There's a covert agent in the Defence Ministry.
Sabotage inthe military
The release of supposedly confidential information about the recruitment of the defence permanent secretary's son in the army shows that not everyone remains fond of the military junta.
The National Council for Peace and Order was hit by a disturbing revelation early this week when it emerged that Patipat, son of defence permanent secretary Preecha Chan-o-cha, who is Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's younger brother, had landed a job in the 3rd Region Army's civil affairs directorate with the rank of acting lieutenant.
Government critics said the recruitment screamed nepotism.
The issue stirred debate about the army's employment system and prompted Gen Preecha, Gen Prayut and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon to come out in force to defend the controversial recruitment.
The military top brass insisted the job opening was an internal army matter and it had not been created specifically for Gen Preecha's son as alleged by anti-government elements.
Mr Patipat, a mass communications graduate, was qualified for the task of coordinating and boosting understanding between the military and civilians, according to the government.
However, Gen Preecha did not help the situation when he declared that the recruitment of someone in the family was "normal", while Gen Prawit echoed a similar message, suggesting there was nothing earth-shatteringly wrong about it, according to a military source.
Gen Prawit added the position filled by Mr Patipat required a person with specialised skills and knowledge and there was no need to organise a contest to find the right candidate.
The source said Gen Preecha wanted his son to serve in the military and eventually managed to talk him into accepting the position.
Gen Prayut, meanwhile, said many sons and daughters of military personnel are admitted to various positions in the armed forces through internal recruitment procedures each year. But Mr Patipat appeared to have been singled out on account of his being a Chan-o-cha.
The premier said it is at times like this that he wished he could change his surname.
There was also no let-up in the social media furore over the issue with multiple comments demanding Mr Patipat relinquish his newly-approved appointment and quit the army altogether.
Back at the Defence Ministry, Gen Preecha has ordered a probe into the leaking of his son's recruitment information which had somehow ended up on red-shirt webpages, said the source.
The target of suspicion is "watermelon soldiers", so-called due to their true colour of red concealed inside green fatigues, or moles for the anti-government camp. These soldiers worked closely with the previous Pheu Thai Party-led administration.
The recruitment document, signed by Gen Preecha only days before the Songkran festival, took little time to leak and immediately generated controversy after social media got hold of it.
The probe team has lost no time tracing the document trail as it was looking to see how many and in whose hands the paper had passed through.
The source said an air of suspicion has grown thick in the Defence Ministry as the investigation deepens with certain "watermelon" officers being marked.
At the same time, the ministry has directed that confidential documents must be filed away from the prying eyes of people driven by ulterior motives.
A question of unity
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has fallen from grace with coup supporters after his pre-Songkran press conference on the charter draft and the extra question that will be asked in the referendum on Aug 7.
The former prime minister left no room for doubt that he does not like the second question proposed by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), which is intended to increase the appointed Senate's power by allowing it to help pick the prime minister.
Mr Abhisit adopted a cautious tone on the draft charter, written by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), when asked if he would vote "No" in the referendum. It was too soon for him to make a decision on how to vote, although the flaws are evident, he said.
As soon as Mr Abhisit's stand on this issue, which is of major significance to the military regime, was made public, he came under fire from supporters of the junta.
Political observers believe the Democrat leader is being hit by criticism because he is considered by coup supporters as one of them and his lack of support for the coup-sponsored charter makes them feel he is breaking ranks.
According to a political source, whether Mr Abhisit anticipated such a strong reaction from coup supporters is not known, but he considers his criticism as being made in good faith and for the public good.
Moreover, the source said, Mr Abhisit has what is known as an athlete's spirit -- you do not quit before the whistle blows as the game can be won in a split second. The feedback, despite being negative, means his opinions are being heard and it could be worth it if those in power also hear it too.
Mr Abhisit reportedly plans to launch a charter campaign ahead of the national referendum, but it will not be for or against it. He is believed to be thinking about educating the public about what a charter should be.
It remains to be seen if his campaign will be acceptable under the referendum law that is expected to take effect soon.
The military regime, on the other hand, is said to be upset with Mr Abhisit's move because it is playing into the hands of its critics, including the Pheu Thai Party which has been highly vocal in its opposition to the charter, even before it was completed.
According to the source, if the Democrats speak out against the charter draft, it will add weight to the opposition. Both the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties have enough support to have the charter draft rejected if they "join hands".
It is believed the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will do all it can to make sure a general election takes place next year as planned.
NCPO chief and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has made a commitment to the people and the international community by pledging to steer the country toward full restoration of democracy. The election will be imperiled should the constitution fail in the referendum.
Even though the NCPO can press ahead with the election next year no matter what happens, the regime will look decidedly better if the draft charter passes the referendum with flying colours.
No order in the court
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will need to think carefully before deciding to withdraw a court case relating to the Somchai Wongsawat government's dispersal of yellow-shirt protesters in 2008.
There have been warnings that if the NACC pulls any case submitted to the court, it will have a lot of explaining to do to clear public doubts about the motive behind such a move.
Among the four defendants in the case is former police chief Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon, who has close ties to NACC chairman Pol Gen Watcharapol Prasarnrajakit. Pol Gen Patcharawat is also a younger brother of Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
Any misstep in handling the case could land the NACC in the hot water, an NACC source said. The case is now with the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political-Office Holders.
Several NACC officials are concerned the NACC could face legal action for dereliction of duty if it decides to remove the case from the court.
It is widely speculated the NACC may pull the case after the anti-graft body last week gave itself special power to withdraw cases it had forwarded to the court and which had gone through the indictment phase.
This came after the defendants in the case, including ex-premier Somchai and Pol Gen Patcharawat, handed a petition to the NACC calling for justice and asking the anti-graft body to drop the case against them.
They want the NACC to treat them in the same way as former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his then deputy Suthep Thaugsuban when it cleared them of charges in the 2010 red-shirt crackdown. The defendants insisted that their actions complied with the law.
The NACC was seeking to amend the Anti-Corruption Act to ease the burden of handling numerous cases submitted to the court. Most of these cases involve disciplinary offences committed by state officials.
However, there has been little progress in amending the law as the NACC's legal office has not yet finished the necessary legislation.
The bill was meant to be forwarded to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who could invoke Section 44 of the interim charter to allow the NACC to withdraw cases involving officials' disciplinary offences, the source said.
The NACC then agreed in a vote of 6-1 on Monday to give itself the power to withdraw cases it had submitted to the court. Such a power is not stipulated by the Anti-Corruption Act or NACC regulations, and this could spell trouble for the NACC, the source said.
Speculation is that one of the cases which could be withdrawn involves the dispersal of protesters led by the People's Alliance for Democracy who prevented then prime minister Somchai from entering the parliament to deliver a government policy address on Oct 7, 2008.
The NACC charged Mr Somchai and former deputy prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh with malfeasance for ordering the crackdown on protesters, which led to two deaths and several injuries. The other two defendants also facing malfeasance charges are Pol Gen Patcharawat, and Pol Lt Gen Suchart Muankaew, the former metropolitan police chief.
However, another NACC source said the agency has not yet decided whether to pull the case from the court. It is up to the court to decide whether to allow the case to be withdrawn and the NACC will discuss it again, the source said.
