Thai military junta relaxes curfew

Thailand’s ruling junta cut back the hours of curfew yesterday and broadcast footage showing detained political leaders were being treated well, as the country settled in for what is looking like a prolonged period of military rule.

On Tuesday night there was plenty of traffic around at 11pm, an hour into the curfew, and some bars were staying open, although mostly on side streets and in tourist areas.

The junta has stressed that foreigners will not be affected by the coup staged last week and the curfew has now been relaxed, as long as people are off the streets between midnight and 4am.

The junta has distributed propaganda videos showing five detained political leaders picked up after they took power, including outspoken Jatuporn Prompan, a leader of the Red Shirt movement that supports ousted former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra. She is the sister of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who remains powerful in Thailand even though he lives in exile in Dubai.

In all, the junta summoned 253 people, including politicians, scholars, journalists and activists. Yesterday 76 were still in custody, 124 had been released and 53 had not answered the summons, the army said. Ms Yingluck has been released but remains under some restrictions.

The National Council for Peace and Order, as the junta calls itself, received royal endorsement on Monday, and is trying to improve its image.

“Gen Prayuth [Chan- ocha] asked me to tell you that today he is not only an army chief but the leader of the national administration, both legislative and administrative. Before he answers questions, he must ponder them,” army secretary Maj Gen Ponlapat Wannapak said at a news conference. “The press should cheer him on,” he added.

Monarchist newspapers have been running photographs of soldiers and Bangkok residents hanging out together and young women presenting the troops with flowers. Many in Bangkok, exhausted by years of occupations, protests and violence as both sides of the political divide took to the streets, have welcomed the coup.