The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and government must stop the arbitrary arrest and detention of its critics through the extraordinary powers of Section 44 of the provisional charter or see itself becoming the trigger of a new round of conflicts.
If another confrontation is allowed to occur between the military authorities and people who disagree with its hard-line crackdown on dissenting opinions, there is a danger that it will blow up into a virulent campaign.
The relatively calm situation is turning edgy because this is the period leading up to the charter referendum scheduled for Aug 7.
It should be a time for society to start opening up as it comes together to discuss and assess the draft of the highest law that will guarantee our basic rights, freedoms and dignity as human beings.
It should be time for a new beginning, when individuals and groups that were once divided by politics can find a chance to engage peacefully in deliberating the content of the draft charter that will pave the way for our common future.
The reality is the opposite. Instead of allowing the charter referendum to serve as a halfway house for a return to democracy, the junta chose to use the occasion to advance a climate of fear.
While the public referendum law does not seem to curb people's freedom to express their opinions for or against the draft charter as long as it is not done in a coercive, violent or aggressive way, authorities from Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha down the ladder of power interpret it otherwise.
In public interviews, the premier and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon insisted people are not free to express their opinions about the draft charter publicly.
If they do so, not only could they face a jail term of up to 10 years under the referendum law but they may also run the risk of being prosecuted under Section 44, which allows the military regime to detain individuals for up to seven days without charge.
The Election Commission promised to provide instructions as to what can and cannot be done under the public referendum act today.
Unfortunately, the guidelines may not be helpful as the authorities have shown a tendency to take the law into their own hands.
The climate of fear was deepened with the military regime's use of Section 44 to arrest and detain 10 online users in Khon Kaen and Bangkok, allegedly for being involved in online content critical of the NCPO and Gen Prayut on Wednesday.
In the evening of the same day, soldiers arrested 16 people who staged a symbolic protest against the detention of the 10 netizens by standing still at Victory Monument. Fifteen of them were released while one remains in detention.
Police suggested that the 10 netizens were detained for criticising the government through their online postings. The military court yesterday approved arrest warrants for eight of them for breaching the Computer Crime Act and inciting unrest.
Based on what authorities said, the case seems to be one of defamation and there is no reason those individuals cannot be prosecuted through the normal legal process.
For the military regime to use Section 44 to arrest and detain the suspects just out of suspicion of their online activities seems to be an excessive use of power.
In the end, it is counter-productive for the military regime to step up efforts to stifle its critics as the move will only fuel public anger and further defiance. If the resistance sparks a fire, the military regime may see itself being embroiled in yet more unrest which will only result in more damage to the nation.