NSC proposes 60-day extension of security law in Bangkok

[webfact]

NSC proposes 60-day extension of security law in capital




BANGKOK: -- The National Security Council (NSC) has proposed the meeting of the caretaker cabinet to extend the enforcement of security law in Bangkok and three other adjacent provinces by 60 days, citing security reason.

The meeting today held inside the Air Force Headquarters at Don Muang was chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Ms Yingluck flew in a helicopter to Bangkok to attend the meeting.

NSC secretary-general Lt-Gen Paradorn Patthanathabutr said the extension of the security law which ends December 31 was based on the current political situation which remained instable.

The extension will be from January 1 to March 1.It covers the entire capital, Nonthaburi and parts of Samut Prakarn and Pathum Thani provinces.

Ms Yingluck will spend the rest of the week on inspection tour in the North and stay with family on Friday in Chiang Mai. She will take leave from December 28-January .

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/nsc-proposes-60-day-extension-security-law-capital/


-- Thai PBS 2013-12-25

[Nowhereman60]

And what good does that do if you don't enforce it.

[Nibbles48]

Amazing Thailand.

More drivel about extending a toothless act that nobody has enforced and nobody will continue to enforce.

The security act that saw police assisting violators into ministries and government house.

You seriously could not make it up.

[webfact]

Cabinet extends Internal Security Act in Bangkok, adjacent provinces, for more 60 days, from Jan 1 to March 1 next year /MCOT

[Scamper]

More face-saving from the government. An attempt to inform the few of those left who don't fall down in unrestrained laughter every time these announcements are made. This security act has been in place, in one form or another, since August. They might as well enact the law in perpetuity.

[tomross46]

Will the extension of the security law make it more difficult for parties that are apposed to the government have a fair and free election? Is this another way for the government to control the outcome? Is this Thailand or Venezuela?

[Lite Beer]

Protest-hit Thailand prolongs security law

BANGKOK, December 25, 2013 (AFP) - Thailand on Wednesday extended a special security law for two more months to cope with mass opposition protests aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a senior official said.

Yingluck has faced weeks of rallies drawing tens of thousands of her opponents onto the streets. They are seeking to oust her elected government and install an unelected "people's council" in its place.

The protests -- aimed at curbing the political influence of Yingluck's family -- have left five people dead and more than 200 wounded in street violence, although tensions have abated recently.

The special law, known as the Internal Security Act, was widened a month ago to cover the whole of Bangkok and nearby areas.

It gives the police additional powers to block routes, ban gatherings, carry out searches and impose a curfew, although not all the measures have been used.

"The government needs this law to oversee peace and order because there are still protests," Deputy Defence Minister General Yutthasak Sasiprapa told reporters after the cabinet agreed on a 60-day extension.

Yingluck has called a snap election for February 2 to try to ease tensions, but the main opposition Democrat Party -- which has not won an elected majority in about two decades -- has vowed to boycott the vote.
The protesters have tried to stop candidates signing up for the election by blocking the entrances to the stadium serving as a registration venue.

Demonstrators tried to force their way into the building on Wednesday, triggering scuffles with police.

Election authorities, however, have expressed confidence that candidates will be able to register in time.

The political conflict broadly pits a Bangkok-based middle class and elite against rural and poor voters loyal to Yingluck's brother Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as prime minister in a coup in 2006 and lives in self-exile.

The protesters accuse the billionaire tycoon turned politician of corruption and say he controls his sister's government from his base in Dubai.

The recent unrest is the worst since 2010, when more than 90 civilians were killed in a bloody military crackdown on pro-

Thaksin protests under the previous Democrat Party-led government.

Pro-Thaksin parties have won every election since 2001, most recently with a landslide victory under Yingluck two years ago.

The protesters want loosely-defined reforms -- such as an end to alleged "vote buying" -- before new elections are held in around a year to 18 months.

Yingluck on Wednesday proposed a "national reform council" made up of 499 representatives from various sectors to recommend constitutional amendments and economic and legal reforms, as well as anti-corruption measures.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-12-25

[Local Drunk]

Will the extension of the security law make it more difficult for parties that are apposed to the government have a fair and free election? Is this another way for the government to control the outcome? Is this Thailand or Venezuela?

Or this? Cabinet waives diesel excise tax for one more month, Bt85 billion under rice pledging scheme to be paid to rice farmers by Jan 15 /MCOT

[JRSoul]

So how long before it becomes permanent? What do you call a government that needs these measures?

We're not perfect, but we do have democracy.
Hugo Chavez

Edited December 25, 2013 by JRSoul

[SOTIRIOS]

...at the insistence of.........???

..meanwhile..... "Ms Yingluck will spend the rest of the week on inspection tour in the North and stay with family on Friday in Chiang Mai. She will take leave from December 28-January .".......

...how many weeks and counting...my gosh....

[Bpuumike]

...at the insistence of.........???

..meanwhile..... "Ms Yingluck will spend the rest of the week on inspection tour in the North and stay with family on Friday in Chiang Mai. She will take leave from December 28-January .".......

...how many weeks and counting...my gosh....

So Madam flies in, possibly to pick up her passport which she forgot to take, makes a rare cabinet meeting and disappears up North again.

Will take leave until when??