Military make preparations to brace for May 5 protest by pro-election activists

The military has prepared a handbook on crowd control to be distributed to officials on the ground to brace for a rally planned to be staged by the pro-election activists on May 5 and May 19-22 to mark the 4th year anniversary of the coup in 2014.

Besides the handbook on crowd control which will conform with international standard practice, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon who is in charge of security affairs also instructed the military to coordinate with the Justice Ministry to ensure that the military’s operation does not go against the principle of human rights.

Mr Rangsiman Rome, core leader of the pro-election activists, said that the rally would be the biggest the group had ever held to commemorate the coup in 2014 and the activists would stay overnight at the protest site.

Rangsiman Rome

Defence Ministry spokesman Lt-Gen Kongcheep Tantravanich said that the military would employ the “Korakot 52” plan to deal with the protest while the Bangkok’s peace-keeping force would be on alert in barracks and would be deployed once the situation warrants their deployment.

He said that the government was not worried with the protest and was confident that the protest would be peaceful and would not spiral out of control like the Black May event in 1992.