Martial Law Declared in Thailand

[pdogg]

thanx for the update. 

 

I'll second that!    

 

I trust the updates of our Members on the ground much ore than official sources.

 

Trenton sure covered lots of ground in his car yesterday! 

[Trenton42]

Thanks guys.

Only drove about 140 km yesterday. After only 5 months of using Waze, made it into the top 1% of drivers in Thailand. Crazy!

With regard to the official reports: The governments do a good job of covering their own ass, but even with all the attacks against the PDRC, I had no problems walking through their rally sites. On the other hand, I have no interest to visit the Red rallies as I suspect that's where the worst problems will arise.

If someone is coming to chase skirts, chase skirts.

Getting involved in the political shenanigans is just asking for trouble.

[pdogg]

 

Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha Tuesday stated that the reasons for the declaration martial law was to ensure peace and public order and he didn't want to see bloodshed any more in the country.

 

He  asked the two rival protest groups to stop any form of mobilization and would invite both of them for talks to end the conflicts.

His invitation was welcomed by redshirt leader Jatuporn Phrompan who said last night he was ready to talk to the People’s Democratic Reform Committee leader Suthep Thaugsuban.

 

But he maintained the redshirts’ stance that they would reject a neutral prime minister because it was against the Constitution, adding the redshirt people would continue to protest but within the boundary of laws.

 

Army chief Gen Prayuth, director of the Peace and Order Maintaining Command (POMC), asked that everyone understands the necessity for the Army’s action which was to ensure that the country was not swept into conflict and bloodshed.

 

The recent spate of violent armed attacks  has forced the Army’s hand and as of the present it was too soon to place blame on any party in particular and this matter should be left for the judiciary.

 

He said that this was not the time to revisit past grievances but rather a time for finding a way forward.

 

He apologized for the temporary closure of certain media channels as this was a means to ensure the situation does not escalate further from biased media broadcasts.

 

As for the length of time which martial law will be enforced, the general stated that this will depend on the overall situation.

 Gen Prayuth stated that he was calling in the two main protagonists to hold talks to resolve their differences.

 

 “I will be calling in all parties! All factions must be involved so don’t ask me which party I will be calling in! For martial law to be effective, everyone must play a role! Some issues I don’t have the answers to while other concerns will require monitoring to see what develops. The Army will not stand by and allow bloodshed on Thai soil!,” he declared at the conference.

 

He went on saying “ Let me say this, I am not concerned or particular to any side nor am I involved with the government. The Army is doing this for the sake of everyone in the country and no one should be worried and carry on with your regular routines. We will try not be unduly infringing upon the freedom and liberties of the public.”

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/army-chief-clarifies-reasons-impose-martial-law/

[Torurot]

BBC World Full Military Coup has been declared Army to bring back "stability". Tourists nothing to fear. Business & trade no change. Nothing to see here, move along Fully supported by the US NO sanctions expected. All leaders of various parties to todays meetings have been detained by the military

[Pdoggg]

 

MARTIAL LAW was the reason behind a spike in tourist arrivals in the second half of last year, a government spokesman said yesterday.

Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said that thanks to martial law, local residents and visitors felt safe.

His remarks came following renewed calls for martial law to be lifted, with many tourism businesses arguing that it adversely affects the sector.

"One clear proof [the opposite is happening] is that the number of tourists to Thailand increased 16 per cent in the last six months of 2014 when compared to the first half [of the year], which saw much political unrest and violence," Sansern said.

In the first half of last year the number of tourist arrivals was 11.47 million, climbing to 13.3 million in the last six months, he said.

The spokesman noted that tourism is Thailand's major revenue earner, accounting for about 10 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

"Martial law has not affected the every day life of honest law-abiding citizens. Instead it helps assure safety for everyone living in Thailand," Sansern said.

He added that martial law was still considered necessary. The spokesman said the authorities were enforcing martial law carefully and only when necessary. "It definitely has not caused uneasiness for innocent people," he said.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Martial-law-caused-tourist-numbers-to-surge-30256549.html

[Pdoggg]

Martial law may be lifted.

 

Section 44 of the interim Constitution would replace it.

 

 

Section 44 of the interim charter gives the NCPO chief absolute power over executive, legislative and judicial decisions and allows it to overrule judicial and legislative authority.

 

[ArchieBunker]

This will end well.........