Agencies concerned monitor political protests around the clock

BANGKOK, November 4 (TNA) - Thai Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan says he has ordered all concerned agencies to closely monitor political protests against the government-backed amnesty bill nationwide around the clock to prevent violence. The ministerial order followed reports that a group of protesters against the amnesty bill, led by key members of the main opposition Democrat Party, marched from the Samsen train station to Uruphong Intersection in Bangkok on Monday morning, as the opposition party has begun mushrooming its demonstrations in the capital. Former deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban, a leading Democrat MP, himself led the demonstrators from the Samsen train station to the Uruphong Intersection, where they were then warmly welcome by another group of anti-amnesty protesters. At Thammasat University's Tha Prachan campus in the capital, the university's rector, Professor Somkid Lertpaitoon, together with members of the council of lecturers and the students’ organization, announced their joint stance against the amnesty bill and sent an open letter to the Thai Senate, asking the Upper House to reject the bill and return to the original version of the bill, which offers amnesties to demonstrators only. In the Thai South, students in Songkhla, Surat Thani and Trang Provinces marched on streets to convince locals to join their anti-amnesty movements, while local authorities have stepped up their security measures. Meanwhile, Varathep Rattanakorn, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, who is also Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister, told journalists that demonstrators have their constitutional right to oppose the amnesty bill but they must not violate others’ rights or affect the national economy and image. (TNA)