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[Hedda]

Some of you may recall that the junta's rump parliament passed a sweeping new Internal Security Act in its final days before the tanks went back to the barracks and elections were held. As usual, the Thai press never bothered to check out what changes were being made in the way internal security would be affected and handled by ISOC, which played a sometimes sinister role in the bloody anti-communist movement here.

This rather innocuous announcement appeared today. Viewed against the background of the PM's problems with the police, the last line of the statement suggests that the army may be seeking to assume traditional police functions of maintaining law and order. This could make PM Opposite more dependent than ever on the army.

"The new structure of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) under the Internal Security Act will take effect from Aug 20, Isoc spokesman Maj-Gen Dithaporn Sasasamit said on Thursday. The spokesman said under the new structure Isoc is divided into 12 work units responsible for national security.

He said ISOC does not have the authority to block the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship's gathering of signatures to support a petition for a royal pardon for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, nor has it been ordered to stop the red-shirts traveling to Bangkok on Aug 17. However, the agency may be assigned to take part in maintaining law and order."

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/15...ffective-aug-20