Thailand's Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont will meet with the
Council for National Security (CNS) on Friday to discuss whether it
is necessary to declare a state of emergency in Bangkok to deal
with the mass anti-coup rally scheduled on Friday.
The premier said he would weigh comments from all the parties
involved and heed recommendation from the CNS "because they take
care of security", local news group The Nation said Thursday.
His remarks came after CNS chairman and Army chief General
Sonthi Boonyaratglin expressed concern on Thursday that if
anti-coup protests kept on festering, authorities could lose
control of the situation and there could be chaos.
"With so many distractions, the constitution drafting might veer
off course and impact on security, investment, the economy and many
other issues," Sonthi said, explaining why he wanted to nip the
anti-coup rallies in the bud before they became a full-blown
problem.
The general said it was the government, and not the CNS, which
had the power to issue a decree to declare a state of
emergency.
Since Thursday, police and military officers has set up
checkpoints along the highways in Nakhon Ratchasima, the main link
between north-eastern provinces and Bangkok, in an attempt to block
prospective protesters from joining rallies in the capital.
(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2007)
