BANGKOK, 6 April 2014 – Police said no major violent incidents took place at the pro- and anti-government rallies in Bangkok on Saturday but more security checkpoints will be set up to ensure that the situation remains orderly.
Pol Gen Worapong Chiwpreecha, the deputy police chief, said on Sunday there was no violence at the pro-government rally held by the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) on Aksa Road in Thawi Watthana district and the anti-government demonstration led by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) in Lumpini. Both sides did not mobilise to confront each other, he added.
Pol Gen Worapong said he had instructed police to investigate the shooting near Benjamabopit Temple and the explosion caused by a giant firecracker at an anti-government rally site on Phitsanulok Road. Two soldiers sustained gunshot wounds in the shooting.
He said the two incidents were possibly connected as they happened almost at the same time. The deputy police chief said police were able to seize five firearms at the red-shirt rally on Saturday and they will look into the matter further.
More security checkpoints will be set up near UDD’s and PDRC’s rally sites, as 119 companies of police continue to oversee security across the capital, he added.
