Thai authorities monitor protest against amnesty bill

BANGKOK, November 1 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says that security authorities are monitoring ongoing protests against her government-sponsored amnesty bill before deciding whether areas in Bangkok under the imposition of the Internal Security Act (ISA) should be expanded. Yingluck insisted on Friday that her administration respects the freedom of expression by both opponents and proponents to the amnesty bill, but asking demonstrators to refrain from violent means, while she has ordered the concerned authorities to ensure public safety and to avoid any clash. As the House of Representatives approved the amnesty bill earlier in the day, Yingluck noted the Senate, consisting of capable and knowledgeable persons, has not yet considered the bill and if the Senate did not pass it, the government would organize forums for people to express their opinions on the bill. Royal Thai Police Chief Police General Adul Saengsingkaew revealed that he has ordered traffic police to facilitate traffic flows at locations affected by the demonstrations, especially at schools and hospitals. According to the national police chief, he does not think protesting rubber growers in the Thai South will join demonstrators in Bangkok and he is not worried over the possibility that protests in the capital will escalate from November 8-11 when the Senate is scheduled to consider the controversial amnesty bill. Meanwhile, Colonel Charoon Ampha, an advisor to the National Security Council (NSC), told journalists that the NSC has closely monitored the situation on the daily basis and has cooperated with agencies concerned, including the military, for information exchange and for the, probably, deployment of soldiers to help maintain order if needed, as the number of protesters against the amnesty bill is foreseen to rise over the coming weekend. Regarding a feared violence, the NSC advisor cautioned Thailand's 2010 political violence should be a lesson and any repetition of such the incident should, thus, be avoided. (TNA)