Thailand's Ministry of Defence has launched a new weapon to bring reconciliation to a fractured society — a mascot named Little Sister Pinky Promise.
The mascot — a cartoon girl with a red love heart on her white dress — was revealed by uniformed soldiers, who obliged the media cameras by linking little fingers with the puppet.
"The army hopes that 'Nong Kiaw Koy' [Little Sister Pinky Promise] will be the symbol of national reconciliation," Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Kongcheep Tantravanich said.
"The process of reconciliation is ongoing … to build people's conscience about what they should do or should not do."
In Thailand, the linking of little fingers is often used to show reconciliation, as well as a gesture of promise.
Lieutenant General Kongcheep explained that a female character was chosen to represent the "gender of non-violence", white clothes to show "purity" and a red heart meaning "all Thais come together with one heart to create unity".
"Nong Kiaw Koy's face looks kind of dark to show the determination and hard work needed to make reconciliation happen," he said, without explaining the link between a dark face and determination.
The Thai army has been fighting a simmering insurgence against separatists in the majority-Muslim south, which has claimed almost 7,000 lives since 2004.
The country remains deeply divided by politics too, with the so-called red shirt and yellow shirt factions holding disruptive protests in recent years.
The military ousted the elected Government in 2014 and maintains strict control, with political gatherings banned and Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-o-cha wielding absolute power under a constitutional clause known as Article 44.
Elections are scheduled for November 2018 but the military is entrenching its role, giving itself effective oversight of future Governments for 20 years.
The mascot is part of a 10-point plan for reconciliation by a reform committee set up by the military junta.
It's not the first time the generals have tried "cute mascot diplomacy", bringing out a similar-looking character after the 2014 coup to represent the junta's slogan "returning the happiness".
Reaction on social media was largely critical.
User @iwhale tweeted "Little Sister Pinky Promise, Big Brother Chains", with a photo of 17 protesters arrested for demonstrating against a proposed coal mine in Krabi.
