AW: Die Schlacht hat begonnen - unbemerkt von der Masse
Die Mobilmachung der Regierung fuer den heutigen Tag :
BANGKOK: -- On the eve of "Judgement Day" for ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, the government was keeping its guard high yesterday. Although the red shirts said their next major rally would be two weeks away and they would leave the court alone today, it appears the government is not taking any chances.
The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders is scheduled to read its verdict this afternoon in the Bt76-billion assets-seizure case against Thaksin, who is viewed as the de-facto opposition leader. Abhisit Vejjajiva's administration is now better prepared than in April last year, when a large part of the protesting red shirts staged violent protests that turned into riots in many areas of the city. Acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the authorities would closely monitor developments for four to five hours after the judges hand down their decision. "Four to five hours after the verdict is read, they [the red shirts] may open a forum for discussion. That's when we have to take special attention. Tempers may surge to the highest level," said Panitan, who is also the PM's deputy secretary-general.
At least 600 police and military officers, and thousands more reinforcements, will be employed to keep law and order in and around the court today, although no severe incidents are expected, a government source said yesterday. The Metropolitan Police Bureau has deployed 450 anti-riot policemen as part of increased security measures in the court's compound, the source said. In case of emergency, 300 reinforcements will be available in 30 minutes. If additional back-up were needed, 1,500 more policemen and another 1,900 crowd-control policewomen would be dispatched within 90 minutes, according to the source. Two companies of soldiers, or about 300, will be on standby to assist police when required although the Army has ordered
35 companies to be ready for action, said the source.
The government's recently formed Committee to Monitor Security-related Situations, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, will convene to discuss what to do if there is a large demonstration or an extreme incident today. "But up until now, no such incident is expected," the source said. The source expects the committee to convene before March 12, when the pro-Thaksin red shirts plan a major rally. Suthep said yesterday he had not called a meeting of the security monitoring committee. Suthep met for about an hour yesterday afternoon with Special Branch police commander Lt-General Tritos Ronnarithichai and National Intelligence Agency director Suwapan Tanyuwathana at Government House. The deputy PM said afterwards the meeting involved routine instructions. The office of Suthep's situation monitoring panel is at Army headquarters. It consists of four groups: the administration, including Cabinet members and permanent secretaries; security agencies, including the armed forces and police; legal-affairs agencies, including the Office of the Attorney-General and the Council of State; and the civil service, including the Public Relations Department, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the National Security Council and the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc).
According to its line of command, the security monitoring committee reports to Suthep on latest updates. In case of extreme incidents, the panel's chairman informs the prime minister, in his capacity as Isoc national director. To respond to the situation, the PM may call a meeting of Cabinet to
enforce the Internal Security Act or issue an emergency decree.
For the provinces, the security monitoring panel's structure empowers regional Army commanders, regional Isoc directors and provincial governors to prepare action plans to defend state agencies in their areas.
The provincial governors, as the Isoc chiefs of their respective provinces, have the power to make necessary orders to state agencies in their provinces without the need to wait for instructions from the government. Suthep, as the panel's chairman, called a meeting of provincial governors on Wednesday to discuss Isoc's action plans against security threats for the provinces, according to the source. The deputy premier instructed the governors to take special care over the next couple of days, particularly with regard to any public demonstrations in their provinces, the source said. The governors were told to maintain order in state agencies and to resort to negotiations, not use of force, in dealing with protesters. The governors were asked to coordinate with the police and the military in ensuring safety during demonstrations by the red shirts and trying to prevent them from moving their protests to Bangkok , according to the source.
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