Sonthi denies CNS will sack police chief

Sonthi denies CNS will sack police chief.

POST REPORTERS

NEW YEAR'S BOMBS AFTERMATH / POLICE REASSURED, HELP FROM DOWN UNDER, SEEING THROUGH GARBAGE, RECONCILATION

Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, chairman of the Council for National Security, yesterday denied a rumour the CNS will dismiss the national police chief and replace him with an outsider. ''Dismissing the police commissioner-general is the government's business. My job is to coordinate the military and police operations,'' said Gen Sonthi.

The CNS chairman visited the Royal Thai Police Office headquarters yesterday and spent one hour giving a speech to high-ranking police officers at the Police Club.

Rumours had circulated that police chief Pol Gen Kowit Wattana would be sacked and replaced by someone from outside the police force. Gen Sonthi assured the officers this was not the case.

''It's not appropriate to appoint an outsider as the police chief. This is about administration. If an appointee did not understand the police operation system, the police force may not be able to operate properly,'' he said.

The police chief must be a professional policeman as he must be well-versed with the working culture, which is something outsiders would not understand.

Gen Sonthi insisted he did not go to the police headquarters to impose policies on the police. Rather, he had spoken to them on how the police would fit into the new Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) structure.

Police and soldiers are expected to collaborate closely under the Isoc to suppress the political undercurrents, the CNS chairman said.

Military intelligence has already compiled information about the movement.

Meanwhile, in Buri Ram, a school in Chamni district was partially damaged in a fire early yesterday morning.

A two-storey building at Ban Taleng school in tambon Nhongplong went up in flames, causing initial damage estimated at 3,000 baht.

The fire took place just two days after Chumchon Napho school in Na Pho district was burnt down on Monday.

Police are looking at arson as a possible cause of the fires at both schools. If it was, that would bring to five the number of school arson incidents in the province since the Sept 19 coup.

Police said arson may be the cause of the fire at Ban Taleng school, saying a blackboard and a wooden pole in one of the rooms on the first floor were set on fire, which went out before it could reach the second floor. School director Komin Phaewpolsong said his school had not received any threat. In addition, no conflict among teachers was reported.

Meanwhile, Prasong Soonsiri, chairman of a sub-committee on police and human rights affairs in the National Legislative Assembly, said his working group would summon special investigators involved in school arson cases to give more information to the panel next Tuesday.

Relevant educational staff and northern and northeastern police officers would be also called to testify. He said the investigation has made little headway so far.

Bangkok Post
Thursday January 11, 2007