Bangkok Post : Prayuthurges Isoc overhaul

Prayuth urges Isoc overhaul

Agency could take after US homeland security department

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha wants to upgrade the Internal Security Operations Command into a homeland defence ministry based on the US model, an army source says.

Gen Prayuth, in his capacity as deputy director of Isoc, suggested the change, to cope with emerging terrorist threats, and better handle the agency's increasing workload.

He will set up a working panel to study the idea.

The ministry's structure will be modelled on the US Department of Homeland Security, the source said.

Gen Prayuth has told Gen Daopong Rattanasuwan, army chief-of-staff and Isoc secretary-general, to draw up the plan, which will be put to the new government after the general election.

The source said Isoc's scope of work is vast but the agency has limited staff at its headquarters, with only 900 personnel.

Of these, 700 are soldiers from the armed forces and 200 are civil servants from other government agencies.

Isoc has four regional offices with the chiefs of each army region serving as directors.

The source said Gen Prayuth wanted to set up the ministry to cope with new forms of threats.

He also wanted the new ministry to take on more civilians and civil servants.

"The ministry would deal with natural disasters, new forms of epidemics and terrorism," the source said.

Gen Prayuth proposed the idea to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva before the House was dissolved and Mr Abhisit agreed with it.

Isoc has six operations coordination centres dealing with drug trafficking, illegal migrant workers, terrorism and transnational crime, cracking down on deforestation, tackling violence in the South, promoting royal projects and protecting the royal institution.

The prime minister is Isoc's director and the army chief is deputy director.

The agency has a board of 22 members drawn from other ministries, including the justice minister, the interior minister, and the defence minister.

Isoc is being criticised for trying to influence the outcome of the election by sending soldiers to undertake development projects to help people across the country. Isoc has rejected the claim.