Thai army chief urges demonstrators to obey laws

BANGKOK, April 5 (TNA) - Thai Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha says that ongoing demonstrations by both pro-government and anti-government groups must respect laws and rules imposed by the caretaker government-run Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO). Colonel Banphot Poolpien, Spokesman of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), quoted General Prayuth, in his capacity as the ISOC deputy commander, as saying on Saturday, telling journalists that General Prayuth has ordered army personnel to provide protection to both pro-government red-clad United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) and anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) demonstrators. According to the spokesman, General Prayuth has suggested that soldiers should not be too concerned over the rallies conducted by both sides because there have been no signs of violence so far and police, tasked with guarding the rally areas, are key responsible, while soldiers provide assistance. The ISOC spokesman pointed out that Aksa or Utthayan Road, where UDD demonstrators are staging their mass rally, lies on the outskirts of Bangkok and adjacent Nakhon Pathom Province, in which the Internal Security Act (ISA) does not cover; so, soldiers are to perform their duty under the CAPO’s rules and the country’s laws. (TNA)