Thai junta calls for “national happiness” index
The Thai junta chief has called for the country’s economic and social development plan to be amended so that the policy aims to boost "gross national happiness".
On a day when the military tightened its grip on social media channels, junta leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha also assigned relevant state agencies to conduct a "Happiness Index" since the army coup on May 22.
The army general made the call for a policy of "gross national happiness" during a meeting of key junta figures and the heads of various state agencies.
The Nation newspaper said the commander expressed satisfaction at what the military has done since the May 22 coup in a bid to bring about reconciliation between the feuding sides.
Meanwhile, the junta’s online content monitoring panel will seek cooperation from social-network operators to block accessibility in Thailand to Facebook pages and YouTube videos that have inappropriate content, especially those deemed as violating national security.
Political protests have been subdued in recent days although the toll on Thailand’s tourism sector as a result of the coup is continuing to grow,
The Tourism Council of Thailand has revised down the number of arrivals due to the continuing political tension. It estimated that 1.2 million tourists would skip travelling to the kingdom over the next few months due to security fears.
Thailand’s annual two-month shopping festival is scheduled to take place nationwide from June 13 to August 15 and there is concern that the event will be affected by the lack of overseas tourists.
Ian Jarrett
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