BANGKOK — The military junta issued an order today summoning more than 30 people to report to the Army club tomorrow, including prominent activists from both of Thailand's rival political factions.
The junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) broadcast the list on national TV this evening.
The 33 individuals were instructed to report to the Army Club in Bangkok by noon tomorrow, where they will presumably held for questioning. Most of the those summoned by the NCPO in the past few weeks have been held in military camps for 3-7 days before being released.
Rajarek Wattanapanich, founder of the bookstore "Book Re:Public" in Chiang Mai province is among those summoned by the NCPO today. Several weeks ago, soldiers showed up at Book Re:Public in a show of initimidation, possibly due to the book store's history of hosting political discussions.
Also on today's summons list was Thongchai Suwanwihok, aka Comrade Chuang, who is believed to belong to the inner circle of advisers to the anti-government protest movement that sought the ousting of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Sumet Trakulwoonnoo, aka Men, who police accused of leading a squad of armed security units for the anti-government protesters, was also summoned today.
The police issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Sumet following a gunbattle between anti- and pro-government protesters in which masked gunmen fired an automatic rifle concealed in a popcorn bag in the direction of pro-government demonstrators.
Mr. Sumet was identified by the police as the leader of the "Black King" cell, now popularly referred as the "popcorn gunmen."
The police eventually arrested a suspect who was reportedly one of the "popcorn gunmen," but the court later withdrew arrest warrant on Mr. Sumet, citing insufficient evidence.
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