(From AFP)
Thai authorities have confiscated nearly 6,000 red bowls bearing a message from an ousted ex-premier, a police officer said Sunday, in the junta’s latest attempt to block the resurgence of the political party it toppled.
The seizure followed the arrest last week of a woman seen posing with one of the bowls in photos on social media. She has been charged with sedition, a move described by a rights group as absurd.
The plastic scoops, used for pouring water in Buddhist ceremonies during Thailand’s upcoming new year, bear a note signed by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose political bloc has spent the past decade vying for power with a military-backed elite.
Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and now lives in exile, while the government run by his sister Yingluck was toppled by the current junta in 2014.
The bowls — in the Shinawatras’ signature red colour — were first distributed at a temple fair last week in the northern province of Chiang Mai.
The message printed on the side reads: “The situation may be hot, but brothers and sisters may gain coolness from the water inside this bucket.” Read More