The acting government spokesman and a leader of the red shirts promised on Thursday night their sides would not be the first to resort to violence in the street protests beginning on Friday.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, who is also deputy secretary general to the prime minister, said the government would follow the Administrative Court ruling in October 2008 that defines a "peaceful protest" under the Constitution and gives a guideline about how the authorities should deal with protesters.
"The government won't use violence. That goes against the law," he said during the TV Thai programme "Tob Jote" (Answering the Questions).
Jaran Ditthapichai, a leader of the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship, said the red shirts would "lose the battle" if they resorted to violence. He added that given the history of governments dealing with protesters, he was convinced it was the authorities who would start using force.
Jaran, formerly a member of the National Human Rights Commission, said that the red shirt protesters would not be armed and they would not try to seize Government House, airports or any state agency.
He said that the protesters' goal was to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve the House of Representatives, which he said would help ease the political conflict that has continued for four years. "After House dissolution, there will be positive political changes," he added.
Jaran said that he expected at least 500,000 people would join the rally in Bangkok, which he said should be sufficient to force the prime minister to think about dissolving the House as the choice that would lead to less damage when compared to a crackdown on the protesters.
Panitan, formerly a political science lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, said this government came into existence through a democratic means by winning support from the majority of the House, just as its predecessors that was backed by the red shirts.
He said he was convinced at least 100,000 people would join the protest because the leaders had several more months for planning and preparation, when compared to the rally in April last year.
Panitan said if this upcoming protest ends peacefully, it would be a progress for the Thai democracy and the country would win respect from the international community. "The foreign countries will see that Thailand can solve our problems peacefully," he added.
