Prawit calls for calm at Apiwan's funeral rites

“It is okay for relatives, friends, and people who respect him, to mourn for him [at the funeral] but they will have to abide by the law. But if [the gathering] is about a political agenda and will lead to political chaos, we [the government] will send officials to look over the funeral,” said Prawit.
Prawit responded to an earlier report that former MP of the Pheu Thai Party Sunai Julapongsathorn had urged supporters of Apiwan, who was also a red-shirt leader, to pay their respects and mourn the late former deputy House Speaker at his funeral.
The deputy PM feared that the funeral of Apiwan would create an opportunity for the red-shirt supporters to create chaos and disrupt the government’s reconciliation plan.
 “We’ve been working on national security and other aspects to keep the country stable, please do not make any movement to interfere with the country’s stability,” said Prawit.
He said martial law did not inconvenience ordinary people but would affect only lawbreakers. Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha had made it clear that martial law would be eased after national reforms or when the country was peaceful, Prawit said
Meanwhile, General Prayut said Apiwan’s charge of violating lese majeste law would be dropped due to his death. However, the government could not tolerate any violation of order. The premier said he would not attend the funeral, hoping everyone would understand.
Apiwan died at age 65 in the Philippines and his body will arrive in Thailand tomorrow. The funeral will be held at Bang Pai temple in Nonthaburi province at 6pm.
In July, an arrest warrant was issued against Apiwan by the Criminal Court alleging violation of the lese majeste law, Article 112 of the Criminal Code, during a speech he made during a red-shirt rally on January 29, 2011.