Less than two weeks after the May 22, 2014 coup, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) handed out leaflets to Bangkokians explaining why then army commander-in-chief Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha had to topple the caretaker civilian government of Yingluck Shinawatra.
The prime reason was that "severely entrenched" political divisions had been "escalated to the family level and the existing form of governing could not resolve the conflicts and wrongdoings of different groups".
Yet, one and a half years later, the political divide has not been resolved and the political ideologies of members of both the yellow- and red-shirt camps remain intact.
Despite the military's sporadic crackdowns on the political activities of the red shirts, adoration for Ms Yingluck and her fugitive brother Thaksin among rural people, especially in the North and Northeast, is unwavering.
Likewise, hatred of the two siblings' alleged corrupt practices is prevalent among many of the "educated" urban middle class.
Efforts to reconcile both extremes of the political spectrum have been superseded by tenacious attempts to "uproot" the extensive network of Thaksin's cronies and bring the allegedly corrupt officials and politicians to justice.
In many red shirts' opinion, laws have been unfairly enforced to benefit supporters of the military.
While the Pheu Thai Party takes advantage of opportunities ranging from religious rituals to New Year celebrations to remind their rural supporters of Thaksin and Yingluck as well as discredit the ruling junta, the military often fall into Pheu Thai's trap and are seen as oppressing dissent.
The latest saga involves the distribution of 2016 calendars featuring photographs of the two former premiers in various Pheu Thai provincial strongholds.
Roi Et governor Anusorn Kaewkangwal issued a province-wide ban on the calendars being handed out after he learnt that village heads in Chiang Kwan district had distributed them at a meeting.
Police and soldiers in Khon Kaen also banned distribution of the calendars on Monday when Ms Yingluck visited the province for a Buddhist ritual and to meet her supporters. But some were still handed out despite the authorities' close watch on her movements.
The 23rd Military Circle in Khon Kaen summoned Piyachai Nachai and Orathai Phosri for so-called "attitude-adjustment sessions" after finding the two members of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, which is allied with Pheu Thai, handing out the calendars during Ms Yingluck's Khon Kaen visit. They were lectured for about an hour, then released.
The session was meant as punishment for disseminating calendars displaying political figures to their supporters, which violates an order of the NCPO prohibiting all political activities, said Col Somchai Khanpachai, deputy commander of the Khon Kaen-based military circle.
The calendar controversy also drew comments from Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and cabinet ministers on what should or should not be featured on a calendar, which government opponents feel are hypocritical.
Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda, a former army chief and ex-boss of Gen Prayut, said he thought it was unusual for people to put their own photos on a calendar. PM's Office Minister ML Panadda Diskul, also said it was inappropriate to put one's photo on a calendar.
In response, many netizens posted calendars featuring photos of politicians such as People's Democratic Reform Committee leader Chitpas Kridakorn and other Democrat politicians as well as celebrities, actors and scantily clad women.
Gen Prayut sees the calendar as inappropriate as one person in the images is "a lawbreaker", in reference to Thaksin, who jumped bail in 2008 before the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Position-Holders sentenced him in absentia to two years behind bars for abuse of authority in his then wife's purchase of land in Ratchadaphisek from the state while he was premier.
Appropriate on not, Thailand is never short of ironies.
Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, who ruled Thailand with an iron fist from 1958 to 1963, is still much adored by many Thais for his authoritarianism. An army infantry camp in Prachuap Khiri Khan province even bears his surname in his honour.
However, it was exposed by newspapers after his death just how corrupt the field marshal had actually been. This was thanks to a bitter inheritance battle between his children and his young wife which revealed the massive extent of his wealth taken from government coffers which was later confiscated.
If Field Marshal Sarit is still honoured by the military, perhaps Thaksin could be given some space in his supporters' hearts.
Oppressing his supporters' loyalty is not a smart way to reconcile this deeply divided society.
Nopporn Wong-Anan is deputy editor, Bangkok Post.