NCPO prepares to cope with Yingluck’s supporters

BANGKOK, Aug 21 (TNA) --- The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) expects 3,000-3,500 people will show up to support former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Aug 25 when the Supreme Court will rule on her rice-pledging scheme case. NCPO took control of the administration of Thailand on May 22, 2014 in order to restore peace, order and stability, and providing a cooling-off period following half a year of political standoff among different protest groups. NCPO’s deputy spokesperson Sirichan Ngathong said the council which had a meeting today ordered relevant agencies to prepare measures to handle the people and police would take the lead in the task and exercise normal laws to ensure security. The Interior Ministry and the peacekeeping force of the NCPO would be backup, Col Sirichan said. The amount of 3,000-3,500 people was large and security authorities expected them to cause some negative impacts on traffic conditions in local areas, she said. The NCPO secretary-general ordered relevant officials to prepare well to handle situations because a lot of people would gather in a congested area for a long period when the ruling would be read. Authorities would prevent all forms of legal violations to ensure order, Col Sirichan said. (TNA)