<p>The Royal Thai Army is conducting a programme to educate kindergarten children to be patriotic through the junta’s controversial nationalistic 12 Thai Values. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>On 21 December 2016, Lt Col Phansak Phraewphanit, Commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 29 Army Regiment in Kanchanaburi Province, welcomed a group of 180 kindergarten children and their teachers to participate in a ‘Homeland Defence Battalion’ programme,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.matichon.co.th/news/402675">Matichon Online reported</a>.</p>

<p dir="ltr">A criminal court has handed a two-year suspended jail term to a witness of Thailand’s<a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/category/april-may-2010-political-violence"> April-May 2010 political violence</a> accused of defaming the Thai Army. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">On 8 December 2016, the Criminal Court of Thailand sentenced Thanaporn (surname withheld due to privacy concerns) to two years of imprisonment with a 100,000 baht fine, according to <a href="https://freedom.ilaw.or.th/case/648#progress_of_case">iLaw</a>. The court suspended the jail term for two years.</p>

<div>The Royal Thai Army has initiated an investigation after a video emerged on social media of a soldier being violently beaten by his supervisors.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 18 November 2016, a video clip of a soldier being repeatedly beaten by his supervisors was widely shared on Thai social media. In the video, the soldier was hit hard with rods and kicked in the head. A supervisor is heard warning him not to express pain and threatening to restart the punishment if he does so. Surrounding soldiers also participated in the punishment. </div>

<p dir="ltr">Thailand’s army chief has said that the Army Cyber Centre will closely monitor news deemed defamatory to the Thai Monarchy.</p> <p dir="ltr">On 1 November 2016, Gen Chalermchai Suthisad, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army (RTA), said that the army will use its cyber centres to monitor distorted news from within and outside the country. This relates especially to news that violates Article 112, the lèse majesté law, of the Criminal Code, <a href="https://www.matichonweekly.com/featured/article_13296">Matichon Online reported</a>.</p>

<p dir="ltr">The Royal Thai Army has warned that violence could return in the form of political dissidents possessing weapons stolen from the army during the 2010 political violence.</p> <p dir="ltr">On 3 September 2016, Col Winthai Suvaree, a spokesperson of the Royal Thai Army, announced that authorities are currently trying to retrieve weapons that were stolen during the April–May 2010 political violence,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BBCThai/photos/a.1527194487501586.1073741828.1526071940947174/1828470634040635/?type=3&amp;theater"> BBC Thai reported</a>.</p>

<p>The military prosecutor has indicted a youth anti-junta activist for joining a campaign to investigate Rajabhakti Park corruption allegations.</p> <p>On 27 September 2016, at the Military Court of Bangkok, staff of the Military Judge Advocate General’s Department indicted Chanoknan Ruamsap, a key leader of the New Democracy Movement (NDM), for breaking the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Head’s Order No. 3/2015, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported.</p> <p>Section 12 of the order is the junta’s ban on political gatherings of five or more persons.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Thaipublica, a news agency known for its investigations into corruption, has sued the Thai army over alleged irregularities in the construction of Rajabhakti Park.</p> <p dir="ltr">On 12 September 2016, the Administrative Court accepted a lawsuit filed by Thaipublica against the Royal Thai Army (RTA), <a href="http://thaipublica.org/2016/09/rajabhakti-park-18-9-2559/">Thaipublica reported</a>.</p>

<p dir="ltr">After a lengthy probe into the royal monument park corruption scandal, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) concluded no trace of corruption was found in the construction overseen by the Thai army.</p> <p>On 7 September 2016, Pol Gen Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit, the NACC chairman, announced that the NACC investigation committee had found no evidence of corruption in the procurement procedure for the construction of Rajabhakti Park.</p>

<p>After settling on a controversial plan to spend 36 billion baht on submarines, the Thai junta deputy head has announced that the regime will buy more tanks from China.</p> <p>Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, the deputy junta head and Defence Minister, on Wednesday announced that the Thai military will buy more tanks from China after Andrii Beshta, Ambassador of Ukraine to Thailand, informed the authorities that the delivery of the OPLOT tanks, which Thailand has already ordered, will be delayed, the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tnamcot.com/content/507276">Thai News Agency reported</a>.</p>

<p>The mother and wife of a soldier who allegedly died from ill-treatment during military training have filed a civil lawsuit against the Royal Thai Army.</p> <p>At the Civil Court on Ratchadaphisek Road, Bangkok, on Monday, 6 June 2016, Wan Thongdinok, the mother of Sub Lt Sanan Thongdinok, together with Thanyarat Wannasathit, Sanan’s wife, filed a charge against the Royal Thai Army under the 1996 Act on Liability of Abuse of Officials over the death of Sub Lt Sanan.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Ministry of Defence has defended the appointment of the junta leader’s nephew to an army post, saying that it is normal for the army to replace retired army personnel.</p> <p>Maj Gen Kongcheep Tantrawanich, spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence, on Sunday, 17 April 2016, announced that the appointment of new army officers with certain skills or qualifications to replace retired officers is normal. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Election Commission of Thailand has proposed penalties for people who distort facts about the draft constitution while the Royal Thai Army says it will help promote a correct understanding. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>