Another protest would set up a flashpoint with a junta that is considering taking action against the organizers of the hundreds of people who, defying government orders, marched on Bangkok’s Democracy Monument on Saturday.

The activists marched peacefully to Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, a symbolic location that has become a rallying point for protests in recent years.

While the military has kept a firm grip on power since it felled the remnants of the government of Mr Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra in another coup previous year , he and his allies have won every election since 2001 and anger is mounting among farmers and political opponents. “I’m scared, but I’m willing to march to show we won’t give up”.

Before the march, a seminar on the lessons of the 2006 coup had been held – also after negotiations with police – at Thammasat University with the participation of several academics and activists including political scientist Puanthong Pawakhapan and anti-military campaigner Sombat Boonngamanong.

The protest was allowed to proceed after lengthy negotiations between police and the movement’s leaders, but on the condition that no signs bearing political slogans would be raised. Many, including journalists and politicians, have been forced to attend “attitude adjustment” sessions at army bases.

“The kingdom’s ruling generals have mostly succeeded in curbing public dissent since seizing power…by outlawing political gatherings and censoring the media”.

Policy on gatherings has not changed, said junta spokesman Winthai Suvaree.

The demonstrators may have been attempting to “cause foreigners to misunderstand” that there is widespread opposition to the government ahead of a United Nations General Assembly in New York, deputy government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on Saturday.

The protest was to mark the ninth anniversary of a coup against the government of Thaksin Shinawatra that many Thais see as the trigger for an intractable conflict that is showing no signs of abating.

Thailand has been caught in a dilapidating tug-of-war between supporters of the politically dominant Shinawatra family and a royalist military backed by a network of old-money conservatives whose influence is being challenged.

Rangsiman Rome, a leading member of the NDM who has been charged with sedition, said he was “worried” about the consequences of the protest but felt compelled to speak out.

Earlier this month, a military-appointed reform council rejected a draft constitution aimed at replacing the charter abolished after last year’s coup, extending the junta’s stay in power by around 20 months until elections are held in mid-2017 at earliest.