Asia-Pacific

Thai cabinet lifts emergency in Bangkok

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-12-21 15:00

BANGKOK- Thai cabinet decided to lift the state of emergency in Bangkok and three surrounding provinces effective on Wednesday, government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said on Tuesday, eight months after the special security decree was imposed to handle the then ongoing anti-government rallies.

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The Cabinet resolved to revoke the Emergency Decree in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakarn and Pathum Thani, which were the last four provinces remaining under the state of emergency, Panitan told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.

As a result, the Center for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES), a special security body set up under the decree, is automatically dissolved.

The government will instead enforce the Internal Security Act (ISA), which provides authorities with less power than the Emergency Decree, to maintain law and order in the country, the spokesman said, adding that a new body will be set up to monitor security situation.

The decree was introduced in Bangkok and many provinces across the country on April 7 in response to mass anti-government protests by the "Red Shirt" camp that left 91 people dead and nearly 2,000 injured. The protests ended after the military used force to disperse protesters on May 19.