With the motto 'Return Happiness to the Public', the army has launched a campaign to win over the 'hearts and minds' of the population.
The starting shot was given on Wednesday at the Victory Monument. The residents of Bangkok were treated to singing and dancing by female soldiers and there was a free mobile medical service.
A special task unit has been formed for the PR campaign, the Information Operations Task Force. It must win the information campaign from the anti-coup movement and polish the image of the military authority (National Council for Peace and Order), especially on social media. The NCPO says it has already obtained the cooperation of the traditional media to get its message across; now the online community.
The campaign consists of numerous activities, such as opening a Facebook page and Twitter account for the various military services, entertainment, community work and regular press briefings in areas where the political conflict is most raging. The aim is to prevent incorrect information from being disseminated.
A video clip currently circulating on TouTube is believed to be the work of the NCPO. In the clip, a uniformed soldier says he supports the coup and that the situation in the country has improved.
“Soldiers guarding the capital never used violence against people who criticized them and pelted them with stones and water bottles. A wage of a few thousand baht is not worth a lifetime. It is not worth it. We do what we do because it's our job.'
(Source: Bangkok Post, June 5, 2014)
Now just abolish the curfew and the happiness is complete.
The politicians have screwed up, and if one of them still wants to play dictator….
The current army leadership proposes a realistic and constructive trajectory…..hope that they also implement it that way.