Tuesday is the fourth anniversary of the military coup d'etat by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. It is no cause for celebration. Indeed, protesters will be active today, demanding that Gen Prayut live up to his promise for a return to democratic principles, starting with a free and fair general election. Now the prime minister, Gen Prayut has promised elections every year since he seized control of government, yet he still refuses to set a date.
As the military regime enters its fifth year, it is sending its messengers out to claim a long list of supposed achievements. The chief spokesman and official controller of information, Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd, has spoken informally of a long list of economic and political successes, "so many it could fill 20 notebooks". Almost all the supposed achievements are a matter of opinion, and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva says the list is illusory.
The cold facts, short of opinion, show that the military regime has unquestionably ended the strife on the nation's streets. Since May 22, 2014, there has not been a public clash between rival political groups. The competing political rallies -- especially the Bangkok Shutdown group versus the red shirts -- sapped economic resources and brought little or no political advantage. Whether the military has actually ended this divisive activity, however, or merely paused it at gunpoint, remains to be seen.
