Thai army on streets as emergency is declared

MILITARY CHECKPOINTS went up outside Bangkok yesterday, a day after prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency, as the leader of the opposition red shirts threatened a new offensive and Mr Abhisit cancelled a scheduled visit to Vietnam for a Southeast Asian leaders’ summit.

The emergency decree gives the military sweeping powers to detain or remove people without a court order after protesters stormed parliament on Wednesday, forcing some government officials to flee by helicopter. The laws allow authorities to suspend certain civil liberties, ban public gatherings of more than five people and stop media reporting news that “causes panic”.

Anti-government protesters have roamed Bangkok’s streets since March 12th calling on Mr Abhisit to call fresh elections. Many of the red shirts are supporters of twice-elected and now fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

While the country is used to living with a high degree of instability, the economy is feeling the impact of the long-term uncertainty.