Thai generals said yesterday they might lift martial law at least partially before the end of the year, if they decide a feared anti-coup movement is no longer a threat.
"It depends on the situation and the movement of various groups. We have to take that into consideration when deciding whether to abolish martial law," said Air Force Chief Chalit Pukbhasuk, a member of the ruling junta.
Earlier, a junta leader said that martial law could be lifted by the end of the year. But soon after, other generals described that as a best-case scenario.
"Martial law could be lifted in December," Defense Minister General Boonrawd Somtas told reporters. "There are two scenarios -- it might be lifted before the end of the year, but the latest it would be lifted is early next year,"
The secretary general of the Council for National Security (CNS), as the junta calls itself, said that martial law might be lifted only in parts of the country by the end of this year.
"Council for National Security will have to discuss which areas we will lift martial law," General Winai Phattiyakul said.
"Initially we will lift it in some areas, on a province by province basis, and provinces with [anti-coup] undercurrents will remain under martial law," he said.
Sonthi ousted twice-elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup on Sept. 19 and has kept the nation under martial law since then.
The junta has said that martial law remains in place because of anti-coup "undercurrents", especially in northern Thailand where support for Thaksin is believed to remain strong.
Chalit said anti-coup groups have tried to discredit the junta by passing around leaflets accusing the generals of planning to hang on to power after elections promised for next October.
Thailand's military-installed Prime Minister said on Tuesday last week that lifting martial law was "not urgent."
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese