No foreign force found to create disturbance in Thailand

BANGKOK, February 11 (TNA) - The Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) reports that it has not found the use of any foreign force to create disturbance in Thailand. Lieutenant General Paradorn Pattanatabutr, Secretary-General of the National Security Council (NSC), told journalists of the ISOC's finding on Tuesday, saying that the Thai military has also confirmed that there has been no force from any neighboring country involving in ongoing domestic political turmoil. Lieutenant General Paradorn stressed that state security forces have closely followed up and prevented the use of war weapons in current domestic political protests, part of which are believed to be those having gone missing previously. Lieutenant General Paradorn insisted that the executive decree on public administration in emergency situations needs to be continually imposed in all areas in Bangkok and some areas in peripheral provinces to maintain order, despite a call by the private sector for the caretaker administration to lift the special law, which has been in effect for 60 days since January 22, 2014. The NSC chief said if the domestic political demonstrations relieved, the caretaker government would lift the special law. The NSC chief, meanwhile, revealed that Sonthiyan Chuenruethainaitham, an anti-government protest leader arrested on Monday, is to be detained at least seven days at the Border Patrol Police Region 1 in Bangkok's neighboring Pathum Thani Province in compliance with the emergency decree, before an extended detention warrant will be sought against him from a court in relation to criminal offences and whether he will be released on bail depends on interrogators; while another core leader of the anti-government People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), Suthep Thaugsuban, will be apprehended when the time is right, along with other protest leaders. According to the NSC chief, the caretaker government is trying to create understanding with local farmers who are also rallying due to delayed payment from the official rice-pledging scheme, caused by a legal limitation in state budget disbursements after the dissolution of the Thai House of Representatives late last year.(TNA)