By Aim Sinpeng May 27 at 5:34 pm Thai police and army soldiers stand guard outside a military compound before former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrives to report to Thailand’s ruling military on May 23, 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand . (Photo by Rufus Cox/Getty Images) The following is a guest post from University of British Columbia political scientist Aim Sinpeng . ***** It was the most social-media savvy coup in Thailand. And for a country with one of the largest number of coup attempts in the world, 19 in total, since 1932, it was quite a feat. The men in uniform are trying to get with the times. Perhaps they learned from Turkey’s Erdogan that they could block social media sites like Twitter and YouTube and still win an election . Or perhaps they underestimated how shutting down Twitter had backfired on Tunisia’s Ben Ali and helped fuel more protests.  Either way, the Thai military thought the coup had to be carried out properly: ...

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra Sunday wrote on his Twitter micro-blogging page that the National Council for Peace and Order must return happiness to Thais. He said he was sad that another coup happened in the kingdom and added that conflicts in the country stemmed from divisiveness and lacking of fair rules and framing. Thaksin said he would like to see Thais turn to one another and smile happily like what happened a decade ago. He urged the NCPO to treat all sides fairly and respect the human rights as well as basing its actions on the international practice and rule of law. _____The Nation

Coup leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha asked for public understanding for three transferred senior officials, saying they have done nothing wrong but their transfers were made for the sake of suitability under the current situation, Army deputy spokesman Col Winthai Suwaree said. The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Saturday ordered the removal of national police chief Adul Saengsingkaew, Department of Special Investigation director-general Tarit Pengdit, and Defence Ministry permanent secretary Nipat Thonglek from their positions. They will be transferred to the PM's Office. Winthai quoted NCPO chief and Army chief Prayuth as saying the transfers did not lessen the honour of the officials and their agencies. Prayuth will assign the most senior deputy Police chief to be the acting national police chief, the spokesman said. "All will be done to create trust among members of the society. And [Prayuth] would like the people to have sympathy for the transf...

Prominent figures who have been summoned by the coup makers have not been tortured and will not be detained longer than seven days, Army deputy spokesman Col Winthai Suwaree announced Sunday. Winthai said the National Council for Peace and Order has summoned prominent figures from each side to find out more facts about the current situations. The summoned figures have been detained at proper places. "They are not chained or tortured. We treat all of them with honour," Winthai said. "We have informed them the need to cooperation to help solve the country's problems." Winthai said many of the summoned persons have been released and some were freed on the first day. He added that each of the detained persons could not be detained longer than seven days. The period for detention depends on the degree of importance of the figures. He said if the summoned figures are wanted on arrest warrants, they will be handed over to police for further prose...

Nation Multimedia Group's Editor-in-Chief Thepchai Yong called on the military junta to respect Thai people's freedom of expression and their right to know. "Especially in time of crisis like this, people’s access to information is very important. And the media have a crucial role to play in keeping the public informed through free and independent reporting," he said. Thepchai said he strongly supports the call by Thailand’s major media organizations for the junta to repeal all the orders issued in the aftermath of the coup that are restricting media freedom. He also urged the military to refrain from actions that are seen as intimidating the media. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/NMGs-editor-in-chief-calls-on-junta-to-respect-fre-30234576.html

Twenty-one men and one woman, who were arrested over the past two days with a cache of weapons, have confessed that they were planning a terrorist attack in Khon Kaen on the orders of red-shirt hardliners, the military said yesterday. Maj-General Thawat Plangsuk, Second Army Region deputy commander, said the authorities were further questioning the suspects and red-shirt leaders in Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima and Kalasin to find out if they were planning a coordinated attack across the northeastern region. Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of civilian, police and military raided the Chonlapruek apartment at tambon Ban Ped in Khon Kaen's Muang district. The officers found the suspects holding a meeting in two units. Ten people were arrested in room 406 and nine were arrested in room 407. Two people were arrested in room 411. Authorities found explosives, three hand grenades, one smoke grenade, two boxes of 202 9mm bullets and 145 11mm bullets, two gas tanks, m...

BANGKOK — Hundreds of anti-coup protesters demonstrated in Bangkok for a second day of public protest against the military coup d'etat, despite the military junta’s ban on public gatherings of more than five people. Earlier in the day, at least 150 demonstrators gathered in front of Major Cineplex shopping mall on Phahonyothin Road. The protesters, who held placards condemning the coup, repeatedly shouted " Ai Ley Org Pai !" ("Cross-eyed, get out!") in reference to coup-leaer Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is said to be cross-eyed. "I am frustrated, I can't stand this," said a 33-year-old protester who declined to be identified by name. "Why should I bow down to this lawless power who is using guns to threaten people?" Although the protest was largely peaceful, commotion broke out when a prominent royalist activist, who has previously filed a lese majeste charge against a student activist, was spotted nea...

Bangkok (DPA) — The US military announced the cancellation of joint exercises with Thailand in the wake of last week's coup. Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha seized power with a coup d'etat on Thursday and has placed the country under martial law, detaining at least 150 politicians, activists and scholars over the past thee days. On Saturday, the junta dissolved the Senate, strengthening Prayuth's legislative powers as sole ruler of the nation.   "It is important that the Royal Thai Armed Forces end this coup and restore to the people of Thailand both the principles and the process of democratic rule, including a clear path forward to elections," Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in Washington. Thailand and the US have enjoyed close military ties since the Vietnam War, when the Asian kingdom was allied with US forces and hosted their military bases on its soil. "While we have enjoyed...

BANGKOK — The Thai military junta further consolidated its power tonight by dissolving the Senate and transferring top officials allied to the previous government to inactive posts. The announcement was made in a statement released by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) this evening. The NCPO provided no reasons for dissolving of the Senate, whose members are half-elected and half-appointed by the Courts and other independent agencies allied with the establishment. This Senate was largely controlled by its appointed members, who were considered to be sympathetic to the anti-government protest movement's cause. The announcement effectively voided the last remaining legislative body in Thailand, granting the coup leaders all law-making powers. The House of Parliament and the Cabinet were dissovled by the NCPO when it seized power. General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who declared a coup d'etat on 22 May, is now the acting prime ministe...

Military Summons Print Media to Army Club   BANGKOK — The military has summoned representatives from 18 Thai newspapers to attend a 2pm meeting at the Army Club tomorrow.   Since seizing power on 22 May, the military junta has directed most of its media censorship towards television and radio stations. Tonight's summons is the first indication that the military may directly target print media as well.  Khaosod was among those invited to the meeting and will send a chief editor to represent the newspaper.  After announcing the coup d'etat on Thursday afternoon, the military junta temporarily blacked out all television and radio stations, including international broadcasters like CNN and BBC. Media outlets that tried to stream live coverage online were shutdown as well.  The military has also warned all news outlets and social media users not to publish anything that could "incite unrest" or cause "public ...

Tan Hui Yee The Straits Times Publication Date : 21-05-2014 Here's a look at the key players in Thailand's political crisis: Martial law is now in place throughout Thailand, where months of violent anti-government protests have caused political paralysis and hurt the economy. The military says the imposition of martial law is not a coup, but a bid to restore order. Here's a look at the key players in Thailand's political crisis: King Bhumibol Adulyadej King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 86, has intervened in past conflicts but has kept silent in this prolonged stand-off. While he has the moral authority to intervene, he has stated previously his reluctance to use those powers. He is also in poor health, making it hard for him to be the final arbiter even if he wanted to. It is a measure of the reverence Thais hold for the King that both camps in this bitter conflict claim to be loyal subjects. Ironically, anxieties about the looming royal succession add t...

Pravit Rojanaphruk The Nation Publication Date : 24-05-2014 Red Sunday Group leader Sombat Boonngam-anong is the first person on the list of 114 summoned by the military junta yesterday who has publicly refused to report, saying that staging a coup was illegitimate. He challenged the junta on Twitter and Facebook to catch him if they can. "Hilarious. Not reporting [to the junta] is considered a criminal offence. But when they deploy tanks to seize power and tear down the Constitution, it is not even a violation of the Criminal Act," Sombat tweeted at around 1:40pm yesterday from his @nuling tweet account. Sombat's whereabouts are not known and the junta, which staged the coup on Thursday afternoon and created the National Peace and Order Maintaining Council (NPOMC), warned that anyone on the list who did not report would face a criminal charge. Sombat, in his mid-40s and known for his role in leading a small group of protesters in the aftermath of th...

The Nation May 24, 2014 4:54 pm Orders issued by the National Peace and Order Maintaining Council (NPOMC) following the May 22 coup announcement: - Martial law is invoked nationwide - The current Constitution is abolished except Chapter 2, which pertains to the monarchy - The Cabinet is terminated - Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, as head of the NPOMC, acts as the prime minister and each ministry's permanent secretary acts as relevant minister - Nationwide curfew from 10pm-5am - All political gatherings of five or more people are banned and all protesters are ordered off the streets - All TV and radio stations are ordered to suspend normal programmes and allowed to show only Army broadcasts - All media outlets are ordered to refrain from reporting content that could be deemed as lese majeste, provocative, inciting violence or critical of the military leaders - Operators of social media and Internet service providers have been urged to block ...

Payment of debt to rice farmers should be made in 20 days: Prayuth Military junta chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday pushed forward a reform agenda and made the payment of debts to farmers under the rice-pledging scheme a top priority after Thursday's coup, which he called a sacrifice for the nation to build unity and end conflicts. The monarchy has nothing to do with the seizure of power, Prayuth was quoted as saying to officers at a meeting of the junta's National Peace and Order Maintaining Council (NPOMC) yesterday. The NPOMC began to formulate an action plan to bring the country back to normalcy. Prayuth told yesterday's meeting of agency heads that funds have been allocated to repay debts owed to rice farmers under the ousted government's rice-pledging scheme. He expressed confidence that within 15-20 days the debts should be repaid. Priority has been given to hunting down people the junta considers its opponents. More than 100 people,...

May 24, 2014 10:09 am The United States Friday suspended $3.5 million in military assistance for Thailand, about one-third of its aid to the ally, and urged Americans to reconsider travel plans after the army seized power. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington was also reviewing the rest of US aid to Thailand -- which totalled some $10.5 million in 2013 -- to look for further cuts. "We have already suspended approximately $3.5 million" in funding and training for the Thai military, Harf told reporters. "We are reviewing all programs to determine other assistance which we may suspend." Harf said the United States was looking through its allocated funding for international bodies, including the 10-nation Asean bloc, to identify money directed to Thailand. The United States has contacted junta leaders to deliver the message, Harf said. "We urge the immediate restoration of civilian rule, a return to demo...

Agence France-Presse May 24, 2014 10:33 am Former premier Yingluck Shinawatra has been detained by leaders of Thailand's military junta, a source in her party said Saturday as the army prepared to brief the media for the first time on a coup criticised worldwide. The fate of Yingluck and scores of other figures in the now-deposed government and her Puea Thai party has been a mystery since they were summoned by the army early Friday as it tightened its grip on the country. "It is confirmed that she was detained by the military since she reported to the junta yesterday," said the source, who had served in Yingluck’s government and was present when she turned herself in. He said her whereabouts remained unknown. An army spokesman was due to hold the junta’s first press briefing since the takeover at 10:30 am (0330 GMT). ---- The Nation

The Nation May 24, 2014 3:17 pm The four major media organisations Saturday issued an open letter to the military junta urging it to lift coup orders that restrict the press freedom and to have a new constitution enacted as soon as possible. The four organisations are the Thai Journalists Association, the Press Council of Thailand, the Thai Broadcast Journalists, and the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand. The open letter called on the National Peace and Order Maintaining Council to urgently review all orders that are involved with the journalist duty of the media. The organisations suggested that the NPOMC should have the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission enforce existing laws to supervise news reports instead of using the restrictive orders to control the media. The letter also called on the NPOMC to clearly declare that it would support and would not obstruct the journalist duty of all types of media because such a stand would create ...

US Finally Suspends Military Aid to Thailand After Coup Washington (AFP) —The United States Friday suspended $3.5 million in military assistance for Thailand, about one-third of its aid to the ally, and urged Americans to reconsider travel plans after the army seized power. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington was also reviewing the rest of US aid to Thailand -- which totaled some $10.5 million in 2013 -- to look for further cuts. "We have already suspended approximately $3.5 million" in funding and training for the Thai military, Harf told reporters. "We are reviewing all programs to determine other assistance which we may suspend." Harf said the United States was looking through its allocated funding for international bodies, including the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, to identify money directed to Thailand. The United States has contacted junta leaders to deliver the message, Harf said. ...

Anti-Coup Protesters Rally At 1973 Uprising Memorial BANGKOK – Student activists have defied the military’s ban on political gatherings of more than five people by continuing to protest the military coup in Bangkok today. The protests were organised by Thammasat University student activists who call themselves the  League of Liberal Thammasat for Democracy  (LLTD). Students from other universities and members of the public also joined the demonstration as well. At 11 a.m.  protesters began marching from Thammasat University's Tha Prachan campus down Ratchadamnoen Avenue toward the Grand Palace, passing the Ministry of Interior Affairs and the Supreme Court on the way. Some placards held by the protesters read, "Let us find the pigeon [symbol of democracy]," "We are coup generation," "Bring me back my damn votes,” and "Anti-Coup." Security forces kept watch on the demonstrators as they mar...

Weapon Cache Found at PCAD Rally Site BANGKOK — Officials say they have confiscated numerous firearms and explosive devices from the dismantled rally site of demonstrators who were protesting the recently-ousted government. After seizing power in a military coup yesterday evening, the army ordered The People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD) to end their rally against the former government. PCAD leaders announced that heir mission has been achieved and agreed to vacate Ratchadamnoen Avenue where they had been camping for weeks. At around 6 a.m. today, a combined force of over 200 soldiers, police officers, and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration officials started an effort to clean up the rally site and re-open the roads to the public. The officers spent several hours dismantling barricades, barbed wire, and sandbag "bunkers" erected by the PCAD guards to defend their rally ...