Army chief denies rumours on military intervention

[Norseman]

BANGKOK, Feb 28

Army Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin has given an assurance that the military remains impartial, dismissing rumours of possible intervention by the armed forces in the current political crisis.

The Army commander-in-chief was speaking at a Government House meeting with other senior military figures convened by caretaker prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

General Sonthi dismissed fears that troops from Special Warfare units based in the central province of Lop Buri had been mobilised to ''take action'' in the capital, saying that the red-beret troops were on routine rotational duty at Army Headquarters.

The general said he had been spending days and nights at Army Headquarters under the protection of the Special Warfare soldiers while the political situation remained tense and precarious.

But all military units, including the red berets, would remain neutral and uninvolved in any political events, he said.

General Sonthi made the comment in response to rumours that the caretaker prime minister's army classmates might consider ''taking action.''

Among other military leaders invited to Government House were Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Satirapan Keyanon; Air Force Commander-in-Chief Air Chief Marshal Chalit Pukbha-suk; National Police Commissioner General Police General Kowit Wattana; and Deputy Prime Minister Police General Chidchai Vanasatidya.