Tomorrow's mass rally by the red shirts will likely be on par with their protests on the previous two Saturdays and the riot force is fully prepared for any contingency in order to maintain social order, Army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday.
Sansern said the latest estimate by the Peacekeeping Operations Command was that the average crowds at Phan Fa Bridge were about 2,500, surging to a peak level of around 10,000 in the evening. For tomorrow, a fresh reinforcement of protesters, comprising some 4,600 from the North and another 3,000 from the Northeast, are expected to arrive in the capital.
In yesterday's meeting, the command duly noted the red shirts' threat to intensify the protests but deemed the existing security measures adequate to cope with the situation.
In the face of growing sentiment against the red-shirt protests, the peacekeeping operations will be expanded to cover anti-red activities, such as a peace rally scheduled for today at Chulalongkorn University.
The command also prepared for the dispatching of security details to the mekong River Commission summit at Cha-am and Hua Hin this weekend.
In regard to peacekeeping under police jurisdiction, there were no violent attacks reported on Wednesday night, Metropolitan Police spokesman Maj-General Piya Uthayo said.
In the wake of recent grenade attacks, police will extend their patrol perimeters by 300 to 400 metres around the rally site, Piya said, adding that security checks in the outer areas of Bangkok will be eased in order to focus on the inner areas.
Also yesterday, senators from the Group of 40 organised a press conference voicing concern that the red-shirt protests might degenerate into violence.
Senator Prasarn Maruekapitak said the rally organisers were planning to mobilise and dispatch more than 5,000 motorcycles in a procession designed to cause mayhem around the capital.
Prasarn called on Bangkok residents and their civic groups to join hands in opposing any attempts to incite riots.
Red-shirt leader Kwanchai Praipana from Udon Thani said he had leased more than 50 buses to transport protesters for tomorrow's rally.
Kwanchai said he was determined to rectify a "flawed" logistics plan. The lower-than-expected turnout of protesters from the Northeast was due to the inadequate number of buses to bring them to the capital, he said.
