Police chief needs to curb hawkish style: Democrat
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A senior Democrat MP voiced concern yesterday that the new Metropolitan Police chief's "hawkish" background would be a problem in his new job of dealing with people protesting against the reconciliation bills.
MP Ong-art Klampaiboon said he feared there could be violent clashes between the protesters and crowd-control police under the direction of Bangkok’s new police commissioner, Pol Maj-General Kamronwit Thoopkrajang.
“He is a police officer from the hawkish camp and he has a history of using force,” Ong-art said.
“If Kamronwit does not change his working style, there could be violent clashes in Bangkok, the site for fresh political rallies. I call on officials dealing with protesters to do their job carefully in order to avoid confrontation,” he said.
Kamronwit was last week appointed the new Metropolitan Police chief, replacing Pol Maj-General Wichai Sangprapai.
At Metropolitan Police headquarters yesterday, Kamronwit chaired a meeting of senior police in preparation for rallies by opponents of the reconciliation bills.
The protesters, mainly yellow shirts and supporters of the opposition Democrat Party, claim the bills would absolve former PM Thaksin Shinawatra and others involved in criminal acts during the 2010 unrest.
The new Metropolitan Police chief instructed his subordinates to prepare for future protests with regular crowd-control drills, according to a source.
But Deputy Metropolitan Police commissioner Maj-General Worasak Nopsitthiporn, who was also at the meeting, said officers were instructed to use teargas “only when there is legitimate reason”.
