Suthep, Abhisit fear red shirts plan to blockade Govt House, incite unrest
The government had no choice but to invoke the Internal Security Act to maintain peace during the red-shirt rally on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday.
Cabinet is expected to debate the move today and approve enforcement of the draconian security measure under which the military plays a key role in crowd control.
"I have spoken to the prime minister about security concerns and measures to prevent riots because I don't think society will tolerate any more mayhem," Suthep said, following a meeting with PM Abhisit Vejjajiva.
He said he wanted every contingency measure to be put in place to handle unruly crowds.
Judging by remarks made by certain red-shirt leaders, he said, the protests were being organised as a pretext to cause disturbances instead of making genuine demands.
So far, the government had not ignored any demands, and yet the red shirts were determined to carry on protesting, he added. Suthep also voiced suspicion that the red shirts might try to repeat a blockade of Government House because they planned to gather at the Royal Plaza nearby.
He said he did not wish to cast doubts by saying the red shirts sought to incite riots, but it was his job to brace for all eventualities.
With regard to ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra's attempt to bring the red shirts together for a beef-noodle lunch, which he meant to host via a video linkup, Suthep said all Thais wanted to see unity in society.
Abhisit, meanwhile, said he was concerned about the upcoming rally because certain red shirts were determined to instigate violence.
He said he had instructed Suthep and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan to have measures ready to rein-in disruptive crowds.
Though the PM would not go into details about security measures, he said his bottom line was that the protesters should in no way be allowed to disrupt work at Government House. The government would not impose a deadline on how long the protest could last, but a repeat of the mayhem in April would not be allowed, he said.
He reminded red-shirt rally organisers that a number of them were obligated to abide by their bail conditions.
Senate Speaker Prasobsook Boondech said the government should not invoke security measures ahead of the rally because it would become a pre-condition for the red shirts to mobilise mobs.
However, the government should be ready to invoke the security law should violence erupt, he said.
He said rival camps should have learnt a lesson from the Songkran mayhem. He did not expect the red shirts to provoke another riot.
The government had no choice but to invoke the Internal Security Act to maintain peace during the red-shirt rally on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday.
Cabinet is expected to debate the move today and approve enforcement of the draconian security measure under which the military plays a key role in crowd control.
"I have spoken to the prime minister about security concerns and measures to prevent riots because I don't think society will tolerate any more mayhem," Suthep said, following a meeting with PM Abhisit Vejjajiva.
He said he wanted every contingency measure to be put in place to handle unruly crowds.
Judging by remarks made by certain red-shirt leaders, he said, the protests were being organised as a pretext to cause disturbances instead of making genuine demands.
So far, the government had not ignored any demands, and yet the red shirts were determined to carry on protesting, he added. Suthep also voiced suspicion that the red shirts might try to repeat a blockade of Government House because they planned to gather at the Royal Plaza nearby.
He said he did not wish to cast doubts by saying the red shirts sought to incite riots, but it was his job to brace for all eventualities.
With regard to ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra's attempt to bring the red shirts together for a beef-noodle lunch, which he meant to host via a video linkup, Suthep said all Thais wanted to see unity in society.
Abhisit, meanwhile, said he was concerned about the upcoming rally because certain red shirts were determined to instigate violence.
He said he had instructed Suthep and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan to have measures ready to rein-in disruptive crowds.
Though the PM would not go into details about security measures, he said his bottom line was that the protesters should in no way be allowed to disrupt work at Government House. The government would not impose a deadline on how long the protest could last, but a repeat of the mayhem in April would not be allowed, he said.
He reminded red-shirt rally organisers that a number of them were obligated to abide by their bail conditions.
Senate Speaker Prasobsook Boondech said the government should not invoke security measures ahead of the rally because it would become a pre-condition for the red shirts to mobilise mobs.
However, the government should be ready to invoke the security law should violence erupt, he said.
He said rival camps should have learnt a lesson from the Songkran mayhem. He did not expect the red shirts to provoke another riot.
Source: The Nation
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