Govt wary of inflaming protests
Care needed to avoid pre-poll street strife
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the secretary-general of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to keep a close watch on all political movements and take extreme precautions when pursuing legal action, according to sources.
The move follows a gathering of about 500 anti-coup activists on Saturday near the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Avenue. They have vowed to continue to defy the ban on political activities in their bid to pressure Gen Prayut to hold the general election this year.
Among the activists are Rangsiman Rome, leader of the Democracy Restoration Group (DRG), Sirawith Seritiwat, leader of the Start Up People group, and lawyer Arnon Nampa who joined the protest despite the Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants against them on Friday for violating the regime’s ban on political gatherings when they joined the skywalk protest in Bangkok’s Pathumwan district late last month.
According to the sources, the prime minister has called on the NCPO’s secretary-general, Gen Chalermchai Sitthisad, who is also the army commander, to proceed carefully when pursuing action against political activists because many are students.
The activists under close watch are Mr Sirawith, also known as Ja New, Mr Rangsiman, and the network of Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, better known as Pai Dao Din, who is now in jail.
Gen Prayut is concerned the regime’s actions could be exploited to create an unwanted situation ahead of the election, the sources said. Security authorities are also concerned about the influx of firearms during 2010 political violence as only 50% of them have been confiscated.
Several activities have sprung up including “We Walk” march, a 450km march from Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus in Pathum Thani to Khon Kaen in the northeastern region to voice grievances over the government’s failure to address various problems ranging from natural resources to food security to freedom of expression.
Several activists have been arrested and charged with participating in the march which expects to end on Saturday when the participants arrive in Khon Kaen.
NCPO spokesman Piyapong Klinpan said security authorities will continue monitoring political movements, saying it is important to maintain law and order because the country is in transition to elections.
He said the handling of the Saturday protest should prove that authorities proceeded in line with the law and did their best to avoid violent confrontation.
“The authorities were very careful when dealing with the protesters. Overall, the officials managed the situation in an appropriate manner,” he said. Asked if the activists would succeed in rallying people to join their call for elections, he said security authorities would deal with any situation under the law.
He also insisted the regime has no plan to summons Pheu Thai key member Watana Muangsook to report at the moment after the politician posted a Facebook message saying he would join the next pro-election protest. Maj Gen Piyapong said the regime has no interest in using its special law at this time and prefers enforcing the existing laws.
Meanwhile, Mr Rangsiman yesterday reported to Khon Kaen police to hear an illegal assembly charge and was released on 10,000 baht bail.
He reported to Pathumwan police in response to a warrant on Saturday night but after he was released he was taken by police to Khon Kaen where another arrest warrant had been issued for his involvement at a Khon Kaen University incident on July 31, 2016, ahead of the charter referendum on Aug 7, 2016.
The activist, who is required to report to prosecutors of the military court of the 23rd Military Circle on March 23, said he is not worried about the charges and will continue with his fight. “Taking a stance is what I can do. I see this as an honour to fight for democracy and for the people to get their basic rights back,” he said. Besides Mr Rangsiman, three other protest leaders were also freed on bail worth 100,000 baht each after reporting to Pathumwan police on Saturday night.
Commenting on the outlook for the election, Chartchai Na Chiangmai, a member of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), said he hopes the National Legislative Assembly will drop the changes it has made to the organic laws, as a new drafting process will lead to delays in the election and harm the government’s credibility.