People urged not to join anti-Thaksin rallies

BANGKOK, August 3 (TNA) - The Ministry of Interior has urged people, particularly those in provincial areas, not to join political rallies in Bangkok planned by anti-Thaksin civic groups, set to begin from August 4. Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Prasobdee told journalists on Saturday (Aug 3) that his ministry has ordered provincial authorities to try to convince people not to participate in the political rallies, planned by several groups opposing a draft amnesty bill scheduled for a House debate on August 7 for fear that it would lead to a political pardon for convicted ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Though reiterating that the Thai government does not prohibit people from joining any rally, Pracha acknowledged that he had been informed that several people from the Thai South, a major stronghold of the main opposition Democrat Party, plan to travel to the capital and join the rallies. According to the deputy interior minister, an invitation for every concerned party to take part in a meeting, designed for finding solutions to domestic political problems, as proposed by Thai Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, is considered positive and should help solve the problems. Meanwhile, police have tightened security in Bangkok to cope with the planned rallies, especially in three districts in the vicinity of the Government House and the Thai Parliament building, where the Internal Security Act (ISA) has been enforced from August 1-10 to ensure order. The prime minister insisted, however, that the House debate on the draft amnesty bill, set on August 7, will be carried on as scheduled. (TNA)