• 
• 

Chairing the Defence Council at the Ministry of Defence, Prawit told the top brass that one urgent policy was to restore social unity.

He said there would be a campaign to remind the feuding groups that they were all compatriots. The campaign would cover the entire country, Prawit told reporters after the meeting.

He said it was his intention to ensure reconciliation in society.

Prawit, who is formerly the Army commander-in-chief, said that police would deal with the red shirt protesters who harass politicians linked to the Democrat-led government. He said it was the police's duty to protect politicians who were threatened, including Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has recently received threats on his life.

Attending the meeting were Defence Ministry permanent secretary ACM Apichat Phenkitti, armed forces supreme commander General Songkitti Jakrabatr, Army chief General Anupong Paochinda, Navy chief Admiral Kamthon Pumhirun and Air Force chief ACM Ithiporn Supawong. The meeting lasted almost three hours.

Ministry spokesman Colonel Jittasak Charoensombat told a press conference after Prawit stressed the need to promptly respond to the government's urgent policies for the armed forces.

When asked about alleged military intervention into politics, the spokesman said the armed forces performed their duty to protect the national interest. "But it's not our duty to interfere with politics," he said.