The Cabinet will finalise security plans tomorrow following the government's decision the strict measures to contain the red-shirt rally should not be allowed to expire.
"The coalition deems it necessary to continue enforcing the internal security law," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.
The coalition partners agreed, however, that the security measures should be kept for the shortest possible period and the areas covered should be scaled down, since the weeklong protest remained largely incident-free.
The Peacekeeping Operations Command has prepared several options for Cabinet's consideration.
Imposition of the Internal Security Act could be extended from tomorrow to either March 31 or April 7.
However, a source said the coalition partners preferred the March 31 cut-off date.
Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan could remain under the security blanket while the other five provinces could be removed.
The Cabinet is expected to hold its weekly meeting at Supreme Command headquarters instead of Government House.
Abhisit said his government had the situation under control and vowed to resolve problems caused by red-shirt activities.
Tourist arrivals at Suvarnabhumi Airport have dropped slightly but hotel and flight bookings in the North and South showed no immediate impact. However visitors from China, South Korea and Japan have declined sharply and the overall trend for April was downward, he said.
Authorities have been instructed to minimise safety concerns and inconvenience associated with the red-shirt rally, he added.
