Since the military coup in Thailand, the junta has produced lists of the people it wants to report to army bases, sending many leaders of the red shirt protest movement into hiding.
In the northern Thai city of Chang Mai, we happened to stumble upon a raid – although we shouldn’t have been too surprised.
It was one of hundreds of such operations conducted by the Royal Thai Army over the last few days.
Troops were wearing full battle gear as they searched a city hotel, looking for the owner and anything else that sparked their interest. We watched as soldiers rifled through the draws in the establishment’s back-office.
The man who owned the place is called Petchawat Watanapongsirikun – but he wasn’t there – he’d gone to ground. Mr Petchawat is a leading red shirt – a prominent member of the most popular political movement in the country – and many people like him are now in hiding.
The red-clad street protest organisation was established in the wake of a 2006 coup to rally support for ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. However, Army Chief Prayut Chan-Ocha ordered a major crackdown on the movement after he took power last week in a coup.
He threw the Shinwatra-allied government out and detained top officials, including former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. She was later released from an army facility and now lives under virtual house-arrest in a Bangkok suburb.
Back at the hotel in Chang Mai, I thought I’d try and find out where Mr Petchawat was, but no one seemed to know. We did find one red shirt leader now in hiding however – a 42-year-old woman called Verawan Chareunsuk.
You can see more about Ms Verawan our exclusive report (above), including her plans to help senior members of the now-deposed administration – along with other red shirt leaders – form a government-in-exile.
Hundreds of people – including many red shirts – have been detained by the Thai military.
Various politicians, businessmen, academics, civil servants and students have been told to report to army bases around the country. Their names are produced on lists produced by the junta – some lists have been released publicly – other however, have not.
Once inside it seems military assesses each individual’s prospective loyalty to the regime. We met a restaurant owner and red shirt activist called Sriwan Janpong who spent five days in detention.
He told us, “I knew they what they wanted. They don’t want the red shirt leaders to stir up the people during the coup. I feel terrible about it.”
Those allowed to leave, like Mr Janpong, sign what detainees call an MOU – or memorandum of understanding. It sets out a series of conditions that individuals are expected to obey, including the requirement that they desist from all protest-related activity. The MOU also sets restrictions on their movements.
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