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Thai parliament approves new internal security law

Thailand's military-installed parliament approved a controversial internal security law that critics yesterday warned will allow the military to maintain a grip on power even after this weekend's general election.

The new law will allow the Internal Security Operations Command to order curfews, restrict freedom of movement and curb the powers of government officials in situations deemed harmful to national security.

It also allows the agency to restrict access to electronic equipment, a vague clause that critics say could include censorship of the Internet and tapping of telephones.

In a concession to critics, the law names the prime minister as head of the ISOC and the army chief as second-in-command, a change from draft versions that had the army chief as the agency's director.

The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) voted 105-8 with two abstentions to pass the Internal Security Bill late on Thursday, in a vote widely criticized as an effort to steamroll through legislation before Sunday's general election.

The NLA was set up by the military to serve as an interim parliament until the election, which will fill the 480-seat lower house of parliament. The poll comes 15 months after the coup ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Hundreds of activists protested outside parliament on Thursday, one of several demonstrations against the security law.

The legislation was proposed after Thaksin's ouster. The interim government argued that old laws covering national security needed to be reviewed to curb new security threats, such as the rise of a bloody Muslim insurgency in the country's far south and threats from drug trafficking.

Critics say the law assures sweeping military powers over the country.

"The bill will allow the military to control the situation in the future if things get out of hand. It is meant to deal with internal threats like street protests and oppositions, and not external ones," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. "It will be like a state within a state."
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