Govt expects red-shirt protests to intensify

The mushrooming of protests will coincide with the politicial volatility caused by the anticipated court verdict on the Bt76 billion in impounted assets of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the parliamentary debate on charter changes and the censure debate.

As a precaution, the government agreed to designate soldiers as helpers of police to ensure peace and social order at every street protest.

"The security precaution will be enforced with immediate effect and might beupgraded to the enforcement of the internal security law if deemed necessary," government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said.