Security heightened to cope with two rival groups' rallies

BANGKOK, April 4 (TNA) - Combined government forces have been reinforced to cope with mass rallies in Bangkok on April 5 by two rival groups. Caretaker Labour Minister Police Captain Chalerm Yubumrung, in his capacity as chief of the caretaker government-run Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO), told journalists of the CAPO preparation on Friday, noting that supporters of pro-government red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) have begun arriving at Aksa or Utthayan Road on the outskirts of Bangkok, the scene where they plan to hold their mass rally, probably for a few days starting from April 5. Police Captain Chalerm said the CAPO's heightened security measures are aimed to prevent any clash between the UDD demonstrators and those of the anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), who have rallied at Lumpini public park in central Bangkok and marched to targeted areas, aimed to topple the caretaker government of Caretaker Prime Minister and Defence Yingluck Shinawatra. According to the CMPO chief, police have been ordered to provide special protection to residences of prominent persons living near the UDD rally site, including PDRC secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban's house, and a special centre will also be set up near the UDD rally site, while security officers on duty have been instructed to inform him of updates every half-an-hour. The CMPO chief affirmed that government security forces will take care of both UDD and PDRC demonstrators equally. (TNA)