Internal Security Operations Command

Internal Security Operations Command

กองอำนวยการรักษาความมั่นคงภายในราชอาณาจักร
ISOC meeting with PM Abhisit Vejjajiva in 2011
Agency overview
Formed	1965[1]
Preceding agencies	Central Security Command (CSC) Communist Suppression Operations Command (CSOC)
Type	Government agency
Jurisdiction	Nationwide
Headquarters	Ruen Ruedi Palace Nakhon Ratchasima Rd., Dusit, Bangkok, Thailand
Motto	Pali: Asādhuṃ Sādhunā Jine ('Conquer evil by the power of good')[2]
Annual budget	10,240.1 million baht (FY2019)
Minister responsible	Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Director
Parent agency	Office of the Prime Minister
Key document	Internal Security Act
Website	Official website

Internal Security Operations Command (Thai: กองอำนวยการรักษาความมั่นคงภายในราชอาณาจักร; RTGS: kong amnuaikan raksa khwam mankhong phainai ratcha-anachak ) or ISOC (Thai: กอ.รมน.; RTGS: ko o ro mo no) is the political arm of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.^[3] It was responsible for the suppression of leftist groups from the 1960s to the 1980s. During this period it was implicated in atrocities against activists and civilians. ISOC was implicated in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.^[4]

After Thaksin was deposed by the 2006 Thai coup d'état, the junta transformed ISOC into a government within a government, giving it wide-reaching authority over the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Department of Special Investigation, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO). The junta also authorized it to help provincial authorities in marketing OTOP products.^{[5][failed verification]}

In June 2007, the junta approved a draft national security bill which gave ISOC sweeping powers to handle "new forms of threats" to the country. The ISOC revamp modelled it after the US Department of Homeland Security and gave ISOC sweeping new powers to allow the ISOC chief to implement security measures, such as searches without seeking prime ministerial approval.^[6]

History

General Saiyud Kerdphol (center) co-founder of ISOC during field operation in 1974

Mission and organization

ISOC's mission is to suppress threats to national security, defend the monarchy, promote unity, and protect the public from harm.^[7] Nominally a civilian agency, ISOC operates under the aegis of the Office of the Prime Minister.^[8] Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha is director of ISOC. Deputy director is army chief General Narongpan Jitkaewthae.^[7][9]

ISOC's FY2019 budget is 10,240.1 million baht.^[10]: 84 ISOC has about 5,000-6,000 staff nationwide, excluding those working in the south, and there are 500,000-600,000 internal security volunteers, as well as tens of thousands of people in its information network.^[11]

Communist Suppression Operations Command

The Communist Suppression Operations Command (CSOC) was established in 1965^[1] with the assistance of the United States to coordinate nationwide anti-communist operations.^[12][13]

Following the 17 November 1971 coup by military dictators Thanom Kittikachorn and Praphas Charusathien, Praphas appointed himself interior minister, chief of police, and head of CSOC.

The CSOC was implicated in several atrocities in its 1970s war against leftist groups. This included the Red Drum Massacre, the mass murder of southern Thai activists by burning them alive in gasoline drums.^[14]

Student leader Thirayuth Boonmee showed evidence that the destruction of Ban Na Sai village, Bueng Kan District, Nong Khai Province (As of 2011^[update], Bueng Kan Province) in northeast Thailand^{[citation needed]} was the handiwork of the CSOC.^[15] The military had earlier claimed that the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) was responsible for the village's destruction.^{[citation needed]}

CSOC's name was changed to ISOC in 1974.^[1]

Operations during the 1970s

ISOC conducted operations in cities and the Thai countryside to subvert leftist groups through propaganda and violence.^[16] In 1973, the ISOC commenced a bombing campaign against hill tribe villages in northern Thailand.^{[citation needed]}

Prime Minister to-be Prem Tinsulanonda was a senior officer of the ISOC.^{[citation needed]}

ISOC's role declined starting in the early-1980s after the downfall of the CPT. However, it still had great influence. On 1 April 1987, after Prime Minister Kukrit Pramoj claimed that ISOC had been brainwashed by communists, over 200 Thai Army Rangers attacked the prime minister's residence.^{[17][failed verification]}

Political intervention

Plot to assassinate Thaksin Shinawatra

ISOC Deputy Director Pallop Pinmanee was sacked^[18] after Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana,^[19] his driver, was found driving a car containing 67 kilograms of explosives near the residence of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Pallop denied all involvement, noting that "If I was behind it, I would not have missed."^[20] A government spokesperson stated that the explosives in the car were completely assembled, equipped with a remote sensor ready to be detonated, and would have had a blast radius of around one kilometre.^[4]

Information Operations

In a parliament debate in February 2020, Future Forward MP Viroj Lakkana-adisorn presented a document revealing the percentage of the Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC) budget dedicated to information warfare in Thailand's three southern provinces of Narathiwas, Songkhla, and Yala. Three additional documents detailed Defense Ministry orders to conduct information warfare against opposition parties and politicians, including specific budget details for the internet and mobile phones and the internet. As ISOC reports directly to the prime minister's office, General Prayut denied all the allegations and promised to investigate.^[21]

In October 2020, Twitter took down a "low-intensity" Royal Thai Army information operation apparently designed to stifle and influence democratic opinion on social media regarding Army scandals and democratic processes in the country, as part of a major wider investigation by Facebook and Twitter into attempts to influence the 2020 US Presidential Election.^[22]

ISOC with Thailand's coup

Post-2006 coup ISOC

ISOC received a boost when the 2006 coup installed the government of General Surayud Chulanont. His government passed the Internal Security Act, 2008, granting ISOC the status of a state organization reporting to the Office of the Prime Minister.^[23]

Thaksin planned a major restructuring of the ISOC prior to the coup which overthrew him in September 2006. Soon after the coup, the junta released three army suspects in the car bomb plot.^[24] Junta leader and Army Commander-in-Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin appointed himself head of ISOC (its previous head had been the prime minister) and transformed ISOC into a "government within a government". The new ISOC was criticized as being a shadowy puppet master pulling the strings of existing agencies, answerable to no one but its leader.^{[25][failed verification]}

To protect people in south Thailand from insurgency-related violence, ISOC produced Jatukham Rammathep amulets for distribution to the Buddhist minority. The renowned animist amulets were believed to have magical powers to protect their wearers from violence and large sums are paid for them. The plan was developed by Colonel Manas Khongpan, deputy director of ISOC in Yala Province.^{[26][failed verification]}

The cabinet of General Surayud Chulanont gave 732 ISOC staff members an 84.3 million baht "reward" in mid-2007. ISOC explained that police and soldiers were temporarily transferred to support ISOC's operation. ISOC wanted to reward them for their hard work and sacrifice. ISOC had originally requested the reward in 2003, but was turned down by the Thaksin government.^[27]

Post-2014 coup ISOC

Following the 2014 coup, junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha used ISOC to handle not just military matters, but also political and social issues. In 2017, Prayut issued NCPO Order 51/2017 to bolster ISOC's powers. A key provision was the inclusion of public prosecutors under ISOC's ageis, marking ISOC's first involvement in the Thai justice system. The order also gave ISOC the power to summon citizens to provide "information", a function formerly seen as a police responsibility. ISOC, under the order, is also responsible for "social order", a task previously shared by the police and ministries.^[23]

In October 2019, ISOC filed sedition charges against 12 opposition politicians and academics, including leaders of Future Forward and Pheu Thai parties. They were accused of inciting insurrection against the state for discussing amendments to the junta-drafted 2017 constitution on 28 September in Pattani Province. Their choice of venue is unfortunate as Pattani operates under a "state of emergency" enacted by the army to combat local separatists. This means that the defendants may be tried in a military tribunal. A leading Thai political scientist warned that giving a militarized surveillance agency free rein in internal security issues risked turning Thailand into a totalitarian state.^[7]

ISOC Bases

• Ruen Ruedi Palace in Bangkok is the headquarters of ISOC.^[28]
• Tambon Khao Tum in Yarang District of Pattani Province is the site of Fort Sirindhorn, headquarters of ISOC Area 4.^[29]

See also

• Office of the Prime Minister (Thailand)
• Deep State
• Operation Gladio
• The King Never Smiles

References

1. Pawakapan, Puangthong R. (November 2017). "The Central Role of Thailand's Internal Security Operations Command in the Post-Counterinsurgency Period" (PDF). Trends in Southeast Asia (17). Singapore: Yusof Ishak Institute. ISBN 978-981-4786-81-2. ISSN 0219-3213. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
2. ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง กำหนดภาพเครื่องหมายราชการ ตามพระราชบัญญัติเครื่องหมายราชการ พุทธศักราช ๒๔๘๒ (ฉบับที่ ๒๖๘) ลงวันที่ 9 กรกฎาคม 2555 [Announcement of the Office of the Prime Minister on Determination of Official Symbol under the Official Symbols Act, Buddhist Era 2482 (1939), (No. 268) dated 9 July 2012] (PDF). Government Gazette (in Thai). 129 (Special 130 D). Cabinet Secretariat: 19. 2012-08-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-23.
3. "Thailand's Deep State—The Military". Asia Sentinel. 2017-11-14. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
4. "Thai police thwart bomb plot against PM Thaksin". The China Post. 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
5. Bangkok Post, CNS advises extended term for AEC, 14 February 2007
6. "Cabinet approves security bill". Bangkok Post. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
7. Rojanaphruk, Pravit; Buabmee, Sunantha; Charuvastra, Teeranai (11 October 2019). "INTERVIEW: MILITARY SURVEILLANCE TURNING THAILAND INTO '1984'". Khaosod English. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
8. "Agencies under OPM". Office of the Prime Minister. Archived from the original on 6 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
9. Boonbandit, Tappanai (11 October 2019). "APIRAT REVIVES RED SCARE IN EPIC RANT AGAINST OPPOSITION". Khaosod English. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
10. Thailand's Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2019. Bureau of the Budget (Thailand). December 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
11. Raksaseri, Kornchanok (8 January 2018). "Isoc power boost 'not political'". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
12. Lee, Terence C (28 February 2005). "The Causes of Military Insubordination: Explaining Military Organizational Behavior in Thailand" (PDF). Presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association Honolulu, Hawaii, March 2005. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
13. Murray, Charles (November 1984). "The Domino That Didn't Fall; Why in a Country Riven by Coups Did an Apparently Robust and Growing Insurgency Collapse?". Atlantic Monthly. Contemporary Thinkers: 34. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
14. Damrongviteetham, Jularat (2013), "Narratives of the "Red Barrel" Incident: Collective and Individual Memories in Lamsin, Southern Thailand", Oral History in Southeast Asia, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 101–117, doi:10.1057/9781137311672_6, ISBN 978-1-349-45703-8
15. Anderson, Benedict, "Murder and Progress in Modern Siam"^{[dead link‍]}
16. Handley, Paul M (2006). The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. p. 222. ISBN 0300106823. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
17. "THAILAND -". Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
18. "'Fake bomb' at Thai leader's home". BBC News. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
19. "'Bomb' found near Thai PM's home". BBC News. 2006-08-24. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
20. "If I was behind it, PM would be dead". The Nation. 2006-08-25. Archived from the original on 2011-11-05. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
21. "Things you should know about the Royal Thai Army's IO warfare". thisrupt.co. 11 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-17. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
22. Goldstein, Josh A.; Sinpen, Aim; Bush, Daniel; Ewald, Ross; John, Jennifer (2020). Cheerleading Without Fans: A Low-Impact Domestic Information Operation by the Royal Thai Army. Stanford Internet Observatory.
23. "Isoc a proxy for army rule". Opinion. Bangkok Post. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
24. "Car-bomb suspects get bail". The Nation. 2006-09-30. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
25. The Nation, Thailand's Dept of Homeland Security Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, 12 December 2006
26. The Nation, Amulets to 'help protect' Buddhists in South Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, 14 March 2007
27. "Cabinet backs B84.3m in Isoc 'rewards'". Bangkok Post. 2007-07-23. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
28. "ทุบตึกกอ.รมน.ปิดตำนาน"สวนรื่นฤดี"ต้านปฏิวัติ" (Press release) (in Thai). คมชัดลึก. Archived from the original on 2015-01-22. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
29. "Outgoing and new Army chiefs visit Pattani". The Nation. 11 September 2018. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.