Puea Thai opposes use of ISA

The opposition Puea Thai Party opposes the government's plan to invoke the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Bangkok, saying it could provoke a third party to incite unrest.

The government will invoke the ISA in Bangkok's Dusit district from Oct 15 to 25, when the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) plans anti-government rallies.

The security act has already been enforced in Cha-am and Hua Hin until Oct 27 to maintain peace and order during the Asean summit.

Puea Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said on Tuesday use of the security act could be viewed as a threat and could provoke people who attend the red-shirt gatherings.

It could also encourage a third party to stir up violence during the rallies.

"There was no violence during the recent red-shirt and yellow-shirt demonstrations. The government should not invoke the ISA yet because it will affect the confidence of foreign investors," Mr Prompong said.

He said over-use of the ISA would reduce the integrity of the law. The government would be spending a lot of the taxpayers' money by invoking the security act.