Sonthi tells police of new policy
As the head of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), Council for National Security chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin yesterday lectured more than 300 police about the CNS' new structure and strategy, especially for suppressing any anti-coup movements.
Sonthi, also the Army commander, shrugged off speculation that his rare cross-service appearance as a military leader addressing senior police was meant to bridge the widening gap between the men in green and khaki after the September 19 coup. Responding to a popular taunt in newspapers that the police's approach to stopping the spate of arson attacks on schools was as if they had shifted their gears into "neutral", Sonthi said the term seemed like an opinionated description to him. "I am here at the Isoc today for the benefit of internal security," Sonthi said after meeting for an hour with more than 300 senior officers, including embattled national police chief General Kowit Wattana and his much-criticised spokesman General Ajiravid Subranbasaj. Kowit dismissed widely held expectations that he would soon have to show responsibility for the slow progress by police in finding out who was responsible for the more than 40 arson attacks at schools across the country. "Rumours about me at risk of being dismissed have come so many times that I have lost count. I am fine by them," he said. During the meeting, Sonthi also discussed the current relationship between police and all three branches of the Armed Forces, saying both sides shared the goal of restoring peace and order to the country. The other major problems the new Isoc wants to tackle are drugs, illegal migrants and illegal entry, terrorism and the delivery of relief assistance following natural disasters. The Isoc was also monitoring the upcountry activities of anti-government and anti-coup factions. "These groups are being watched even while they are in their original premises. Once they begin to travel to Bangkok, the Isoc will be alerted and take action to cope with them," Sonthi said. He refuted claims by Noppadol Pattama, the legal adviser to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, that Isoc officials had intimidated him. Noppadol should name those officers publicly, he said. As for whether the next national police chief should be selected from outside candidates under a new structure, Sonthi said he believed that only insiders could do the job well.
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