State of emergency in Thailand, extended
As the chaotic, anti-government demonstrations in Bangkok and 18 provinces continues, the Thai government announced the extension of state of emergency for three months on Tuesday.
According to Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office Ongart Klampaiboon, "The Cabinet agreed that there remained situations that require close monitoring and surveillance in Bangkok and the 18 provinces, mostly in the northeast, home to many of the so – called Red Shirt demonstrators who descended on Bangkok."
The state of emergency was initially declared last April 7 on Bangkok and some nearby provinces, but the government imposed it to cover 23 provinces, which is almost one-third of the country’s provinces.
Violence continued even after the end of the demonstrations on May 19, when the army moved to an area in Bangkok which was occupied by the Red Shirts.
For the past nine weeks of the massive demonstrations, almost 90 people, which most of them are protesters, were killed and more than 1,400 injured. The Red Shirt movement is composed of different people from the urban and rural poor, democracy activists and politicians, known loyal to the ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
"Thailand has never seen this kind of situation. A large number of protesters have been detained but no one knows the exact figures or even their whereabouts," said Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher for the New York based Human Rights Watch.
What others are also reading:
- Thailand general who supported protesters dies
- Thai protesters admit defeat after deadly army onslaught
- Rotating Brownouts in Metro Manila, Extended
- Isabela Province declared under state of calamity due to El Niño
- Japan Prime Minister Naoto Kan Promises to Improve relations with the U.S.
