"The government was likely to impose the Internal Security Act again for the red shirts' anti-government rally next Saturday on the third anniversary of the coup, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday. "The Internal Security Act will be considered at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting and it is likely that the government may invoke the law again," the PM told reporters. The Cabinet would assess the need for use of the Act, he said, adding that it would help maintain law and order.
The red shirts plan to hold a demonstration on September 19 to commemorate the 2006 coup that overthrew the Thaksin Shinawatra government, and to renew their calls for Abhisit to resign.The anti-government group cancelled previous rallies planned earlier planned for August 30 and Sept 5 after the Cabinet invoked the ISA, which allows the government to deploy troops, ban gatherings and impose curfews.The prime minister's remark came yesterday after a discussion with caretaker national police chief General Thanee Somboonsap.
Red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan said yesterday he expected more than 100,000 people to join rally next Saturday. He said the Royal Plaza would not be large enough for the mob and that the crowd would "spill over" to the nearby residence of Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda.He insisted that the red shirts would not lay siege to Government House because Prime Minister Abhisit would be in the US at that time.
Jatuporn said the protesters would stage a symbolic sit-in protest outside Prem's residence even if he was not at home as they believed he pulled the strings behind the September 19 coup.He said the protest would be staged even if the government imposed the Internal Security Act because they had the right to gather peacefully under Article 63 of the Constitution. If the government imposed a violent crackdown, they would file a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/09/13...cs_30112105.php
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PM Opposite playing with ISOC law again
Started by B.I.G., Sep 13 2009 10:25 AM
1 reply to this topic
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Posted 14 September 2009 - 01:51 PM
I can just see it now: Opposite invokes the ISOC law, in effect putting the Thai army in charge of the country, and flies off to another red carpet photo op at the UN. Who needs to have an elected prime minister in charge ? Indeed, who needs a coup if the army's in charge anyway ?
