The red-shirt rally at Bangkok Bank today, seen as a curtain raiser to next Friday's verdict on the Bt76-billion assets-seizure case, will likely cause anxiety although it is not expected to turn unruly, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday.
Suthep said authorities were fully prepared to keep the situation under control, reassuring the public about contingency plans to deal with any attempts to incite an upheaval.
While beefing up security at key government installations and public places, the Metropolitan Police Bureau will also ensure security at banks and the stock market on the verdict day, he said.
He reminded the public not to be overly concerned about the political tension since the government would not allow nor condone an eruption of violence.
The anti-riot forces will not be armed in order to avoid a risk of bloodshed, he said. Some 20,000-30,000 forces have been mobilised to keep the peace and they are scheduled to take part in a mock operation for crowd control tomorrow, to ensure their preparedness.
To keep order at the Bangkok Bank rally, a combined unit of 300 policemen and riot forces from Metropolitan Police Zone 5 will be deployed under the supervision of superintendent Colonel Anuchai Lekbamrung.
Some 1,000-2,000 red shirts are expected to take part in the day-long demonstration, scheduled to start at 10am on Silom Road.
Before and during the demonstration, police will conduct a sweep of the rally site and nearby areas to ensure protesters are unarmed and foil any attempts to stir up trouble.
The Metropolitan Police chief said yesterday that some 300 police officers would be dispatched to keep law and order at the Bangkok Bank head office during the demonstration.
Lt-General Sunthan Chayanond, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said police would also keep a 24-hour surveillance on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) as part of increased security measures ahead of the court ruling on the Thaksin assets-seizure case.
Sunthan said he had met with the SET president, Patareeya Benjapolchai, yesterday to discuss security at the exchange. The SET is one of eight premises under close police watch to prevent any incidents that would shake investor confidence, he added.
The senior officer said officers from the special operation division would be dispatched to guard the SET in addition to two officers from the local station. Reinforcements could arrive within 10 minutes and additional help could be requested from the military, he added.
Bangkok Bank said it would open its headquarters on Silom Road one hour earlier, at 7.30am today, and close at 3.30pm as usual.
In a statement yesterday, the bank advised clients to avoid coming to the head office, and instead go to other offices for banking services. All communications channels at the head office are open and will be manned as usual.
The red shirts tried to link the bank to Privy Council president General Prem Tinsulanonda, whom they accuse of pulling strings behind politics.
The bank said Prem is a personal adviser to its chairman, Chatri Sophonpanich, but he holds no position at the bank, officially or unofficially. Earlier, the bank clarified that Prem held no position at Chanthaburi Farm, which owns the golf course at Khao Soi Dao in the eastern province. Prem did not preside over the golf course opening ceremony, as claimed.
Since Monday, police have set up 230 checkpoints around the capital from 10pm to 5am as a security precaution. High security risk areas include Government House, the Supreme Court building, the Parliament compound, Nang Lerng intersection and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Former intelligence chief Bhumarat Taksadipong voiced concern that, following the verdict, the political situation might get out of control.
The red shirts have a history of violence, as shown in the Songkran mayhem last year. Two retired generals seen as close to the red shirts, Panlop Pinmanee and Pirat Sawamiwat, were involved in inciting violence in the 1992 May bloodshed, he said.
He also warned that ex-communist insurgents from the lower Northeast have been concealed in an undisclosed location as if they were preparing for a suspicious mission. He said he was upbeat, however, that authorities could check any downward spiral in the situation.
Special operations officer Lt-General Nanthadet Meksawat from the Armed Forces Security Centre said he considered an eruption of violence to be unlikely.
The three red-shirt leaders would lose their credibility and trust if they failed to honour their pledge of non-violence, he said.
He said the Supreme Court was expected to clearly outline how it had reached its verdict, dispelling any doubts that could be exploited to inflame public wrath.
In a related development, Central Investigation Bureau commissioner Police Lt-General Tha-ngai Prasachaksatru signed an order to set up a panel of investigators to look into political activities by different groups and take legal action in case of law violations, a source said yesterday.
