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Thailand PM imposes state of emergency after protests disrupt summit

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Saturday instituted a state of emergency in Bangkok and several provinces and cancelled an ongoing summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders in the country following an outbreak of protests calling for his resignation. The protests were lead by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), a group associated with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Abhisit ended the state of emergency in the summit city of Pattaya later on Saturday, but the order remains in place in Bangkok and the surrounding area. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed regret at the summit's cancellation. Under the state of emergency, public gatherings are banned, police are given broader powers to arrest, and the government may censor media reports, but large protests continued on Sunday despite the order. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the he did not believe there would be a coup, but there have been reports that several government officials have been detained by the protesters.Abhisit took over as prime minister in December, after the Constitutional Court of Thailand ordered the dissolution of the ruling People's Power Party (PPP), and banned then-prime minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics for five years as the result of an election fraud investigation. Thaksin, ousted as prime minister in a 2006 military coup, was convicted on corruption charges by the Supreme Court of Thailand in October.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 12, 2009 (boomark / email).