“She worked a lot before she came here. She distributed leaflets and also rode on a boat,” Maj-General Kongcheep Tantravanich, a spokesperson for the government’s reconciliation building committee, apparently explaining why Nong Kiew Koy’s face showed dust marks despite the fresh debut.

“We designed her by ourselves. We didn’t hire any outsourcers to do this job. We are proud of her,” Kongcheep adding, referring to the committee’s sub-unit on public relations that he heads.

That explained why it only cost no more than Bt10,000 to produce the mascot, as Kongcheep said, adding that they had simply added decorations to an existing costume.

The mascot’s introduction on Wednesday was met by amusement on social media, with many agreeing that her smile was more “creepy” than welcoming. “I would scream my lungs out if I saw her in the dark,” one commentator wrote.

But many online artists also created their own cute versions of Nong Kiew Koy.

Nong Kiew Koy fanart (courtesy of Facebook page Akitozan)

The mascot’s stated job is to be a pretty, doll-like presence and handing out pamphlets, posters and pocket books to promote the so-called “agreement of truth”, which was formulated by a military-dominated committee based on talks with political and social figures.

The effort, initiated by the junta government, has been in place since the start of the year with the committee headed by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha and including other senior military and government figures from junta-appointed bodies.

The tentative draft of the agreement includes mandates such as that people will “exercise rights and freedom appropriately by law”, “adhere to morality as an approach to living” and “learn, cooperate with and support the national strategy”. The last point refers to the 20-year, legally binding strategy the junta has formulated to steer future administrations.

But her other job is to have an active presence on the chat app Line. “Her smiling Line sticker will help cool down heated chats,” Kongcheep said. “We wish to boost reconciliation awareness at the very local level.”

Despite the limited budget, the mascot’s character and decorations are redolent with symbolism. Kongcheep said its gender, depicted as female, represented “humbleness, gentleness and politeness”.

The white colour on the mascot’s dress represented “pure power of all people to get away from conflict”, while the red represented the country as seen in the national flag, he said.

A heart on the dress also represented “the united heart of all Thai people”, Kongcheep said. Its hat is decorated with a national flag ribbon and its scarf printed with the reconciliation campaign’s official logo – five hands linked around a national flag circle.

“Her name, Pinky Promise, also means that we will turn to love each other like the old days,” Kongcheep said.

“We might have neglected parliamentary mechanisms [in the past], based on anger, and did not play by the rules,” said the spokesperson “We want to ensure the public that the reconciliation process really happens.”

Nong Kiew Koy fanart (courtesy of Facebook page Pinkie Rabbit) 

Nong Kiew Koy fanart (courtesy of Facebook page GCz)

Deputy national police chief Pol General Srivara Ransibhramanakul ordered tighter security and further searches in the wake of the weapons discovery in Bang Nam Priao district, saying intelligence indicated there were more weapons hidden in Bangkok suburbs and nearby.

At a press conference on Wednesday evening, he linked the weapons cache to an extremist political group led by prominent red shirt Wuttipong “Ko Tee” Kottham-makhun.

Srivara said the weapons found in Bang Nam Priao had been stashed there sometime after April, since farmers preparing their fields for planting that month had seen no sign of the cache.

An initial examination of the weapons indicated they were from the same batch as those used in at least three attacks in 2014 within the jurisdictions of the Metropolitan Police Bureau and Provincial Police Region 1.

Srivara said serial numbers on the RGD 5 explosives found are believed to be in line with those on weapons allegedly found at the site of a 2014 red-shirt rally in Muang Nonthaburi and in a March 18 search of Wuttipong’s business offices in Pathum Thani.

The serial numbers also resemble those on weapons found during a January 15, 2014, protest at the Thai Meteorological Department in Bang Na, others linked to an explosion at a Bang Chan bank on February 21, 2014, and still others linked to an explosion in the capital’s Pratunam area.

Also on Wednesday night, Srivara led 30 soldiers to a house in Nakhon Nayok’s Ongkharak district in search of Wattana Sapwichian, 53, regarded as a “person of interest” regarding the newly discovered weapons.

Homeowner Prayoon Boonsombat, 55, told them Wattana had never lived there. His name had been added to Prayoon’s household registration at the request of a third person because Wattana was seeking treatment for cancer at a nearby medical centre.

Believing that Wattana might instead be living in Pathum Thani’s Nong Sua district, Srivara ordered a search there today (November 30).

The UN Human Rights Office released the statement on Wednesday denouncing the protest crackdown by the police and the arrests of prominent coal-fired power plant opponents. It called on the government to drop charges against all those arrested.

The agency also pointed out that these actions against a peaceful protest disregarded the country’s commitments on Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The Southeast Asia Regional Representative for the UN Human Rights Office, Cynthia Veliko, emphasised in the statement that peaceful protests are an integral part of democratic societies to ensure accountability and public participation.

Therefore, Veliko said her office urged Thai authorities to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and opinion, and to protect the physical integrity and safety of community members and human rights defenders in line with Thailand’s commitment under international human rights law.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Lawyers Association, Environmental Litigation and Advocacy for the Wants Foundation, the Union for Civil Liberty, and the Community Resources Centre Foundation released a joint statement on the issue.

They pointed out that freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, the right to complain to the authorities and manage local natural resources, and the right to fair trial, are all guaranteed by the constitution, and these were violated by the authorities’ actions.

The joint statement expressed deep concern about the improper exercise of power by the authorities, and urged the government to protect these rights according to the Constitution.

Commentators scolded Sansern for his lack of “professional” conduct while holding such an important position.

Sansern made his latest gaffe when he compared a local activist, who was protesting against the construction of the Thepha coal-fired power plant in Songkhla during a mobile Cabinet meeting on Monday, to “a man who ran away with a woman”.

On Monday, during the government-sponsored “Thailand Moves Forward” programme, Sansern mentioned clashes between protesters and security officers.

The clash, which resulted in injuries on both sides, took place near a Songkhla hotel, where Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha was scheduled to stay during his two-day field trip to the South.

“There was one key protester named Mustarseedeen Waba. There is a photo of him being escorted by police or military officers that is being circulated online, saying that he has not returned home yet,” Sansern said.

“I’ve asked the 4th Army Area commander and provincial police commander. Neither of the authorities said that they had caught him.”

He added that Mustarseedeen’s disappearance could be similar to when “they [his supporters] said he was taken away by authorities but it was discovered later that he had travelled with a woman who was not part of his family in Satun”.

“I only suspect. I don’t accuse him. This still needs to be proved,” he added.Mustarseedeen Waba when he was last seen publicly on Monday (courtesy of Internet Law Reform Dialogue)

His remarks elicited fury on social media for blaming an ordinary person without presenting solid evidence.

Surainee Sainui, Mustarseedeen’s wife and a political lecturer at Prince of Songkhla University Pattani campus, said she was disappointed that Sansern had not contacted her or their family before speaking.

“You need to be more professional. Communication is important,” Surainee said in a Facebook Live broadcast with her colleague Ekkarin Tuansiri.

Surainee added that she had learned that Mustarseedeen was safe but she did not know where he was.

Sansern defended himself yesterday, saying that he merely “used an example” to convey the message that Mustarseedeen’s disappearance might be related to a hidden agenda to smear the government.

“We need to speak the truth today. The government always talks rationally,” he said.

The 54-year-old Army officer, once considered a heartthrob in some circles, has been known to make abrupt, unsubstantiated gaffes since he assumed the role of the Army spokesperson. 

In 2010, he said on a TV programme that GT200 bomb detectors were efficient and worked by “detecting magnetic fields of each particular subject, depending on which kind of sensor card we put in”.

The Army spent million on the GT200s, which were used in the South and involved in accusations against many suspects, before they were found to be fake.

In the same year, as spokesperson of a special command centre dealing with red-shirt protesters, Sansern made public a diagram purporting to show a plot against the monarchy, accusing many Pheu Thai Party members, academics and activists of plotting against “national security”.

He later confessed in court the he only wanted to show a connection among the people named without actually blaming them for a real plot.

A previous clause required the NACC to publish only a brief report about its scrutiny of assets, prompting widespread criticism that it would weaken the public’s role in checking politicians and government officials.

In a public seminar organised by Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand (ACT) yesterday, Pattara said the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), which was responsible for the draft, did not intend to weaken the battle against corruption.

However, the previous stipulation stemmed from the CDC’s belief that the law had to fit with new and changing circumstances, he said.Pattara Khampitak

Publishing comprehensive information would not be entirely fair to people involved, Pattara said, adding that publicly available information had been exploited and got people into trouble unnecessarily.

Additionally, the NACC could not remove published information from circulation, which would be illegal, he said.

That was not fair for individuals who had to declare their assets, so the stipulation had allowed them to keep some details private, the legislator said.

NACC secretary-general Worawit Sukboon said it was unnecessary to publish the entire detailed lists of assets and liabilities, citing similar cases involving trouble associated with reporting. Worawit Sukboon

He added that public participation in scrutinising assets would not be diminished regardless of the completeness of reports. The public and the media could still monitor behaviour that indicated an individual was concealing unusual wealth and assets, he said.

Jermsak Pinthong, a former legislator who previously exposed NACC officials attempting to raise their own salaries, said he still preferred that exhaustive lists be made available to the public to ensure transparency.

Given his history with the NACC, Jermsak said he did not trust the body. There were no guarantees that officials would not turn out to be biased and help conceal assets, he said.

The critic said politicians and senior officials had to make sacrifices to hold the privileges associated with their positions, and privacy and other rights were included. Jermsak Pinthong

Sanoh Sukcharoen, an editor at the investigative news agency Isara, said in the past many corruption cases had been exposed because the NACC had published asset lists.

All the information was valuable and could expose corrupt politicians, he said.

For instance, Isara once exposed a politician hiding assets after investigating the address listed as his home and found that people holding assets were the politician’s servants, Sanoh said.

Sansern spoke a day after his remarks were aired in the government-run “Thailand Move Forward” programme, where he elaborated on clashes between local protesters against the Thepa power plant project and security officers.

The clash, which brought injuries to both sides, took place near a Songkhla hotel where Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha was scheduled to stay during his two-day field trip to the South.

“There is one key protester named Mustarseedeen ‘Baemus’ Waba. There is a photo of him being escorted by police or military officers circulated online, saying that he has not returned home yet,” Sansern said.

“I’ve asked 4th Army Area Commander and provincial police commander. Neither of the authorities said that they took him away.”

He suspected that Mustarseedeen’s disappearance could be similar to an incident that occurred earlier in Saba Yoi district, where “they said he was taken away by the authorities but it was discovered later that he travelled away with a woman, who was not in his family, in Satun”.

He added: “I only suspect. I don’t accuse Baemus. This needs to be proven later on.”

Sansern’s remarks were met with fury on social media, where critics said he was blaming an ordinary person without solid evidence.

On Wednesday, Sansern said that he only wanted to convey that Mustarseedeen’s disappearance could be part of a hidden agenda to reflect negatively on the government.

“We need to speak the truth today. The government talks with rationality,” he said. “We can receive your requests but you need to consider that electricity demand in the South has increased. You only want an alternative power plant, which is not enough to sustain the region.”

The NLA previously considered scrutinising the laws together, as the two are connected. However, the NLA whip spokesperson Jade Siratharanon said the laws would be scrutinised separately to ensure thorough consideration.

The NLA will deliberate the two laws tomorrow. They are the last of the 10 organic laws required by the new charter, and among the four necessary for the national election late next year.

Jade gave an assurance that the election would definitely take place within 150 days once the laws are promulgated.

Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, NLA president, said on Wednesday that the assembly would deliberate the two bills on Thursday, November 30 and it would work on them within the deadline given as best it could.

The NLA president said he could not say at this point whether the laws would be approved in their first reading. The NLA normally deliberates a bill in three readings. Once the bill has passed the first reading, a law-vetting committee is set up to scrutinise the passed bill and make changes to it. Those changes are subject to further deliberation in the second and third readings.

The two bills are the last of the 10 organic laws required by the charter and among the four necessary for the coming election.

The junta announced that it would hold the election late next year, with the condition that the organic laws necessary for the election were promulgated.

The military, he added, has not made any political act, so it could not be the parties’ competitor in politics.

Prawit was referring to suggestions that the military might run candidates of its own in the upcoming national election.

Meanwhile, another deputy PM, Wissanu Krea-ngam, said amendments to laws needed for the expected local-administration elections would be submitted to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) by early next year.

He said he could not confirm at this point whether those elections could be held before the national election because he did not know how long it would take for the NLA to discuss the laws.

There are six related laws to be deliberated.

However, he said the local elections should not be held at the same time as the national election, or problems could arise.

POLITICAL PARTIES want to hold negotiations with the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) or its proxies, Anek Laothamatas, the chairman of the Political Reform Committee, said yesterday.

The parties were not clear about the agenda, but Anek, whose committee has been responsible for discussing reconciliation and political reform with politicians, said he believed the move was a good sign for national unity.

If all the parties and the NCPO could get together it would allow them to familiarise themselves with each other, which would be advantageous for the political process, Anek said.

“In the future, I see that elected leaders will be significant. Meanwhile, if there is a proxy party, it will have a prominent role to play in the election as well as in the administration, alongside the winners of the election,” Anek said.

He said it was essential to find a solution to make the next election a victory for everyone rather than a small group of people.

The government and opposition had to work together to create democracy and make politics work for the national interest, he said.

Previously, the NCPO had opened a discussion stage for politicians to voice their ideas. But it was unclear if the talk came to fruition.

Regarding reports that the two major parties could join to fend off a non-elected prime minister who could arise with the help of a proxy party, Anek said that the idea would be difficult to implement.

He said the two parties had adversarial political bases and in order to work together, they would have to first convince their followers and win their support.

The new charter, he said, clearly stated that the junta had the power to select a Senate that would have the authority to co-select a prime minister. It was impossible to keep the junta from future politics, he added.

During General Prem Tinsulanonda’s term as prime minister in the 1980s, Thailand was under a quasi-democracy and his government did not have its own party, Anek added.

Prem’s administration governed the country with a mixture of civilian and military personnel and was open to scrutiny. Anek urged today’s parties to consider Prem’s approach although it should be up to the people who they choose as their leader.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai heavyweight Sudarat Keyurapan suggested yesterday that parties should focus on the path to the coming election rather than on how to keep the military at bay.

Sudarat said parties should be thinking about how to approach the election. It was crucial for people to participate through their elected representatives so that democracy could be maintained, she said.