Thai junta chief calls for emergency rule in Bangkok

Thailand's junta chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said Wednesday that he has asked the government to declare emergency rule in Bangkok to crack down on anti-coup protesters.

"I have proposed to the prime minister that he invoke emergency rule in order to maintain law and order," Sonthi told AFP in a telephone interview.

Anti-coup protesters have been holding weekly rallies against the junta, attracting a small but growing crowd that reached 2,000 people last Friday.

The protests have so far been peaceful, but Sonthi said he was afraid the protest movement could gather steam, much like the mass street demonstrations last year that eventually led to the coup against then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"I have consulted with the prime minister on the current situation and have explained to him that this current situation would lead to mutiny and chaos in the country," he told AFP.

"It's up to the prime minister" to decide on whether to declare emergency rule in the capital, he said.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has the power to declare emergency rule with his cabinet's approval. The government has kept three southern provinces hit by an Islamic insurgency under emergency rule since mid-2005.

Sonthi made the call just two months after martial law was lifted in Bangkok. He had imposed martial law on Thailand immediately after seizing power on September 19, but has now lifted it across half the country.

Declaring emergency rule would give authorities many of the same powers they had under martial law.

The government would be able to detain suspects without charge for 30 days, and would have the power to seize and destroy anything deemed a threat to national security or to impede the work of the authorities.

Emergency rule also gives the government tough censorship powers as well as the right to impose a curfew and to ban public gatherings, while giving security forces broad immunity from prosecution.

Use of the provision in Thailand's south has been broadly condemned by human rights groups, who say it creates a climate of impunity that has worsened the conflict there.

Agence France-Presse

Meechai against enacting law to regulate public gatherings


National Legislative Assembly Speaker Meechai Ruchuphan Wednesday opposed an idea to enact a law to regulate public gatherings on grounds that authorities already had sufficient mandate for crowd control.

"The attempt to impose control over public gatherings might violate democratic principles to be enshrined in the new constitution, hence the legislation, if drafted, would be unconstitutional," he said.

Meechai was reacting to the idea circulated by the Metropolitan Police Bureau and endorsed by the Council for National Security (CNS).

He said the Royal Decree on the State of Emergency was the draconian law which could be invoked to deal with unruly protests and any unforeseen circumstances.

"I see no needs to further enhance the mandate than that granted in the state of emergency," he said.

The Nation

Thai military urges clampdown on protests
Wed 28 Mar 2007 4:58 AM ET
(Adds market reaction)

By Nopporn Wong-Anan

BANGKOK, March 28 (Reuters) - Thai coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin has urged the government he installed to use emergency powers to prevent small anti-government rallies growing out of control, his spokesman said on Wednesday. "General Sonthi met the prime minister yesterday and expressed his worries about the escalation of these rallies since the current laws we have to contain them are not strong enough," Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told Reuters.

"We should get an answer from the government by Thursday at the latest on whether and how it wants to use the emergency decree," Sunsern said, referring to a decree issued by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra three years ago.

There was no immediate comment from the government of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, installed on Oct. 1 after months of anti-Thaksin street protests created deep political instability and led to a bloodless coup.

Sonthi told reporters he wanted more police and soldiers at the next rally, scheduled for Friday, because of the danger of things getting out of hand.

"If we have no stability, investment and tourism will be hit. The new constitution won't be finished," Sonthi said.

Sonthi's request for emergency powers worried investors in the Thai stock market, where the index was down 1.12 percent at 670.92 points at 0812 GMT.

"Investors are worried the coming rally this Friday will be big and the government will use emergency powers," a Nomura Securities analyst said.

HSBC economist Frederic Neumann said in a note to clients he expected troop movements in and around Bangkok and a tightening of security to stop large-scale opposition.

"The road is bound to get bumpier still before the dust settles," he wrote.

RALLIES GROWING

Anti-coup and anti-government rallies have grown bigger in the past month but have remained peaceful, like those against Thaksin last year which drew up to 100,000 people.

Last weekend, 3,000 people rallied in front of Bangkok's glittering Grand Palace demanding an immediate general election and threatening to boycott a referendum on a constitution a military-appointed committee is writing.

But Thailand has a history of protest demonstrations against military governments degenerating into bloody clashes, most recently in May 1992 when the deaths of dozens of civilians forced a military-backed government to step down.

Sonthi promised immediately after the September coup that a new constitution would be drawn up, put to a referendum and elections held within a year.

Thaksin's decree, originally aimed at containing a growing separatist insurgency in the Muslim-majority south, gives the prime minister the power to declare a state of emergency in a specific area.

If the problem is deemed threatening to national security, it allows the prime minister to name a senior military or civilian official to command police and soldiers to deal with it.

If the situation grows out of control, he can impose a curfew, ban rallies and censor the media.

Sunsern said he did not expect Surayud to use all those powers, but focus on containing rallies aimed at blocking the new constitution still under debate but which the protesters believe will entrench the military in power.

"They campaign to reject the constitution before its first draft is completed," Sunsern said.

"If it is rejected, then the military will be accused of clinging on to power by not passing the charter. Then more people will come on to the street. We can't let this happen." (Additional reporting by Wirat Buranakanokthanasan)

Quote:ANTI-COUP PROTESTS
Emergency on agenda as Surayud meets CNS

Premier considers taking action in Bangkok after Sonthi expresses serious concern

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said last night he will meet with the Council for National Security (CNS) today to discuss whether it is necessary to declare a state of emergency in Bangkok to deal with the many groups of protesters.

The premier said he would weigh comments from all the parties involved and heed recommendation from the CNS "because they take care of security".

His remarks came after CNS chairman and Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, earlier in the day, expressed concern that if anti-coup protests kept on festering, authorities could lose control of the situation and there could be chaos.

"With so many distractions, the constitution drafting might veer off course and impact on security, investment, the economy and many other issues," Sonthi said, explaining why he wanted to nip the anti-coup rallies in the bud before they became a full-blown problem.

The general said it was the government, and not the CNS, which had the power to issue a decree to declare a state of emergency.

The PM, during a meeting with his advisers earlier yesterday, said if it was really necessary, a state of emergency would be inevitable, according to a source. Surayud met his top advisers, who are rectors of state universities, to assess the situation and ask for their opinions on crowd control.

Speculation over the imminent declaration of a state of emergency drew mixed reactions yesterday, with business people expressing support and politicians and political activists giving it the thumbs-down.

"We believe that investors - local and foreign - will understand why the government has to announce the emergency rule, if the government can explain [the situation] clearly to the public," said Ajva Taulananda, CP Group's vice chairman and chief corporate communications officer.

Suriyasai Katasila, secretary-general of the Popular Campaign for Democracy, voiced opposition to any attempt to declare a state of emergency in Bangkok. "There's no need at the moment because the protesters have not yet created any trouble," he said.

Police and military officers yesterday set up checkpoints along the highways in Nakhon Ratchasima, the main link between north-eastern provinces and Bangkok, in an attempt to block prospective protesters from joining rallies in the capital.

Police Maj-General Amnat An-atngam, the provincial chief, said the operation was part of a routine check for possible criminals. He added that intelligence has shown no active movement of rally supporters from the Northeast.

CNS chairman Sonthi yesterday said he had briefed Surayud on Tuesday, updating him on the security situation.

"The situation will be the key indicator whether it is necessary to declare the state of emergency and the prime minister will make the final decision on the matter as he now has all the relevant information," Sonthi said.

Top government advisers yesterday warned that Prime Minister Surayud might be forced to declare a state of emergency in certain areas of Bangkok if anti-coup protests turned unruly.

"The state of emergency, if imposed, will be enforced in selected protest sites like Sanam Luang so as to enable anti-riot forces to restore peace," an adviser said on condition of anonymity.

Kasetsart University president Viroch Impithuksa said Surayud spent three hours soliciting ideas to pacify protesters and to prevent the protests from spiralling out of control.

Mahidol University president Pornchai Matangkasombat said Surayud had pledged not to crack down on protesters.

"Surayud informed the meeting that he remained in consultations with the CNS. I don't know about the state of emergency though he promised not to use violent means to deal with protesters," he said.

The Nation March 29, 2007

Don't get it. If there is no active movement of supporters from the northeast, then why control the street from Korat to Bangkok? Oh well, school term is nearing. The kids need uniforms and books etc. The collecting is easier if you have an official reason to be and check there.