[ad_1]
BANGKOK: Thailand’s prime minister reversed an emergency decree aimed at quelling pro-democracy protests on Thursday after he failed to crack down on daily rallies demanding his resignation and reforms of the impregnable monarchy.
The student-led pro-democracy movement has been gaining momentum since mid-July, with mostly young protesters calling for the removal of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha and a rewrite of a 2017 military-scripted constitution.
Some protest leaders have also issued controversial demands to reform the ultra-powerful and wealthy monarchy, whose influence permeates every aspect of Thai society.
The “severe” emergency measures were imposed last week after anti-government protesters threw a three-finger salute at a royal caravan, an unprecedented challenge for the monarchy.
But the ban on gatherings of more than four people failed to discourage tens of thousands of protesters who have gathered daily around Bangkok’s main intersections to call for Prayut’s resignation.
The former military chief, who planned the 2014 coup and has remained in power since then, had indicated late Wednesday that he was preparing to lift the serious state of emergency.
Government Spokesperson Royal Gazette He said the measures had been lifted since 12pm (1pm Malaysia time).
“All the conditions established under the severe state of emergency have stopped,” he said.
In addition to banning gatherings of more than four people, the measures gave police carte blanche to arrest protesters and confiscate electronic materials believed to threaten national security, a move that has drawn widespread public condemnation.
Prayut had said in a televised address Wednesday that the country must “step back from the edge of the slippery slope that can easily slide into chaos.”
Parliament, which is in recess, has been called for a special session on Monday in an attempt to resolve the crisis.
Thailand has seen more than a dozen coups since the end of royal absolutism in 1932, the last in 2014.
His arch-royalist army, which positions itself as the protector of the monarchy, claims that such interventions are necessary to protect the king. – AFP
[ad_2]
