The Thai government yesterday canceled a state of emergency that it had declared last week for Bangkok in a gesture offered by the embattled prime minister to cool massive student-led protests seeking democratic reforms.
The decree had banned public gatherings of more than four people and allowed censorship of the media, among other provisions. It was challenged in court by an opposition party and a group of university students.
The revocation of the emergency decree, effective at noon yesterday, declared that the situation had been mitigated and could now be dealt with by existing laws.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha went on national television on Wednesday night to appeal to pro-democracy protesters to reduce political tensions and promised to lift the emergency measure.
“I will make the first move to de-escalate this situation,” he said. “I am currently preparing to lift the state of severe emergency in Bangkok and will do so promptly if there are no violent incidents.”
As he was speaking, protesters marched near Government House, his office, to demand that he step down. They also asked for the release of their colleagues who were arrested in connection with earlier protests.
They said that if their demands were not met, they would return in three days.
Although the protesters pushed their way through police lines, neither side resorted to violence.
The leader of the opposition Pheu Thai party’s team at the court on Wednesday said that he was not impressed that Prayuth had lifted the decree.
“He’s really doing it to protect himself. Why? Because if he didn’t lift the emergency decree today, and the court ordered the temporary protection of the protesters, it would mean all his orders and announcement relating to this were illegal,” lawmaker Cholanan Srikaew said.
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