BANGKOK—A month-long campaign by Thailand’s military government to return happiness to the fractured country seems to be working, according to a recent opinion poll.
BANGKOK—A month-long campaign by Thailand’s military government to return happiness to the fractured country seems to be working, according to a recent opinion poll.
Nine out of 10 Thais surveyed in a poll by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, one of the country’s most respected pollsters, credited the junta for helping restore happiness to Thailand following the bloodless May 22 coup. Some 2,000 people were polled nationwide for the survey, which was widely reported in the local media.
Still, some have expressed skepticism at such a high number given opposition to the coup and the depth of divisions.
The poll also found that nearly 85% of those surveyed said they have become more accepting of different opinions in the weeks since the military seized power in an attempt to bring peace and order back to the Land of Smiles, as Thailand is popularly known.
Political and social divisions have worsened in Thailand since the 2006 coup, when then-prime minister Thakin Shinawatra was removed from office. In the following years his opponents have battled his proponents for control of the country.
Every government elected in the past seven years has been affiliated in some way with Mr. Thaksin, a singularly polarizing figure. The latest was led by Yingluck Shinawatra, Mr. Thaksin’s younger sister.
Since political protests broke out last November in an effort to push Ms. Yingluck from power, dozens of people have been killed and hundreds have been injured in street clashes and drive-by attacks.
The military has justified its intervention based on the need to restore stability to one of Southeast Asia’s largest economies – and indeed, investors have reacted been reacting positively, with the Thai stock market rising 6.9% since the coup.
Human rights activists and foreign governments, however, have come down hard on the junta and called for elections to restore civilian rule. Around 400 people, including politicians, democratic activists, journalists and supporters of Ms. Yingluck, have been told to report to military headquarters since the coup. Many have been subsequently detained at unknown locations for days, if not weeks, before being released. The junta continues to ban any political gatherings as well as any protests critical of the putsch.
The majority of people who responded to the survey, however, said they felt safer and less worried about their family members thanks to the efforts of the National Council for Peace and Order – a governing body the junta has set up under the leadership of army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha.