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Thai martial law 'to lift soon'
24/11/2006 12:46 - (SA)
Bangkok - Thailand's military-installed government said on Friday it will lift martial law before the end of the year.
"Martial law will definitely be lifted before the new year," defence minister Bunrod Somtad told reporters, saying the government anticipated ending the emergency power during the month of December.
Bunrod's comment was the latest in a series of government statements on when it will lift the restriction, which was imposed after a September 19 coup that ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said as recently as last week that the government had no immediate plan to lift martial law.
Earlier this month, he said that martial law could be lifted in parts of the country, but the military would have to decide when and where.
Bunrod said a few weeks ago that the government would consider ending martial law before the summit of Asian and Pacific leaders, which took place in Vietnam last weekend.
More consistently, the government has said it would lift the emergency power once the post-coup situation in Thailand had stabilised.
In daily Thai life, there was little sign of martial law being enforced.
Earlier this month, the government lifted a ban on public gatherings of more than five people, which authorities had been lax about enforcing. There was no curfew imposed at any time.
Mainly, martial law empowered the military to be in charge of security and make arrests without warrants in the name of maintaining order.
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