Updated: Army and regime

A small group of activists “held a rally outside the Royal Thai Army headquarters on Monday…”. They were protesting against a comment by former deputy spokeswoman Col Nusra Vorapatratorn, who described the weekend’s anti-government protesters as naive and ignorant.

In the middle of this controversy it was reported that the struggling economy was to be further burdened by Army spending on the comfort of its top brass, with plans to buy a new Gulfstream business jet “worth 1.34 billion baht in the 2021 fiscal year…”. It will transport the VIPs. We doubt it can easily get to Munich.

Meanwhile, the military-backed regime says it is considering having the weekend’s protest leaders “charged under the Emergency Decree, communicable diseases laws, and traffic violations.” It is reported that the “Saturday protest was monitored by Special Branch Bureau police, Technology Crime Suppression Division police, and police officers…”.

Consideration is also being given to lese majeste-like charges. As Khaosod reports, “conservative and pro-government figures in recent days have accused the student-led protests as republican movement attempting to overthrow the monarchy – a backlash against the signs and placards seen at the protest that reference the [r]oyal [f]amily.”

Of course, the regime claims that extending the emergency decree has nothing to do with politics…. when it has everything to do with its politics and its domination.

Update: We were amused to read the reason given fro extending the emergency decree:

CCSA spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin said the extension was necessary because the novel coronavirus was still spreading worldwide and Thailand was allowing in foreign visitors and easing lockdowns on business and activities that pose high risks of disease transmission.

If this is correct, then Thailand will have an emergency decree in place for months to come. Or, read another way, the regime is engaging in high risk activity that could easily be left alone.