The army has regularly organised outdoor cinema events for new soldiers, a spokeswoman said on Friday, rebutting claims that it was copying an idea of Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt.
The Royal Thai Army faced a barrage of critical comments after photos of soldiers watching movies outdoors at their camps circulated online.
“During the Covid situation, some army camps have been playing movies on LED screens so the troops can relax after a day’s work,” said Col Sirichan Ngathong, a deputy spokeswoman.
“We’ve been setting up outdoor cinemas for quite some time.”
If people checked photos in the past, they would find that some army units had been organising the activities in 2019 and 2020, she said.
The army recently staged free concerts in city parks less than a week after the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) announced a revival of the city’s famous “music in the park” programme.