PUBLISHED: 7 Does 2025 at 07: 09
Anutin Charnvirakul, the interior minister, pleaded with the media to stop making “false” claims that the Internal Security Operations Command ( ISOC ) had blacklisted him for using the monarchy for political gain on Tuesday.
Mr. Anutin, who also serves as the Bhumjaithai Party’s president and deputy prime minister, claimed the army and Isoc had already addressed the issue and that they had insisted the claims were unfounded. He claimed that he thought the media may stop covering the story today.
When questioned if former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was supporting him amid the complaints, he declined to respond.
A reporter asked by Mr. Anutin whether Isoc may be disbanded, as critics had suggested. He is the agency’s assistant producer.
The organization has long been criticized for its sizable resources and obscure tasks, which frequently overlap with those of other organizations. The now-dissolved Move Forward Party put forth a costs in 2023 to try to get rid of it.
Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for the military, said on Saturday that the claim that Mr. Anutin was blacklisted was untrue and false.
He claimed that the president’s name was in a way that supported the monarchy but didn’t in a bad way in an inner intelligence report.
Following a political protection commission meeting last Thursday, a controversy broke out over the existence of an Isoc document categorizing individuals who purport to benefit from imperial references.
High-profile figures like Mr. Anutin, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and Phayao MP Thamanat Prompow, who works as an advisor to the Kla Tham Party, were reportedly included on the list, along with organizations accused of opposing the king, including the Women’s Party’s Facebook website.
Maj Gen Winthai confirmed the article’s sincerity, but stressed that it had been leaked and distributed without the appropriate context, which created misunderstandings between the names and Isoc itself.