BANGKOK — In an ongoing effort to soften the public perception of its military takeover on 22 May, the Thai military junta has announced it does not like the word “coup.”

"I try not to use the word coup, because I feel that what we are doing at the moment is quite different, completely different than what happened in the past," a spokesperson for the junta’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) said last night.

Col. Werachon Sukondhapatipak said he preferred to use the phrase "military intervention."

Since becoming a constitutional democracy in 1932, Thailand has experienced 22 coup attempts, 13 of which were successful. The Thai army staged its most recent putsch last month and has announced plans to govern the country until October, after which it will appoint an interim government to carry out national reforms. The junta says elections will not be held for at least another 15 months, and only if "conditions are stable."

There is wide agreement that this military takeover is different from the most recent coup in 2006 — but not because it is less coup-like as Col. Werachon suggested.

Rather, many experts have observed that the current junta is exercising its authoritarian powers more harshly and extensively than military rulers in Thailand's recent past.

"This is worse than previous coups," a political science lecturer at university in Bangkok told Khaosod English. "Because in [1991 and 2006], the military held onto power for a short time and then they organized a technocrat government to take care of all these economic issues for them. The NCPO on the other hand, their actions look more like the military regimes of the 1950s and 1960s."

The NCPO says it plans to maintain control of the country’s administration until October, which is the longest any junta has held onto power since 1971. The coupmakers say it was necessary to seize power in order to resolve the political conflict that led to street protests and sporadic violence between Thailand's rival political factions over the past six months. 

Since seizing power, the junta has banned all forms of peaceful political expression, raided homes without search warrants, censored the media, and summoned and detained hundreds of politicians and activists, all under the banner of "returning happiness to the Thai people."

Last night, the NCPO spokesperson said he doesn't like the word "detention" either. 

"I don’t like the word detention," Col. Werachon said, "Because the conditions that happen are quite different." 

He went on to list the amenities provided to detainees, which include “air conditioning,” “good food,” and “all kinds of activities that make the time pass quickly.”

"Is this detention?" Col. Werachon asked.

Col. Werachon said the army bars detainees from having any contact with the outside world in order to provide them with a "cooling-off period." This is a necessary part of the junta’s goal to reconcile the country’s political divisions and "return happiness" to the people, he said.

"We talk to them, we try to convince them to put the country’s interests before their own," Col. Werachon said.  “"We don’t want them to have information from the outside. We just want them to be on their own."

Many of those who have been released from military custody have confirmed that they were treated well, aside from being aggressively interrogated.

However, those who do not report to the military soon after receiving a summons order can face up to two years in prison. A well-known Redshirt leader and anti-coup activist, Sombat Boonngamanong, is expected to face trial in martial court for defying a summons order and organising anti-coup protests on social media. Col. Werachon said he does not consider Mr. Sombat to be a "political prisoner." 

The military has released the majority of its detainees within seven days, which is the upper limit under martial law. However, Human Rights Watch has identified at least one case in which a Redshirt activist has been held in an undisclosed location for more than two weeks.

Col. Werachon said that no more than 15 people are currently being held by the military.

"We ask people to refrain from expressing any political views because we believe that this is not the time," he said. "We are trying to adjust the mood and tone of society." 

(Reporting by Sally Mairs)

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BANGKOK — Prominent politician and Redshirt leader Singthong Buachoom said he was greatly frightened when soldiers woke him up and arrested him in his home on Monday.

"I was so surprised because the NCPO never summoned me to report to them,” Mr. Singthong said, referring to the military junta’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). Since seizing power in a coup d’état on 22 May, the NCPO has publicly summoned and detained hundreds of politicians and activists, most of whom were allied with the former Pheu Thai government.

According to the former Pheu Thai MP, a group of armed soldiers arrived unannounced at his home on 9 June and instructed his housekeeper to open the gate for them. Once the gate was opened, they rushed in and searched every room before they found Mr. Singthong asleep in his bed.

"The soldiers 'invited' me while I was in my pajamas," Mr. Singthong said. "They said the NCPO had issued a summons for me to report on 10 June, so I told them I would be there on 10 June, but they said no. They told me I had to leave right then and there."

The Pheu Thai MP added that he was "shocked" by the sudden raid because he has not been involved in politics or talked to any Redshirt leaders since the coup.

"Then they took me on a pick-up truck,” Mr. Singthong said. “Soldiers with M-16 rifles flanked me. I tried to ask them where they were taking me, but they wouldn't tell me. I asked to use my phone, but they said no.”  

Once he arrived at the military camp, Mr. Singthong was asked by a group of military officers to “cooperate” with the NCPO's stated mission to reconcile the country’s political divisions and restore happiness to the people. Mr. Singthong said he was also asked to give his opinions on a variety of political issues, such as the proposal by conservative politicians that the votes of Bangkokians are more valuable than those from Thailand’s rural provinces.

After "a long talk" Mr. Singthong said he was let go without signing any conditions of release. Most detained politicians and activists have been forced to promise they will not participate in any political activities.

Mr. Singthong said he later received a formal apology from Col. Songwit Noonpakdee, the commander of the raid on his house, who reportedly admitted that the soldiers were wrong to detain him in such way.

"He said, 'If you ever talk to the press, please tell them I apologize for the action of the soldiers,’” Mr. Singthong told Khaosod. “He apologised to me and my family.” 

In a statement released today, Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the Thai military’s arbitrary arrests of politicians and activists and cited the case of Mr. Singthong specifically.

“The military needs to stop summarily arresting anyone they want and taking them to undisclosed locations,” said Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director Brad Adams.

The human rights group also called upon the Thai military to confirm the location of a Redshirt activist that has been secretly held for nearly two weeks. Under martial law, the military is only permitted to detain citizens without charges for up to seven days.

According to HRW, Kritsuda Khunasen has not been seen or heard from since the military arrested her during a raid on Redshirts in Chonburi province on 28 May.

“Kritsuda and all the others held without being charged with a credible offense should be freed immediately,” HRW’s Mr. Adams said. 

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