman and former diplomat, headed a largely civilian interim government and promised to hold elections in the near future. However, following inconclusive elections, former army commander Suchinda Kraprayoon was appointed prime minister. Thais reacted to the appointment by demanding an end to military influence in government, but demonstrations were violently suppressed by the military in May 1992. According to eyewitness reports of the confrontation near the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, soldiers may have killed seven hundred and fifty protesters after only two days of protests.