The junta staged a coup in 2014 to solve the nation’s longstanding problems on behalf of the people, but have been unable to resolve them, said the party. Instead, the military-supported government has created new issues that would become future crises.

Pheu Thai said people’s rights and freedoms have been restricted as the junta and its head exercised their powers to issue orders. They have also appointed their people to sit on various so-called independent organisations, with the result that they are not independent but rather under the junta’s influence.

They had also resorted to various means to cling to power, including drafting the charter with various elements deemed to support the junta including the appointed of senators after the upcoming election, changes to the electoral system, and other measures.

Pheu Thai charged that he junta government does not respect the charter, as evidenced by their order to amend the political party law. They have failed in various fields of problem solving, the party said. For example, the NCPO and junta government have themselves become a party to conflict amid an environment of conflict and had thus failed to help solve conflict and forge reconciliation.

In the meantime, they have failed to solve economic woes, while corruption has continuously been in the news, reflecting its failure to tackle corruption. Some corruption allegations have been put to an end quickly without serous probes, the party claimed.

The junta leader, Pheu Thai said, has a credibility crisis as he cannot live up to his word. The party noted that the junta leader, Prayut Chan-o-cha, once said he would not stage a coup, but he did. He had also repeatedly denied that he was a politician before admitting later that he is, the party said.

In the party’s view, the junta and the government are not sincere about returning power to the people. It viewed that along with other “rivers”, there was a conspiracy to prolong power.

It is yet more proof that a coup to topple democracy cannot solve the country’s problems, said the party. On the contrary, it has created a problem for the country.

And so, concluded the party, it is calling on the junta to return power to the people as fast as possible.

Activist Nutta Mahattana announced on Facebook on Wednesday that she would sing the national anthem at 6pm at Siam Paragon’s Parc Paragon and stand in silence to condemn the junta’s strategic lawsuits against public participation, which are known as SLAPP actions, and demand the regime stop pressing charges against demonstrators.

Viewing the lawsuit as a strategy to silence dissenters, Nutta described the current atmosphere as “silence, peace, suppressed”.

Pro-democracy activist leaders have been charged with sedition and violation of the ban on political assembly.

The charges followed a demonstration on Saturday calling for the coup-installed government to step down and hold an election after the regime passed a bill that could postpone the poll by three months.

Other participants in Saturday’s activity could also be charged, but for more minor offences.

“I have served the country for 50 years [as a military officer and minister]. Do you think I have done anything to ruin the country? I want to work for the country. If people don’t want me to, I’m ready to leave my post,” he said.

Prawit, who took power after the 2014 military coup toppled the elected civilian government, made the statement during a luncheon with Defence Ministry officials, Armed Forces officials and journalists at the ministry in a New Year celebration.

The general has been seen as a lightning rod for Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government as social media is scrutinising his luxury wristwatches.

Prayut, who is Prawit’s junior military classmate, has been pressured to suspend his right-hand man after the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) initiated an investigation of Prawit’s possession of about 25 watches, some of which reportedly cost Bt3 million.

Prawit declared assets of about Bt83 million to the NACC when he joined Prayut’s government in 2014, but failed to declare the watches he has been seen wearing since late last year.

In the course of the investigation, he told the anti-graft agency that friends had lent him the watches, although the explanation was widely criticised by regime critics and the general public.

At present, it appears that the anti-graft body will accept the excuse, which would mean that Prawit was not obligated to declare the watches as required by the law for people who hold positions in government.

Prawit yesterday claimed credit by saying the Defence Ministry under his supervision had supported the government for almost four years and maintained security and order in the country.

However, the military government has been under fire since some groups of people were accusing it of failing to perform, he said, adding that the government would fight against such opposition.

Prawit also referred to Prayut’s recent visits to the provinces, which were seen by critics as the premier seeking political support from voters.

“The premier just wants to take care of people. He will not contest the election, so do not play politics with him,” Prawit said.

Yingluck’s lawyer, Noppadon Laothong, said that the Legal Execution Department, which is under the Justice Ministry, in July last year started freezing the ex-premier’s bank accounts and claiming liens over several of her properties.

According to the lawyer, more than 30 of Yingluck’s assets have been affected by this ongoing operation. They include 10 land plots in Bangkok and the provinces, her mansion in Bangkok’s Soi Nawamin 111, a condominium suite, and 13 bank accounts with total deposits of over Bt1 million.

In her financial report submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Com-mission, Yingluck estimated that the mansion, where she had lived before fleeing the country last August, was worth Bt110 million. It was the highest-valued item among her reported assets.

In October 2016, the Finance Ministry issued an administrative order for Yingluck to pay Bt35 billion in compensation for damages allegedly stemming from her government’s corruption-plagued rice-pledging scheme.

Yingluck was held responsible for the damages in her capacity as government head and chair of the National Rice Policy Committee.

The Administrative Court on Monday rejected Yingluck’s request for an injunction against the administrative order, which in effect allows the authorities to resume the seizure of her assets.

Yingluck fled the country a few days before the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders was scheduled to deliver a verdict in a case against her in the rice-pledging case. A month later, the court sentenced her to five years in jail for negligence. She was later spotted in London around the New Year holidays.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) earlier this month lodged a complaint with Klong Luang Police Station in Pathum Thani province accusing the activists of violating the law.

The accusations were related to the network’s “We Walk” march, which began at Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus on January 20. The march was launched to raise public awareness about welfare programmes, universal healthcare, food security, community rights and environment protection, and political rights and democracy.

The accused are Lertsak Khamkongsak, Anusorn Unno, Nimit Tien-udom, Somchai Krajangsaeng, Saengsiri Trimankha, Nuchanart Tantong, Ubon Yuwa and Jamnong Nuphan. All of them except Anusorn work for non-governmental organisations. Anusorn is the dean of Thammasat University’s Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology.

Their lawyer, Surachai Trong-ngarm, said yesterday police did not detain any of them because they had answered the summons.

“They will submit written testimony to police on February 20,” Surachai added.

He said the eight would then have to report to police again on February 26 to hear whether they had decided to forward their case to public prosecutors.

“We believe we have freedom of expression as enshrined by the Constitution,” Nimit said at Klong Luang Police Station yesterday amid a crowd of supporters. “We won’t accept restrictions.”

Representatives from several rights organisations and embassies also appeared to observe the case, including Alexander Nowak, a diplomat from the German Embassy in Bangkok.

“I can’t see what is illegal about people walking. It is freedom of movement, freedom of expression. So I want to find out from the police about this summons,” he said.

Kasetsart University lecturer Decharut Sukkumnoed, also a member of the Thai Academic Network for Civil Rights, said authorities should immediately drop the complaint against the We Walk leaders.

“The 2017 Constitution has already taken effect. No order should supersede the charter,” he said.

Decharut added that the government should listen to the voices of people adversely affected by government policies and officials.

“It’s also time for the NCPO chief [Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha] to review whether he has really delivered happiness to people,” he said. Despite the legal threat from the NCPO, the We Walk march continued normally yesterday.

The organisers plan for the march to cover 450 kilometres and end in Khon Kaen province in the middle of February.

Meanwhile, James Gomez, Amnesty International’s director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said Thailand’s military rulers were not only continuing to tie up hundreds of real or perceived critics with long-running criminal proceedings, but had escalated a crackdown on peaceful dissent in recent months.

“Authorities must honour their promise to lift the absurd and unjustifiable restrictions they have now been imposing for almost four years, ostensibly in the name of national security,” said Gomez in a statement released yesterday.

THE JUNTA yesterday cracked down with strategic lawsuits against public political participation as police summoned dozens of scholars and activists to acknowledge charges for their roles in criticising the military government by assembling to demand the “promised” election.

Esteemed historian Charnvit Kasetsiri, a former rector of Thammasat University, turned himself in to police at Chaengwattana Government Centre yesterday afternoon.

The dean of sociology and anthropology at Thammasat, Anusorn Unno, together with seven other activists, walked from Thammasat’s Rangsit campus to acknowledge charges against them at Prathum Thani’s Klong Luang Police Station.

Anusorn, coordinator of the Thai Academic Network for Civil Rights, is charged with violating the junta’s ban on public gatherings of five or more persons, stemming from the “We Walk” march for civil rights and a series of seminars held at universities across Thailand.

Meanwhile, police yesterday summoned 39 people to acknowledge charges of violating the Public Assembly Act after they joined a demonstration last Saturday to call for a general election by November, as had been promised by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Charnvit is accused by the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) of violating the Computer Crimes Act for allegedly sharing on Facebook a widely circulated post showing Naraporn, the wife of junta chief Prayut, carrying what appeared to be a Bt2-million Hermes handbag.

The historian Charnvit, who was charged for entering false information into a computer system that could “cause public consternation”, said he believed the case was politically motivated.

A strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP), he said, could have been designed to stop him from criticising the ruling junta.

“This case is one of many such SLAPP cases. Only rulers in non-democratic regimes refuse to hear criticism. Or fear it, like the sound of the common house gecko, no matter how small,” he said.

The former rector denied all charges and petitioned for officers in the case to be changed because the current ones were under Pol Colonel Olarn Sukkasem, the officer who made the complaint.

Charnvit said he would submit further evidence regarding the case within 20 days.

Countless posts have been shared regarding First Lady Naraporn’s purse, which she carried during her recent trip to the White House in October, with many concluding that a locally made handbag had been confused with a Hermes bag.

But Charnvit, who shared the post with the question “How much is it?”, is the only one known to have been charged so far.

Police said he was charged because the historian was a “well-known person”, his lawyer Krisadang Nutcharas told reporters after more than two hours of questioning by officers.

It was the first time he had been charged after more than 40 years teaching at Thammasat University, Charnvit said, adding that he believed that he had not done anything wrong legally or morally.

The initial interview yesterday was also observed by the rights advocate and member of the National Human Rights Commission Angkhana Neelapaijit, with 20 people also present at the TCSD office in solidarity with Charnvit.

The 39 suspects in another case included the seven activists Rangsiman Rome, Sirawit Sereethiwat, Nattha Mahatthana, Anon Nampha, Ekachai Hongkangwan, Sukrit Piansuwan and Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, who were summoned on Tuesday for allegedly violating the junta’s ban on political gatherings and instigating a disturbance during a protest last Saturday on the skywalk above the Pathum Wan Intersection.

Well-known junta critics such as Veera Somkwamkid and Sombat Boonngamanong were also among the 39 people facing charges. Police identified 66 more suspects who would be summoned to face charges later, according to Pol General Sriwara Ransibhramanakul, deputy police commissioner-general in charge of security affairs.

The rally site at Pathum Wan Intersection was a public area, so protests were prohibited under the Public Rally Act because it was located less than 150 metres from royal premises, he said.

The 39 people would be summoned to meet with police tomorrow to be formally notified of charges against them, Sriwara said, adding that if they fail to meet with investigators after being summoned twice, arrest warrants would be issued against them.

“I have served the country for 50 years [as a military officer and minister]. Do you think if I have done anything to ruin the country? I want to work for the country. If people don’t want me to, I’m ready to leave my post,” he said during a luncheon with Defence Ministry officials, Armed Forces officials and journalists at the ministry in a New Year celebration.

Prawit has been seen as a lightning rod for Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government. Prayut, who is Prawit’s junior military classmate, has been pressured to suspend his right-hand man from the post after the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) initiated an investigation of Prawit’s possession of about 25 luxury watches, some of which reportedly cost Bt3 million.

Prawit declared assets of about Bt83 million to the NACC when he joined Prayut’s government in 2014, but failed to declare the watches he has been seen wearing since late last year.

In the course of the investigation, he told the anti-graft agency that friends had lent him the watches, although the explanation was widely criticised by regime critics and the general public. At present, it appears that the NACC will accept the excuse, which would mean that Prawit was not obligated to declare the watches.

Prawit also said his ministry had supported the government for almost four years and maintained security and order in the country.

However, there were some groups of people trying to accuse the government of failing to perform, he said, adding that the government would fight against such opposition.

Prawit also referred to Prayut’s recent visits to the provinces, which were seen by critics as the premier seeking political support from voters.

“The premier just wants to take care of people. He will not contest the election so do not playing politics with him,” Prawit said.

The eight members are accused of wrongdoing for joining a rally at the start of the “We Walk” campaign earlier this month.

The march was launched to raise public awareness about welfare programmes, universal healthcare, food security, community rights and environment protection, and political rights and democracy.

Alexander Nowak, a diplomat at the German Embassy, also went to Klong Luang Police Station on Wednesday to see what police planned to do in regards to the We Walk participants.

“I can’t see what is illegal about people walking. It is freedom of movement, freedom of expression. So I want to find out from the police about this summons,” Nowak said.

James Gomez, Amnesty International’s director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said Thailand’s military rulers were not only continuing to tie up hundreds of real or perceived critics with long-running criminal proceedings, but had escalated a crackdown on peaceful dissent in recent months.

“Authorities must honour their promise to lift the absurd and unjustifiable restrictions they have now been imposing for almost four years, ostensibly in the name of national security,” said Gomez in a statement released today.

Meanwhile, the Appeal Court today postponed delivering its verdict for the third time in the case of law student and Amnesty International Thailand board member Apichart Pongsawat, who faces a potential six months in prison and a fine for violating the junta’s blanket ban on “political” gatherings of five or more people.

Apichart was arrested on May 23, 2014 – the day after the military coup d’état – for holding a sign in central Bangkok that read: “I will not accept barbaric power.”

The court postponed its verdict to May 31, due to “complications” in the case, according to Apichart, who went to hear the verdict this morning.

In December 2016, Pathumwan District Court of Bangkok’s Court of First Instance sentenced Apichart to two months in prison with the jail term suspended for one year.

Meanwhile, eight social activists under the “People Go Network” will report to police in Pathum Thani province today to learn whether they will be charged under the ban on protests. The eight took part in a peaceful march that began in Bangkok on January 18 in support of a range of economic, social and civil rights.

“Apichart has become a symbol of peaceful resistance against military rule,” Gomez said. “He and others charged for peaceful protest have done nothing wrong and all criminal proceedings against them should be dropped immediately and convictions expunged.”

On Tuesday, authorities announced that they would file charges of sedition – under a law allowing for a maximum of seven years’ imprisonment – and unlawful assembly on activists and a human rights lawyer. They had all protested the military government’s likely postponement of general elections from November this year to February 2019.

“The Thai military has made repeated promises to respect human rights and allow peaceful criticism since seizing power, but has completely failed to turn these into reality,” Gomez said.

“The international community must push the authorities to ensure that there is concrete action to end these long-running violations.”

POLICE ARE ATTEMPTING to determine whether anyone financed recent protests by anti-junta activists, a deputy national police chief said yesterday.

Amid the crackdown on protesters, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday continued to insist he was willing to listen to everyone’s voice.

The prime minister said in a weekly press briefing that he understood that protesters had their own reasons to rally publicly, but he warned them against violating the law.

Prayut also said he listened to all groups of people. Regarding the delay in the next election that protesters opposed, he said it would certainly bring advantages and disadvantages to different groups of people but he did not think the government would benefit.

Pol General Sriwara Ransibhramanakul, the deputy police commissioner-general in charge of security affairs, said investigators would summon seven activists who had been accused of violating the junta ban on political gatherings and instigating disturbances.

He said the ongoing police investigation could lead to more suspects being called in, but he declined to disclose a number.

His comments came after Colonel Burin Thongprapai, an official with the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), filed a complaint at Pathum Wan Police Station against seven activists who organised a rally last Saturday on the skywalk above the Pathum Wan intersection.

The demonstration, which included more than 100 participants, called for a general election by November, as had been promised by Prayut. The seven activists are Rangsiman Rome, Sirawit Sereethiwat, Nattha Mahatthana, Anon Nampha, Ekachai Hongkangwan, Sukrit Piansuwan and Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, most of whom are members of the Democracy Restoration Group.

Sirawit yesterday asked “people power” to rise up against the “NCPO dictators”.

He said in his Facebook message that, “On February 10 I will never back off,” referring to the date of a planned rally by anti-junta activists at the Democracy Monument.

However, Netiwit said in a Facebook message yesterday that he had joined Saturday’s rally as a citizen, and not as an affiliate of any group. “I feel honoured to be one of the seven accused,” he added.

Sriwara said yesterday that police were investigating to determine who was behind this “regular” group of protesters, but he declined to provide further details.

“Wait until arrest warrants are approved by the court, and you will know. The supporters are no mystery. They are behind the gatherings in five to six areas,” he said.

As the activists were being charged with political assembly, Prayut yesterday said the government was not guilty of discrimination. For example, he said, he had also been criticised by the media and yet had not prohibited their coverage.

“Don’t create misunderstandings. It is reported to the international community and now they view that the government as discriminatory,” Prayut said to Government House reporters.

He said activists should consider whether their rallies affected peace in society, adding that actions should be in line with the law.

“The Administrative Court has already granted an injunction [to the We Walk marchers]. Now try not to violate the law,” he said, apparently referring to activists marching to Khon Kaen to address public policy issues.

Prayut also advised people to look at the motives of the activists, while adding that he did not want to be in conflict with anyone.

He also admitted that the government’s popularity was in decline, saying it was common for every government in its fourth year of ruling. But the government would try to work hard and serve the people, he said.

Meanwhile, Sriwara yesterday met Pathum Wan district chief Nawaporn Klinbuakaew, who maintained that the rally site at Pathum Wan intersection was a public area. Police said protests were prohibited in the area under the Public Rally Act because it is located less than 150 metres from royal premises.

The case’s chief investigator, Pol Lt-Colonel Samak Panyawong, yesterday said the seven accused had been summoned to meet with police on Friday to be formally notified of charges against them. If they fail to meet with the investigators after being summoned twice, arrest warrants would be issued against them, he added.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday said authorities would rely on relevant laws and junta orders in dealing with protesters. He also noted that the junta was still in power and its ban against political gatherings of more than four people remained in effect.

“I have measures to take care of them. According to the intelligence, there is only one group [of anti-junta protesters]”, Prawit said.

Meanwhile, the National Security Council (NSC) was looking into reported moves by “hardline” groups and “foreign instigators” in support of the activists, NSC secretary-general General Wanlop Raksanoh said yesterday.

“We are trying to verify the reports,” he said, adding that there should be no problem as long as their acts were not against the law.