BANGKOK — A military spokesperson has rejected former anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban's revelation that the army has been seeking to overthrow the previous government for years.

Mr. Suthep, leader of the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD), reportedly told supporters over the weekend that he closely coordinated with army chief and coupmaker Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha throughout the six months of protests against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, which started in November and ended in the military coup on 22 May.

He delivered the remark at a private dinner party held at the upscale Pacific Club on Saturday, which was attended by 100 PCAD supporters, The Bangkok Post reported on its frontpage today. 

According to Mr. Suthep, he and Gen. Prayuth discussed measures to root out the influence of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his political allies as early as 2010, a year before Thakin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, won the 2011 election and became Thailand's first female Prime Minister. 

On Saturday, Mr. Suthep claimed that the military launched the 22 May coup to accomplish what the PCAD protesters were unable to achieve during six months of street demonstrations. 

“Before martial law was declared [on 20 May], Gen Prayuth told me ‘Khun [Dear] Suthep and your masses of PDRC supporters are too exhausted. It’s now the duty of the army to take over the task'," The Bangkok Post quoted Mr. Suthep as saying, using the alternative name of the PCAD. Mr. Suthep also told supporters that he regularly chatted with the army chief on LINE, a texting application. 

Mr. Suthep's comment contradicts the military junta's frequent claim that they did not sides in the political conflict that pitted PCAD protesters and the Democrat Party against supporters of the former government. 

Col. Winthai  Suwaree, a spokesman of the military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said The Bangkok Post report was false.

"I insist that there has been no private talk or communication between Mr. Suthep and Gen. Prayuth," Col. Winthai said today. "The news report might have been [affected by] some misunderstanding,"

The spokesperson also insisted that Gen. Prayuth could not possibly have been plotting a coup against Ms. Yingluck, who was also serving as Minister of Defence, because the army strictly operates within the country's legal framework.

However, supporters of Ms. Yingluck's government and a number of pro-democracy activists have long suspected that Gen. Prayuth was sympathetic to the PCAD's causes, citing to the military's silence when PCAD militants stormed governmental buildings and blocked major roads in Bangkok during their six months of political protests.

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UPDATE: The military court decided at 3 pm today to repeal the arrest warrant on Khanchai Boonparn, following requests by his nephew Thakoon Boonparn.

BANGKOK — Police are now seeking the arrest of the executive chairman and co-founder of the Matichon media group for allegedly defying the military junta's summons order.

The junta's National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) issued an announcement on 3 July ordering Khanchai "Chang" Boonparn to report to the Army Club in Bangkok.

Mr. Khanchai's nephew and the manager of Matichon,Thakoon Boonparn, reported to the military the next day to inform officers that his uncle was was in the hospital and unable to report immediately.

Mr. Khanchai, 71, has been hospitalised in Bangkok Hospital since undergoing heart surgery in April. 

This morning, Mr. Kwanchai was included on a police list of 28 suspects being sought for refusing to report to the military.

Mr. Thakoon told Khaosod English that he believes the arrest warrant was issued "out of misunderstanding," because he had already informed the military about Mr. Khanchai's medical condition.

"Matichon has also expressed its willingness to cooperate with the military junta on the matter, so there is no ground for the arrest warrant," said the manager of Matichon Group, which owns several news publications, including Khaosod English.

Mr. Thakoon later submitted proof of Mr. Khanchai's hospitalisation to the Crime Suppression Division and requested the arrest warrant to be repealed. 

Other suspects named by the police include individuals who have been accused of committing lese majeste (insult of monarchy), such as Giles Ungpakorn, Chatwadee "Rose" Amornpat, Neti Wichiansaen, and Ekkapop "Tang Achiwa" Luara.

Mr. Giles and Ms. Chatwadee currently reside the United Kingdom, while Mr. Neti and Mr. Ekkapop are understood to be living abroad to avoid lese majeste charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Jakrapob Penkair, prominent Redshirt leader who has been residing in Cambodia since 2009, was also included on the list. 

Since seizing power from the elected government on 22 May, the NCPO has summoned and detained more than 300 politicians, activists, and academics who are seen as being sympathetic to the previous government or critical of the military takeover. Those who defy the NCPO summons orders face up to two year imprisonment and a 40,000 baht fine. 

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BANGKOK — The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed "disappointment" over the United States' decision to downgrade Thailand in its latest report on human trafficking worldwide.

Thailand has been moved down to lowest ranking of “Tier 3" the United States' 2014 Trafficking in Person Report (TIP) released on Friday. In other words, Thailand is now considered by the US government to be one of the worst places on earth for victims of human trafficking, alongside countries such as North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. 

Tens of thousands of migrants from neighboring countries are trafficked across Thailand’s borders every year and many of them are forced into slavery or exploited in the sex industry. The 2014 TIP report said that Thai authorities have failed to provide basic welfare, legal protection, and safety to victims of human trafficking due to "corruption in all levels.”

Sihasak Puangketkaew, permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded angrily to the TIP report today, calling the downgrade unfair.

"It's very sad that Thailand has been downgraded to Tier 3, which is the lowest level," Mr. Sihasak said, "I feel very disappointed and strongly disagree with it."

Earlier this week, the MFA announced that Thailand deserves an upgrade in the annual TIP report for its "significant progress" in combatting human trafficking. 

Mr. Sihasak, who has been serving as de facto head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the military staged the coup on 22 May, explained today that Thailand has been prosecuting human traffickers, coordinating with US authorities to combat the issue, and upholding all international treaties concerning human trafficking.

"I insist that Thailand upholds the principles of human rights," said Mr. Sihasak. 

He told reporters that Thailand will respond to the TIP report by intensifying efforts to prosecute human traffickers in Thailand and increase public relations efforts to improve Thailand's image abroad.

"I also would like to ask, why doesn't the US allow Thailand to evaluate our own situation? Why is the US always in Tier 1 all the time?" Mr. Sihasak added.

Recent reports by Reuters and British newspaper The Guardian have thrust a global spotlight on the tragic fate of many trafficking victims in Thailand, as well as the complicity of some Thai officials.  

The Guardian investigation, published earlier this month, revealed that several hundred thousand Burmese migrants have been trafficked into Thailand to work as slaves in the Thai seafood and fishing industry. According to the report, Burmese migrants pay brokers to help them cross the border and find work in Thailand, but are instead sold on to "slave vessels" and subject to deplorable working conditions and abuse. The report also alleged that the conglomerate CP Food, considered to be one of the richest businesses in Thailand, is complicit in the slave labour. 

Days later, Thailand was the only country to vote against a U.N. treaty requiring countries to punish perpetrators of forced labor, inviting a fresh wave of criticism from human rights groups. The Thai delegates later reversed their decision. 

The military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has announced plans to harshly punish human traffickers and protect migrant workers from abuse. As Mr. Kerry was unveiling the latest TIP report last night, NCPO chairman Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha went on national television to stress that the junta will prosecute human smugglers and related human rights violators.

Gen. Prayuth also partially blamed the country's rampant abuse of migrant workers on the previous government's push to increase minimum wage to 300 baht per day. 

"The fact is that entrepreneurs were unable to hire domestic workers due to the high daily wage of 300 baht and the problem of workers unwilling to do difficult work," Gen. Prayuth told the nation. "Therefore, businesses turned to hiring foreign, unregulated and illegal workers with lower wages."

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BANGKOK — A military spokesperson has reportedly claimed the army is detaining a Redshirt activist at an undisclosed location so she can meditate without any distractions from the outside world.

Kritsuda Khunasen, 27, was arrested by soldiers on 28 May in Chonburi province, according to a number of activists. She has been missing for three weeks, which exceeds the seven-day limit under martial law on detaining individuals without charges.

The military's silence up until now has invited criticism from international rights groups such as the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), which released a statement on 18 June urging the authorities to clarify Ms. Kritsuda's whereabouts.

Col. Winthai Suwaree, a spokesperson of the military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said yesterday that HRW does not need to worry because the military has merely provided Ms. Kritsuda with a safe haven "away from all the chaos and distraction," according to a Facebook post by Bangkok Post's self-styled "military reporter" Wassana Nanuam.

In the Facebook post, Ms. Wassana quotes Col. Winthai as saying that the military has detained Ms. Kritsuda to help her "meditate, restore consciousness, and reconsider many things, so that we can adjust [her] understanding." 

Col. Winthai did not say how long Ms. Kritsuda will be held in detention, but perplexingly said the military does not detain people for more than seven days, despite Ms. Kritsuda's three-week absence. 

Ms. Kritsuda does need access to a lawyer because the military has not charged her with any crimes, Col. Winthai added, according to the Facebook post by Ms. Wassana. Nevertheless, Col. Winthai said Ms. Kritsuda was detained out of suspicion that she may have incited unrest and violated the Computer Crime Acts during her tenure as a Redshirt activist.

Col. Winthai's statement is the first public acknowledgement by an NCPO official that the military has detained Ms. Kritsuda. Previous efforts by Khaosod to secure comments from military officers concerning her whereabouts have failed, as all of the officers have refused to speak about the case. 

Prior to her detention, Ms. Kritsuda was a public advocate of the Redshirt movement, which supported the government overthrown in a military coup on 22 May. For the past several years, Ms. Kritsuda has been providing humanitarian and legal support to other Redshirt activists that have been charged and detained for their alleged involvement in violent Redshirt political protests in 2010. 

Since it staged the coup against the elected government on 22 May, the NCPO has summoned and detained more than 300 politicians, activists, and academics. A vast majority of those summoned are allied to the Redshirt movement. 

Most of the detainees have been released shortly after they turned themselves in. So far, Ms. Kritsuda is the only known case of a detainee that has not been released after seven days. 

Despite concerns raised by human rights groups, Col. Winthai reportedly urged the public to rest assured that the NCPO's detention of individuals without charges is in accordance with international human rights standards.

"We want to stress again that the summoning procedure does not treat these individuals as someone who committed a crime. Please rest assured. This procedure still upholds the principle of human rights. If you have been following the news, you will discover that no one has felt anything negative toward to the officials' treatment. There is no nature of suffering. Everyone understands and is willing to cooperate with the NCPO."

"The invitations [summons] are not meant to create an atmosphere of fear as understood [by some people]," Col. Winthai added.

So far, there have been no reports of detainees being physically mistreated by NCPO officials, but a number of people have cited being subject to intimidation and aggressive interrogation while held in military custody.

In addition, before being released most detainees are required to sign a document promising to say they were "well-treated” and “not harmed or intimidated, coerced, misled, tortured, or forced to give promise or commit any inappropriate act" by security officers during their time in detention. 

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