After SAF stages a coup ....

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Thai junta 'brings happiness to the people' with parties and selfies
Government seeks to solidify its position in the face of protests following May coup


A Thai junta reconciliation event at Victory Monument, where anti-coup protests took place last week



Are you in need of a pick-me-up? How about a free haircut or hot meal? A dance show by women in PVC miniskirts? Perhaps a chance to pet a pony?

All this – and more – is now available to you courtesy of the Royal Thai Army's "Happiness" campaign, which is staging free festivals across Bangkok to "bring back happiness" to the Thai public following last month's military coup.

A bizarre combination of an army-controlled street party and a music festival, the "parties" have been taking place in parks and squares, where the public is showered with free food and drink and given an opportunity to watch the army sing and dance — and take selfies next to trussed-up soldiers.

The campaign is by order of Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, who took control of Thailand two weeks ago in a military coup that has been condemned nationally and internationally. About 300 people have been detained since the army seized power on 22 May, among them academics, journalists, activists, politicians and human rights defenders. Those protesting against the coup have held flash mobs in shopping malls, holding up banners likening junta-ruled Thailand to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and flashing three-fingered "Hunger Games" salutes to show resistance.The army has cracked down on anti-coup protesters, banning the three-fingered salute and today arresting a motorcycle-taxi driver for distributing anti-coup leaflets, local media reported.

But Prayuth has said the coup should be celebrated as an opportunity for Thais to feel good after a long stretch of political in-fighting left the country deeply divided. "The Thai people, like me, have probably not been happy for nine years," he said last month. "But since May 22, there is happiness."

The junta, which calls itself the National Council for Peace and Order, (NCPO) has been circulating the theme of "happiness" extensively since overthrowing the democratically elected government. It has plans for a new "happiness index" to determine how people feel after the coup, while Prayuth is delivering a weekly TV and radio programme called Returning Happiness to the People, to discuss the junta's decisions and plans.

At Victory Monument, the very site where demonstrators were until a few days ago, the army on Wednesday set up trucks, loudspeakers, a stage and even a petting zoo – complete with bales of hay, horses, a cowboy mannequin and a ceramic teepee.

Nearby there was a selfie stand in front of a giant banner reading HAPPINESS, allowing the public to take pictures of themselves with soldiers in riot gear and wraparound sunglasses. "Oh, he's so handsome, take my picture!" shouted one young woman as she queued for a photo.

The coup has prompted a selfie-craze of sorts, with the trending Twitter hashtag "Show me a hot soldier" morphing into photos of Thai people in fancy dress, then even of newlyweds posing with soldiers or next to army trucks. "My heart feels good like this, because before [the coup] people were acting sick in the head," said Lt Pipat Boonrungruang, manning the crowd. "This is fun and it makes people smile."

At the main stage, a surreal mix of propaganda and performance was taking place. The crowd went wild as young male soldiers drummed helmets and metal food plates in a Thai military version of Stomp, throwing red roses and money at the stage, followed by a dance show with women in PVC miniskirts and glittering belts.

"Does this make me happy? Yes," said Farida Lee, 40, who was taking pictures of the dancers. "It makes the nation happy, sure. Without the army we would have had more fighting, more problems, more people killed. This is a good thing. Prayuth is good."

As for the free haircuts, oddly they were nowhere to be found. "No, no haircuts today," said a soldier watching the show, who then did a polite little bow. "I'm truly sorry."


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