Thailand to consider to lift emergency decree on Thursday

Thailand's Center for the Resolution of Emergency Situation (CRES) is to consider on Thursday in which provinces the emergency decree should be lifted, National Security Council (NSC) chief Thawil Pliensri said Wednesday.

Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban, who is the CRES director, is going to chair a CRES meeting on Thursday, the NSC chief said, quoted by Thai News Agency (TNA).

The meeting's outcomes will be forwarded to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for a final approval, said Thawil.

The Bangkok Post's website quoted General Pirun Phaewthaisong, the army chief-of-staff, as saying that the situation in each province would be taken for assessment.

General Pirun said the decree is likely to be gradually lifted.

The enforcement of the state of emergency has remained in the capital of Bangkok and 15 other provinces, though the over-two- month long rally by the "red-shirts" ended on May 19.

The emergency decree was originally imposed in 24 of Thailand's 76 provinces, including Bangkok, on April 7, 2010, empowering police and army to control the then anti-government protests.

After the weekly cabinet meeting on July 6 decided to lift the emergency decree in five provinces, the cabinet resolved to lift it in three more provinces on July 20.

The death toll from a series of violent clashes between the " red-shirt" protesters and troops during March 12 to May 19 in central Bangkok stood at 88 as some 1,885 others were wounded.

Source: Xinhua