BANGKOK — A week after seizing control of the country, Thailand’s military junta has begun sealing off the rally site of Bangkok’s burgeoning anti-coup movement, forcing activists to seek new spaces to voice their defiance.

For the past two days, soldiers and police have blockaded all roads leading to Bangkok's Victory Monument, where anti-coup protesters began staging regular rallies two days after the military’s National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) staged a coup on 22 May.

Despite the martial law ban on public gatherings, security forces tolerated the protests for several days. But after some protesters attacked a military Humvee at a rally on 28 May, the army began clamping down on the iconic site.

Yesterday, the military lockdown around Victory Monument forced protesters to join another anti-coup gathering on Thammasat University's Tha Prachan campus in Bangkok's old quarters. 

The student-organised protest was held in the university's Bodhi Tree Courtyard, the historic spot where student activists staged a protest that later snowballed into a popular uprising against the military junta in October 1973. 

Several hours after yesterday's protest began, university staff asked the students to move their rally off campus, citing the martial law ban on public gatherings. Arguments ensued, but the activists eventually retreated to just outside the university's southern gate.

The protest lasted until 6 pm, after which the activists dispersed peacefully.

Another small anti-coup demonstration was held at Chong Non Si BTS Station, where ten activists staged a "read-in." The demonstrators stood in a group and silently read George Orwell's Nineteen-Eightyfour  to voice their dissent against the military junta. 

The leader of the group, Pimsiri, said the protest was intended as a non-violent gesture of dissent that would avoid confrontation with soldiers. Ms. Pimsiri, who asked to be identified only by her first name, also expressed hopes that authorities will not crack down on "read-ins" in the future, given that Bangkok is promoting itself as the "City of Books."

The military lockdown at Victory Monument continued for a second day today, preventing any protests from taking place. There was no rally at Victory Monument yesterday either, except for a pair of women who raised placards bearing anti-coup slogans and were promptly detained by security forces.

A Belgian man was also arrested and taken away from the area after he displayed a T-Shirt with the words "Peace, Please." No explanation was given by the military for his arrest.

It is not clear how long the military will continue to lockdown Victory Monument, an important transportation hub for Bangkokians.

Fugitive activist Sombat Boonngarm-anong has called for a major anti-coup protest on 1 June at Ratchaprasong Intersection in central Bangkok.

CHIANG MAI — As part of the military's ongoing effort to de-politicize Thai society, security forces in Chiang Mai province have taken down flags affiliated with the Redshirt political movement that used to adorn Wat Sri Boon Reung Temple.

Police officers arrived at the temple in Mueang district yesterday evening to take down the flags, which bear the official emblem of the Redshirt umbrella organization, the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD).

No Redshirt supporters showed up to resist the police operation. The temple’s abbot, Phra Kru Suthep Sitthikun looked on in silence.

Phra Kru Suthep told reporters that the temple was a popular religious destination for the local Redshirt group, Love Chiang Mai 51, which organised rallies in support of now-deposed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and launched attacks on rival protest groups in the province. Chiang Mai province, the home of the Shinawatra family, is a stronghold of the Redshirt movement. 

According to Phra Kru Suthep, members of Love Chiang Mai 51 hung the UDD decorations and later painted the wall of the temple red without any involvement from the temple's administration. 

"The temple-goers did it on their own. I didn't know anything about it," Phra Kru Suthep said.

Nevertheless, the abbot said he did not oppose the idea.

"The temple is a public space," Phra Kru Suthep said. "The temple-goers have the right to do whatever they want. I didn't oppose them."

Phra Kru Suthep said he was notified a few days ago that a local military unit would be sending security forces to strip the temple of any political decoration, which the abbot said he agreed to.

"Whatever that helps our country return to normalcy, I am glad to do it," Phra Kru Suthep said.

According to the abbot, the military decided to send police officers instead of soldiers to the temple in order to avoid a confrontation with local Redshirt supporters.

A week after it seized power from the Redshirt-allied government, the military's National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) announced plans to establish "reconciliation centres" across the country in an effort to convince Thailand's political factions to put aside their ideological differences and work together for the sake of the country's "unity.”

The plan is unlikely to win the favor of anti-coup Redshirt activists who accuse the military of bias against their political faction, citing the mass summons and detentions of Redshirt supporters and the military's heavy handed approach to anti-coup protests in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — The Thai military junta is to send representatives to social media companies to ask them for access to chat rooms and groups that are deemed harmful to national security, reports said Friday.

Facebook, Twitter, Google and popular instant messaging application Line are companies which the junta plans to talk to, a representative from the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology told Matichon Newspaper. 

The junta is asking for cooperation from the companies in taking down posts that are "sensitive" in the current political situation as well as group chats which might contain information deemed vital in protecting the nation. 

On Thursday, a meeting in Bangkok the junta had organized to outline its concerns on social media ended prematurely as no social-networking company chose to attend, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

Akira Morikawa, the chief executive of Line, had earlier stated that the instant messaging company would never reveal users' chat records without a Japanese court order.

The army seized power last week after seven months of anti-government protests that led to violence and a political stalemate.

Rights groups have been quick to protest the junta's detention of key dissidents and its censorship of the media, something the army says is needed to calm political tensions. 

The junta has since made it illegal to criticize the junta or the military.

NAKHON RATCHASIMA — The hardline Redshirt activist known as 'Rambo Isaan' has vowed to quit politics "for life" following his release from six days of detention in a military camp.

"When I first became political, I came here to ask for Thao Suranaree's blessing, and I became an MP as I wished," Suphon Attawong said as he prayed to the shrine of Nakhon Ratchasima's local heroine this morning. "Today, I have decided to leave politics, so I came here again to tell her I want to quit."

Mr. Suphon is the co-founder of a grassroots Redshirt organisation, the National Volunteers for the Defence of Democracy (NVDD), which boasts over 10,000 members across the northern and northeastern provinces. The group held several combat training sessions this year to prepare members for resistance in the event of a military coup. 

The military summoned Mr. Suphon a day after deposing the Redshirt-allied government in a coup d’état on 22 May.

Since seizing power, the military has detained hundreds of politicians and political activists in an attempt to diffuse the country's political turmoil. So far, all detainees have been released after seven days or less on the condition that they will not participate in any political activities or leave the country without the army’s permission.

Mr. Suphon, who was released yesterday after six days in detention, said the military treated him well.

Mr. Suphon also said he was convinced by his military handlers that "there has been a radical division in the society,” which has convinced him to cease his involvement in politics and dissolve the NVDD.  

"I will resign from the Pheu Thai Party and suspend all political activities."  Mr. Suphon said. "If anyone uses my name to get involved in politics, the law enforcement officials should strictly pursue legal actions against them."

Mr. Suphon also said he will disown the nickname Rambo Isaan, asking  the public to refer to him as Mr. Suphon from now on. He said that he does not harbour any ill-will towards the coupmakers and hopes the head of the military junta, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, will swiftly bring peace back to the country and organise elections in a timely manner. 

In April, Mr. Suphon told a Khaosod correspondent, "if a coup takes place, we will summon all NVDD members to Bangkok in order to express our support of democracy … we are willing to lay down our lives in defence of an elected government." 

Today, Mr. Suphon said that he has not spoken to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is considered to de facto leader of the Redshirt movement, for a long time.

Before leaving Thao Suranaree Shrine, Mr Suphon posed for a friendly photograph with a soldier.