CHIANG MAI – Two women were detained by the military in Chiang Mai province today for allegedly sharing photo of themselves with anti-coup placards with their friends on a chat application.

Siripon Chaipetch, 39, and Jindarat Permlarpwirun, 30, were arrested at a roadside military checkpoint in the northern province in the early morning today. 

According to Pol.Col. Piyapan Pattarapongsin, chief of Chiang Dao Police Station, the two were seen in a photo, which has gone viral on social media, holding placards with anti-coup messages at the peak of Doi Luang Chiang Dao mountain.

The texts on their placards read "Repeal martial law!" and "We don't want the NCPO!" a reference to the military junta's formal name, the National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO). 

"The military and the police became aware of the photo, and so we place checkpoints around the city to look for [the two women]," Pol.Col. Piyapan said. 

Shortly after seizing power from the elected government on 22 May, the NCPO imposed nationwide martial law and banned all political activities against its regime. Violators have been sent to face trials in military court, where appeals are not permitted. 

Pol.Col. Piyapan said Siripon and Jindarat confessed to taking the photo of themselves with the anti-coup signs when they were visiting the mountain peak on 19 November, but insisted that they only shared the photo to their friends on LINE messenger. 

The suspects did not know who posted the photo on social media, the officer said.

"They said they only expressed their personal opinions, they only sent the photos to their friends on a LINE chat group," Pol.Col. Piyapan told reporters. 

Siripon and Jindarat were held briefly at a police station and later released without charges. At the police station they were instructed by a group of soldiers from 5th Cavalry Division to be "careful" and to refrain from "causing conflicts" in the society. 

"We warned them that if they do such action again the future, the military may summon them for detention in a military camp to adjust their attitude, in accordance with the military system," Pol.Col. Piyapan said.

He concluded, "This incident should be a warning to all other individuals who have not yet understood about what they should or should not post on social media."

The two women's arrests came a day after police detain three people in Bangkok in connection to an activist group's mass screening of the film "Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One," which has become associated with anti-coup movement in Thailand. 

A member of the NCPO reiterated yesterday that while Thais are still allowed to privately disagree with the military junta, they cannot express their dissent in any way. 

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BANGKOK — Thais are still allowed to quietly disagree with their military government, a member of the junta confirmed today.

Gen. Prawit Wongsuwna, Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), made the comment in response to the recent spate of arrests of student activists protesting the 22 May 2014 coup. 

"The government is currently working to build reconciliation. We don't want any disputes," Gen. Prawit told reporters today. "If anyone disagrees with the NCPO, they have the right to think that way. But they cannot express that [disagreement], strictly."

Yesterday, five student activists were arrested in Khon Kaen for interrupting a speech by NCPO chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. The students were escorted off the premises after they stood up in front of the stage where he was speaking and flashed the three-finger salute, an anti-coup gesture inspired by the "Hunger Games" movies. The students were reportedly released today without charges. 

Police arrested two more student activists today in Bangkok for attempting to organise a mass screening of the latest installment of the "Hunger Games" series: "Mockingjay – Part One." A movie-goer was also arrested for raising the three-finger salute in the lobby of a cinema where the film was being shown. 

Gen. Prawit said he believes the protests will not escalate any further. 

"I believe the students' symbolic protests that are happening in many areas at the moment will not escalate, because I believe the majority of the people understand what the NCPO and the government are doing," Gen. Prawit said. 

He continued, "The NCPO is asking for only one year, which is not a long time, in order to reform the country and lead it to a new election. And then things will return to normalcy immediately."

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BANGKOK — Three university students were arrested by police in Bangkok today for organising a mass viewing of the latest “Hunger Games” movie, which has become associated with dissent against Thailand’s military regime.

The students originally planned to watch the film at Scala theatre in Bangkok, but the cinema removed the movie from its program altogether after students bought every ticket in the house. Today, two student activists arrived at Scala theater to tell the press they planned to watch the movie somewhere else. 

“We organised this event as movie-lovers,” said Rattapon Supsopon, a fourth-year economics student at Thammasat University. “We are not political humans who are only obsessed with politics.”

When reporters asked one of several dozen police officers stationed at the theatre if they planned to make an arrest, Pol.Col. Kittikorn Boonsom replied, “We have to see their action, then we will interpret what their intention is.” 

Minutes later, Rattapon was escorted off the premises by plain-clothed officers and taken to the police station. Soon after that, a second student was arrested for taking out a copy of George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, another symbol of anti-coup sentiment banned by the military junta that seized power on 22 May.

In an effort to promote "national reconciliation" between Thailand's divided political camps, the junta has outlawed all political activities, including academic seminars. Violators have been sent to face trials in military court, where appeals are not permitted. 

A third student was arrested today at a nearby cinema in Siam Paragon mall, which students chose as the location for the mass-viewing of “The Hunger Games: Mockinjay – Part 1” after Scala theatre canceled its screening. 

​Natcha Kong-udom, a first-year student at Bangkok University who was not associated with the other activists, was arrested by police after she began flashing the three-finger salute in the theatre’s lobby.

The gesture, inspired by its use as an act of rebellion in "The Hunger Games," became a symbol of anti-coup resistance shortly after the military takeover.  

“I think this film has many things that resemble the situation in Thailand right now,” Natcha told reporters at the police station. "I knew that the salute would have me arrested, but I think it's a thing that a person should be able to do.”

She was later taken by soldiers to the 2nd Cavalry Division headquarters in Sanam Pao district for detention.

Yesterday, five law students were taken to an army camp for flashing the salute while coup-leader turned Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha was giving a speech in Khon Kaen province.  

"These arrests reflect the abnormality of post-coup Thailand," said Sunai Pasuk from Human Rights Watch.

"The security forces should exercise judgment and separate peaceful expression from violent protests," he continued. "They have to listen to people's opinions about the direction of the reforms."

(Reporting by Sally Mairs)

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