Khongkran reporting (image via AP [3])

Thawinan Khongkran, a former beauty queen and public relations staffer at an army-owned television station, is the new spokesperson for the military officials who took power in Thailand recently. "I consider it an honor," she told AP. The move is part of a campaign by the junta to "soften its image," in response to international and domestic criticism of its restrictions of basic rights. The junta is also "assigning female troops to help keep the peace in Bangkok and telling its soldiers to smile." Activist Ji Ungpakorn countered, "The real issue is not having basic freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. ... They can parade a hundred beauty queens but without those freedoms, we don't have anything." The Washington Post reports that [4] the junta's international outreach includes "special English-language briefings for foreign media," inviting diplomats to "briefings with question-and-answer sessions," and assuring foreign investors of its "commitment to a free-market economy."