Thailand extends state of emergency
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Extension of the state of emergency is essential for national security as it will also be good for the country's economy, national army chief General Anupong Paochinda said on Tuesday, the Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.
In a related development, speaking before attending the weekly cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban voiced the same tone saying that extending the state of emergency is vital for national security, the Bangkok Post's website reported.
"I don't want to please some particular group or type of people (by lifting the emergency decree). When there is damage and loss of lives, these people won't show up to take responsibility," he said.
On Monday evening the Center for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) resolved at a meeting to recommend the cabinet meeting to extend the state of emergency to ensure security.
The emergency decree's enforcement is still necessary as some groups of people are prepared to resort to violence, Suthep said.
The terrorist acts have still existed such as the recent launch of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at an oil depot and burning schools, Suthep cited.
"I'm not saying this to create panic but these people are determined (to create unrest". The government is not setting this up, and our duty is to restore order as soon as possible," Suthep said.
When asked about human rights organizations' (NGOs) demands for the Thai government to lift the emergency decree, Suthep said it was not their duty to oversee Thaiand's national security.
"If your house was burned down, what would you do?" Suthep said.
The weekly cabinet meeting is now considering the CRES recommendation to extend the state of emergency, which is going to complete its 3-month term of the enforcement on Wednesday, July 7.
The state of emergency was invoked on April 7 in Bangkok and extended to 23 other provinces of Thailand's 76 provinces, to deal with the then anti-government protests of the "red-shirt" United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
Though the anti-government protests ended on May 19, the Thai government has still maintained its enforcement of the state of emergency in order to ensure security for the public.
The death toll from a series of violent clashes between the "red-shirt" protesters and troops during March 12 to May 19 stood at 88 as some 1,885 others were wounded.
