Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirms that the government will enforce the Internal Security Act on of Phuket in June. More than 5000 troops will be stationed in Phuket starting in early June.
It is hoped that invoking the law will avoid a repeat of the mayhem last month when red shirt protesters raided the meeting venue in Pattaya. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the special measures would be an essential tool for the government in running the summit smoothly. The summit is scheduled to take place at from June 13 – 15.
Abhisit said the government needed to study the details and conditions of the act and would explain the imposition of the law to the public in the coming weeks.
- We are not concerned about rigid security measures to be imposed during the summit. We are concerned about the previous problem – that we could not handle the protesters," the prime minister said on a press conference in Bangkok.
Fears the security law would hurt the tourism industry in the province were unfounded, he said. The law would be invoked for a short time only – before and during the summit.
He said no curfew would be imposed even though the security law provided for one. A curfew prohibits the use of certain ro
The security will not be intimidating to the public but it will be to ill-intentioned people
utes and forbids people from entering or moving from a place.
- We will not allow what happened in Pattaya to happen in Phuket. The security will not be intimidating to the public but it will be to ill-intentioned people," the prime minister said.
More than 5,000 troops from the 1st Army Region will be sent to Phuket to help the 4th Army Region and the navy step up security, according to Thai News Service.
More than half of the ASEAN member countries’ leaders have confirmed of participation in the ASEAN Plus Three Summit and Related Summits in Phuket Thailand, Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN Secretary-General said at a press conference closing the ASEAN + 3 Health Ministers’ Special Meeting on Influenza A/ H1N1 in Bangkok Friday.
Asked about the response from the ASEAN leaders, Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN Secretary-General said "overall, at the coordination- officials level of the ASEAN Plus Three countries", all of the countries had agreed to participate in the ASEAN Plus Three Summit in the southern province of Phuket.
"Now, we are waiting for the final decision of all of the concerned countries’ leaders, said Surin.
Sources: Thai News Service, Reuters, Xinhua
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