Source: FT.com
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej imposed a state of emergency in Bangkok on Tuesday morning, after an overnight clash between anti-government protesters and supporters of the administration left one dead and dozens injured.
The move also follows threats by state union workers to disrupt flights and cut off utilities to government offices in support of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, which has been occupying the country’s Government House for a week, demanding Mr Samak’s resignation.
Thai television channels announced the imposition of emergency rule at 7 a.m. and said Gen. Anupong Paochinda, the army chief, would enforce it. It said emergency rule was necessary because certain people, who were not named, were “wreaking havoc” that was undermining the economy and national unity.
The decree banned gatherings of more than five people, declared Bangkok’s inner administrative area “off-limits” to the public, allowed authorities to prevent people from travelling, and said media would be censored if their reporting threatened national security.
“It’s the government strikes back to the extreme,” said Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch. In a nationationally televised press confernece, Mr Samak said the army and police would restore order, and that the emergency rule would only last a few days.
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