Junta to get tougher with ‘troublemakers’

Army commander-in-chief General Teerachai Nakwanich, in his capacity as secretary general of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said there were only a handful of “the same old faces” that came out to “stir up trouble”.
The general also said he would deal with those people himself. “We have some means to deal with them,” he said. “They are troublemakers. They may stir up trouble as much as they like, but we will arrest them.”
When asked if authorities would “play hardball” with the political activists campaigning against the draft charter, the Army chief responded: “You will have to wait and see. But we will no longer summon them for ‘attitude adjustment’ any more. They just didn’t get what we said to them.”
He said the media paid too much attention to the small group of protesters.
“Three or four troublemakers came out loitering. A dozen reporters followed them, and more than 100 police officers showed up. A lot of confusion ensued,” Teerachai said.
“In fact, we should not pay attention to them. If the media do not treat them as important, nothing will happen.”
Teerachai said there was no plan to summon former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s son Panthongtae for questioning in connection with an allegation he was funding some of the eight webmasters arrested recently for campaigning online against the draft charter and the junta. He said some of those arrested had confessed to the alleged connection.
However, deputy police spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen yesterday declined to confirm any connection between Panthongtae and the arrested persons. But he added that more arrests would be made of individuals found to be linked to the suspects.
“If evidence points to Panthongtae, police investigators must summon him for questioning as part of the procedure,” Krissana said.
Meanwhile, NCPO spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree yesterday countered a call by ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to listen to his critics.
The spokesman said Prayut had been open to comments about him and his regime on many channels so that they could be adapted to benefit the country. He said the government was not prohibiting dissent, it was simply attempting to ensure that such opinions were spread through appropriate channels, with non-violent means.
The spokesman said this was unlike events in the recent past, when the country not only was divided but also saw loss of lives due to political violence. “That was not acceptable, in any society,” he added.
At the Crime Suppression Division, Chatchet Songsri, who claimed to represent a group calling itself “We Love the Country”, filed a police complaint calling for investigation into the New Democracy Movement (NDM) group of activists.
Chatchet said police should trace the trail of money used to fund the NDM’s frequent activities. “I wonder if there is anyone behind them and if their activities are funded by anyone,” he said.
In a related development, the military court yesterday granted a police request for further detention of Pheu Thai Party politician Watana Muangsook over accusations he violated an NCPO order. Watana is to be detained from today until May 14 pending completion of an investigation.