The coup makers on Saturday widened their net to include prominent scholars and commentators as scattered protests against the military takeover continued. However, some of those ordered to report to authorities are refusing to do so.
Among them is Pheu Thai Party leader Charupong Ruangsuwan, who said he would not surrender to military figures who had seized power from the elected government. Prominent Japan-based Thai academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun also said he would not return home to "the crudest form of authoritarianism".
"I insist that I will not bow down to the military. I will not take part in a meeting with a group of rebels because I am the Pheu Thai leader and the Interior Minister who has been appointed by the people," Mr Charupong wrote in a handwritten note to members of the Seri Thai, or Free Thai Movement, on his Facebook page.
"I intend to fight against all types of insurrection alongside Seri Thai. I'm safe and taking cover in the Northeast."
He made the comment as military authorities ordered 35 more people to report to them, and as international organisations stepped up their condemnation of the earlier detention of dozens of political figures.
Anti-coup protesters hold up banners near Major Ratchayothin in Bangkok on Saturday. (AP Photo)
Soldiers also were busy dealing with anti-coup protests by a few hundred people at two locations in Bangkok: near Major Ratchayothin and Victory Monument.
The standoff at Victory Monument dragged on into the evening, with some jostling and shoving. However, soldiers appeared reluctant to press too hard against citizens armed with hundreds of smartphones and 3G connections to immortalise the moment instantly.
In Chiang Mai, soldiers dispersed a group of anti-coup protesters at 7.30pm, arresting four, according to Thai media. They also closed a road from the city moat near the Chang Puak Gate and the protesters fled to light candles on the other side of the moat.
Authorities also employed their first creative post-coup euphemism when describing how they dealt with some red-shirt resistance in the Northeast. The leaders, they said, had been "invited to rest" at an army compound.
The coup makers earlier summoned 155 politicians and activists on Friday and detained at least 100.
The military defended its actions, saying all those detained including former premier Yingluck Shinawatra were being treated well. The aim, said a spokesman, was to restore calm and to give key figures involved in the political conflict "time to think" about the political mess both sides had created.
The names on the latest list released on Saturday include Sondhi Limthongkul, the firebrand leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy who led the seizure of Suvarnabhumi airport in 2008.
Also included are scholars who advocate democracy and amendments to the lese majeste law: Thammasat lecturers Somsak Jeamteerasakul, Worachet Pakeerut and Sawatri Suksri (the latter two of the Nitirat or Enlightened Jurists group); Suda Rangupan, a former Chulalongkorn University lecturer, and Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a professor of Southeast Asian studies at Kyoto University.
Mr Pavin, a frequent contributor to the Bangkok Post and other media, said by telephone from Japan that he would not turn himself in.
"The military claiming to be a mediator in the Thai conflict, that is all just nonsense," he told the Associated Press.
"This is not about paving the way for reform and democratisation. We are really going back to the crudest form of authoritarianism."
Other politicians called to report by 1pm Saturday under Order No. 5 of the National Peace and Order Maintaining Council (NPOMC) included Gen Pracha Promnok, Somsak Thepsuthin, Suwat Liptapanlop, Anutin Charnveerakul, Sutin Klangsang and Sunai Julapongsathorn.
If they failed to show up or inform the council by 4pm Saturday, each one would face two years in jail and/or a fine of up to 40,000 baht.
(The council also announced on Saturday that it was changing its English name to the National Council for Peace and Order, or NCPO, acknowledging that the old name was awkward and ungrammatical.)
All of the politicians detained earlier were being well-treated and the aim of the military was to achieve a political compromise, said Col Weerachon Sukondhapatipak, a deputy army spokesman.
"This is in a bid for everybody who is involved in the conflict to calm down and have time to think," he said. "We don't intend to limit their freedom but it is to relieve the pressure."
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have criticised the detentions of political leaders. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged Thailand to "ensure respect for human rights and a prompt restoration of the rule of law in the country".
"The regime must immediately clarify a legal basis for this move and where they are. No one should be detained on the basis for their peaceful political opinions or affiliations," said Richard Bennett, the Asia-Pacific director for Amnesty.
