Security law should be used to control red-shirt rally: senator
Appointed Senator Somchai Sawaengkarn yesterday called on the government to impose a security law to deal with a planned mass rally of Thaksin Shinawatra supporters outside Constitution Court Wednesday, saying the same standard should be used when the pol
"If the government does nothing to deal with the red shirts using the 2008 Security Act, it could be deemed as practising double standards," he said.
Somchai also offered a way out to the Pheu Thai-led government. "It could announce that the number of protesters will not be large and hence, a special law and control measures were not needed," he added.
The red shirts, led by a group of DJs hosting pro-Thaksin radio programmes, are vowing to bring 100,000 people from 37 provinces to converge outside the court at the government complex on Bangkok’s Chaeng Wattana Road, to protest against the court’s role in what they consider is against this government.
A source said Pheu Thai executives had tried to talk the red-shirt leaders out of the rally, but have failed to convince them. Both sides later reached an agreement that the rally would not be held if fewer than 100,000 people turned up on Wednesday.
A number of red-shirt protesters have been camping outside the compound for 15 days running.
