An inordinate amount of time was spent working out exactly how many anti-coup protesters had gathered in Milan to denounce Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last week. He was in the Italian city to attend the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem).

 

Officials, including government spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd, initially denied the protesters' existence, though later - upon realising that there were indeed some - he denounced them for allegedly exploiting the Italians already protesting outside the Asem venue. Obviously, the Europe-based Thai anti-coup protesters, who were fewer than a dozen, were seeking some sort of solidarity. 

 

This writer's contact, an Italian scholar at a leading European university who asked not to be named, said: "[Protester] Janya [Yimprasert] had been talking to [Italian demonstrators] about Thailand over the past week, so they decided to back her protest, put up banners and began delivering speeches against Prayut." 

 

The source also translated part of the Italian protesters' declaration (posted on www.cantiere.org) which stated that: "Thai activists came here to do what is impossible in Thailand: opposing [Prayut] out loud. And we decided to help."

 

Back home in Thailand, coup supporters reacted with disbelief online. When it finally became clear that people like Janya had gone to Milan to protest against Prayut, social-media users began denouncing her and her backers for exploiting the supposedly unwitting 300 or so Italian protesters. 

 

Later, on learning that Janya and her friends had actually won support from the Italians, many Prayut supporters just decided to deny reality. Their obsessive belief that there are very few Thais taking a stand against the military regime has a lot to do with their refusal to acknowledge the truth, never mind the fact that any opposition to the regime on Thai soil is crippled by arrests, martial law and censorship. 

 

As this regime continues to deny the very existence of anti-Prayut sentiment, the premier did his bit by posing with Thai expatriates in Milan who support him. The Thai media quickly published a photograph of him holding up a national flag along with his supporters displaying a poster declaring: "Thais in Europe support PM Prayut". 

 

Meanwhile, another fierce debate erupted on social media. This time it was about whether the meeting on the sidelines between Prayut and Japan PM Shinzo Abe was just about exchanging pleasantries and boosting ties or whether Abe did indeed ask Prayut to "step up efforts to restore democracy" as reported by Japan's Kyodo News. 

 

Kyodo even cited a Japanese official quoting Prayut as saying that "the democratisation process is back on track" and that he needed Japan's "support in the effort".

 

We are told that Thailand under the junta is a happy place, where there is absolutely no sign of dissent. Sadly, clinging to the belief that everybody is happy and united in post-coup Thailand, and choosing to ignore the many divisions in society, will do little to heal our fractured country.