BANGKOK, 22 August 2011 – Deputy Prime Minister Police General Kowit Wattana has voiced no concerns over his task to take care of national security but he has admitted his worries for the restive south situation.
Speaking at Government House on Monday morning, the deputy prime minister announced that he has been tasked with overseeing national security and he has no concerns over the issue. He pledged that he will do his best.
Police General Kowit, also former interior minister and former national police chief, however voiced his concerns for the restive south because the situation has been persisting and getting more violent with increasing number of unrest perpetrators.
To solve the problem, the deputy prime minister said opinions from villagers and local officers must be heeded. He expressed his sympathy towards local officers who are trying hard to reduce the violence in the region.
As for the government’s policy statement to be delivered on Tuesday, Police General Kowit believed that it will sail smoothly. He said he used to take care of the southern situation when he was a deputy to the national police chief.
The deputy prime minister also noted that there is no need to prepare other venues for the policy statement announcement in case there are protest groups at Parliament. He said protests are means of political opinion expression, which he is confident that they are controllable.
