Punishments await police, military commanders of "bad guys", says Thai DPM

BANGKOK, October 26 (TNA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan vows to launch suppression against illegal influential groups soon, threatening legal actions against commanders of police officers and soldiers who join such influential gangs. General Prawit, who oversees national security and whom Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha has assigned to tackle illegal influential groups, told journalists on Monday that he will convene a meeting of representatives from agencies concerned in a few days, including those from the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior and the Royal Thai Police, to discuss relevant measures. General Prawit said the operations will emphasize on suppression of local influential groups and war weapons to ensure public safety, stressing if any soldier or police officer is found to abuse authority, their commanders must also be held responsible. Besides, the deputy prime minister asked the public to turn down a campaign on wearing red shirts to give moral support to former Pheu Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra on November 1, 2015. The Thai deputy premier cautioned that the campaign should be useless as every issue needs to be governed by laws. According to the deputy prime minister, authorities concerned have not sent any request to campaigners, but calling on them to stop their movement through media channels. The deputy prime minister warned if there was any undesirable incident, leading campaigners must be held responsible. (TNA)