In defending the scandal-plagued Rajabhakti Park, the military regime is gambling with its own legitimacy, whether it is aware of it or not.
As the top brass dig in to safeguard the army's park of past kings, their underlying attitude has become more evident.
Stability, or a perception of peace, is more important than tackling corruption, as the powers-that-be are telling the public through its manoeuvres to fence the park off from public criticism.
To them, sanctity means silence, a total absence of disagreement and scrutiny.
Those attitudes and accompanying tactics may have worked in the past.
Security was one reason Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha cited when he successfully staged the May 22 coup against former PM Yingluck Shinawatra.
To keep up the appearance of a peaceful environment is why the premier still asks everyone to refrain from exercising their freedom of expression and assembly.
And the request still holds, probably because memories of bitter political conflicts and deadly confrontations are still fresh in many people's minds.
However, as questions about alleged corrupt financing in the construction of Rajabhakti Park remain unanswered, and no attempts have apparently been made to address them, it's open to question whether the same request will be enough to contain the growing scandal.
The military must know that a coup would never be possible against a government that does not suffer a crisis of legitimacy.
Without the sale of Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings, the push for the amnesty bill and the reckless pursuit of the financially unsound rice-pledging scheme, the Thaksin and Yingluck governments would not have exposed weaknesses that led to their downfall.
Despite this history, the military regime seems to be following in the footsteps of these past governments with its last-ditch defence of Rajabhakti Park.
Its closing down the park for a day apparently to stymie a planned visit by a student group yesterday was petty-minded considering the youngsters' trip was unlikely to pose any threat.
The activists had planned to read out a statement about alleged irregularities in the park's construction.
Their presence there could have added a small amount of pressure to the regime which has moved slowly in tackling the alleged corruption involving the park.
In reality, the symbolic visit should have been seen as a constructive move. After all, the government and students are supposed to share the same aim in getting to the bottom of the graft scandal and bringing those responsible to account.
However, the regime's reaction was excessive and puzzling. Instead of stopping at the park's temporary closure, the authorities halted the train service briefly, cutting off the carriage in which the student activists were riding and arrested them.
National Council for Peace and Order spokesman Col Winthai Suvaree said the detentions were necessary to prevent a clash between the activists and local people who do not agree with their actions.
It's difficult to see how a visit by a dozen students to read a statement about controversies surrounding the park could have stirred opposition. It's only logical for people to want the whole truth behind Rajabhakti Park especially when the story so far is full of gaps and inconsistencies.
As the military regime tries harder to keep the park above scrutiny by portraying attempts to examine the scandal or to keep it in the public spotlight as instigating political unrest, it is also chipping away at its claim to be fighting corruption which forms its justification for power.
Its claim of maintaining the peace and sacredness of the park rings hollow. If the public is forced to sit still and keep quiet when it suspects that corruption is taking place, the resulting silence can't be considered peaceful.
Stability can't be established in a climate of doubt and fear.
The junta's attitude when it comes to the Rajabhakti Park scandal was best revealed in an interview given by government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd. Apparently referring to the planned visit by the student activists, Col Sansern said those people should not smear the park that was built with the faith and loyalty that all Thais have for the monarchy.
What Maj Gen Sansern, and the regime as a whole, may have failed to grasp is the park has already been smeared by the corruption allegations. Unless the government moves to clean it up effectively, it is the regime's own legitimacy that will be at stake.
Atiya Achakulwisut is Contributing Editor, Bangkok Post.