DHAKA: Opponents of Thailand’s military coup are risking arrest by flashing the three-finger salute from the ‘Hunger Games’ movies to defy a junta that has banned all public protests.

The gesture has become the unofficial symbol of resistance against a military regime that has suspended democracy and severely curtailed freedom of expression.

‘Showing three fingers has become a symbol to call for basic political rights in a country ruled by one person as if with the most sovereign power, who is General Prayut Chan-O-Cha,’ Sombat Boonngamanong, a prominent activist wanted by the junta, wrote on Facebook, reports The Straits Times.

Critics of the May 22 coup, including the youngest daughter of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, have posted photographs of themselves flashing three fingers on Facebook and other social media sites.

BDST: 1509 HRS, JUNE 03, 2014