Soldiers faced off against protesters at Bangkok's Victory Monument yesterday in one of the sporadic displays of anger at the military coup d'etat which has brought martial law to Thailand and left the southeast Asian nation's political future an open question.
Carrying signs saying “F*** the coup” and “We want democracy”, hundreds of protesters challenged troops at the monument. Gatherings of more than five people were banned after the army seized power on Thursday, and a curfew was imposed.
It was the first serious sign in Thailand’s ongoing political crisis that the military was not going to have everything its own way in taking over power.
A big part of this question is whether Thailand's new military leader, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is said to have strong backing from the royalist side, will aim to forge a future for Thailand that includes the "Red Shirts" – who support ousted prime ministers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra – or whether he will continue to rule by iron decree.
Red Shirts Clearly many of the demonstrators were Red Shirts, but others insisted they had no political hue, they just did not want the military to rule.
In one remarkable photograph, a soldier at the Victory Monument wept as he was abused by protesters, a sign of how, despite initial support among many people for the military putsch, there is ambivalence about the army being in charge in Thailand.
Former premier Yingluck was released from military custody, according to diplomatic sources. The junta rounded up more than 100 political leaders and activists on Friday, and according to sources, they were then put into a number of rooms together to “think things over” and work out their political differences.
General Prayuth spoke to the leaders after they had been locked up together, and asked if they had found a deal. When told “no” he locked them up again – with bitter rivals placed alongside each other.
He also summoned 18 newspaper editors to limit criticism and forestall opposition to the junta’s rule.
History of coups The Thai army has staged 19 coups, 12 of them successful, since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932.
“The coup is the right thing to bring us back to our senses, but it’s very bad for business. I hope everything gets resolved soon because no one is coming to my stall,” said one middle-aged market trader who gave her nickname, Nuch.
A young Bangkok hotel worker, who requested anonymity, said her family had long favoured the Yellow Shirt side, and were initially happy about the coup, but they had since found themselves in a difficult position because they did not know how things would go.
“Will they back us or will they support the Red Shirts?” he said.
TV was gradually returning to normal, although many Thais on the street complained that they missed the Champions League final. The curfew was well observed, but not popular.
Rice farmers One measure taken by the junta since it took over that will hurt the Shinawatra faction was a decision to pay money owed to rice farmers from the rice-subsidy scheme set up by Ms Yingluck, which failed, leaving huge stockpiles. Farmers are owed more than €1.8 billion.
An army spokesman said farmers would begin to get paid in one or two days and every farmer would be paid within a month.
The Sunday edition of monarchist newspaper The Nation ran a statement in which the hugely popular King Bhumibol Adulyadej "acknowledged that the power seizure was carried out by the National Council for Peace and Order" but had few other details.
The elderly king is adored by Thais across the political spectrum, but a recent rash of cases of lèse majesté, with people testing the rule forbidding criticism of the king, has come from the Red Shirt side of the divide.
The army abolished the constitution on taking over power, but it left intact the section protecting the monarchy.
