ISA likely to be imposed: PM

"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).

Jatuporn said the red shirts were considering whether to march to the office of the NACC, because some former police were unhappy with its ruling on the October 7 crackdown.

He said the group wants to see how counter-corruption officials respond after ruling that criminal charges should be brought against former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, former deputy premier Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, and seven high-ranking police including the national police chief over the crackdown on People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters.

Meanwhile, another leading red shirt said yesterday that fugitive PM Thaksin Shinawatra had cut back roles for "the trio" who have played a leading parts in violent protests by his supporters. The trio refers to Jatuporn Prompan, Nattawut Saikua and Veera Musigapong.

Thaksin decided to push for 30 new leaders to usher in a new peaceful struggle through leader-training schools to be established as a network nationwide. He wanted to produce leaders to help the red shirts achieve their goals through systematic political campaigns, according to Nisit Sinthuprai, former executive of the now-defunct People Power Party who is a director of the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship School.

Nisit said he and other supporters of Thaksin such as Dr Weng Tochirakarn, Jaran Ditta-apicha, Wisa Kanthap, Shinawatra Habunpad wrote the curriculum for the school.

He said he had consulted Thaksin on plans for the DAAD to have a group of about 20-30 people as a panel to map out strategy, evaluate situations and make decisions on their movement. This leading role should not rest with just Jatuporn, Nattawut and Veera, as it had previously.

He said the red shirt protest on Saturday would help gauge the sort of support Thaksin still has.