It is very hard for the United States to
regard the military coup in Thailand as business as usual.
The US
embassy in Bangkok has not extended an invitation to any key member of the
junta to attend its Independence Day celebration this week.
Washington
has discouraged formal associations or celebrations with Thai military officers
who were directly involved in the military coup on May 22 to topple the elected
government, according to a diplomatic source.
The
ruling National Council for Peace and Order's spokesman Colonel Werachon
Sukondhapatipak confirmed that the US embassy did not invite any senior
military officers.
The US
embassy has organised a reception on Thursday at a Bangkok hotel to celebrate
Independence Day. It usually extends invitations to senior officials in
government agencies, high society figures and the diplomatic community.
People
started receiving the invitations last week but junta leader General Prayuth
Chan-ocha and his four deputies did not get one.
"May
not attend"
However,
many military with the rank of colonel were invited, a source said.
An army
colonel said he got the invitation as usual but he and many colleagues were
considering not going. Many of them had decided not to join the celebration, he
said.
"They
want the US to realise that we have feeling towards what it has expressed towards
us," said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The US
had consistently expressed its stance against military intervention in the
political crisis before the coup. Washington cut its US$4.7 million in military
assistance to Thailand and cancelled many activities and joint exercises in
response to the power seizure.
Other
Western countries also took a tough stance against the junta. The British
embassy cancelled a reception to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's birthday at a
Bangkok hotel on June 11 to reflect its opposition to the coup.
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