BANGKOK, 19 January 2014 The government has assessed that the anti-government mass rallies are likely to escalate next week. Security measures will be heightened with a focus on intelligence gathering to prevent violent incidents.
Secretary-General of the National Security Council (NSC) Lt.Gen. Paradorn Pattanatabut said the government would closely monitor the mass rallies, led by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), from 20-26 January. The protests tended to be more aggressive especially in the southern provinces where the protesters threatened to surround all government buildings, the official said.
Lt.Gen. Paradorn added that the government would try to prevent confrontations between the protesters and the opposing groups who supported the general election on 2 February. National security units would still enforce the Internal Security Act to maintain peace and order during the mass rallies but would use the Emergency Decree if the situation was out of control, the NSC chief said.
