Minister:Red-shirts will not disrupt New Year celebrations

BANGKOK, December 22 (TNA) - In response to reports that red-shirt demonstrators will rally to demand the temporary release of their leader Arisman Pongruangrong from jail, Thai Defence Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapa said Thursday that the movement should not disrupt people's New Year celebrations. General Yuthasak insisted that the planned rally of red shirt people to pressure for Arisman's temporary release on bail should not create unrest during the New Year festival, and that he would not discuss the issue with any red shirt leader, acknowledging that the defence minister is duty-bound to maintain national security and peace and not to get involved in any matter of individuals. In response to Arisman’s lawyer plan to ask the minister to bail his client, General Yutthasak revealed that he had not been approached and if contacted, he would have the Judge Advocate General to study the possibility. The defence minister, meanwhile, asked the mass media not to refer to any military withdrawal in relation to a provisional demilitarized zone ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on an unsettled Thai-Cambodian border area near the ancient Preah Vihear Temple, recommending the media to, instead, mention alignments of forces, as police will replace soldiers in the area. The defence minister explained although police will stay in the area around the clock, the military will not leave the area to be under the supervision of any other party, but keep supervising strategies there, cautioning that the phrase “military withdrawal” may have negative impacts on the country. (TNA)