Bangkok sees end of riots but remains on holiday

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On Wednesday, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand announced that a state of emergency would continue although the anti-government riots had been brought to a peaceful conclusion.

“The situation has been eased and is almost back to normal. But the mission of the emergency decree has not been completed. The government will not be careless, and we will be closely monitoring the situation,” the prime minister said during a televised address.

He stressed that the police, the military and civil servants would remain on alert in case there were attacks made on public utilities.

The prime minister also declared that Thursday and Friday would be public holidays, extending the Thai New Year, or Songkran, break this year to 10 days. Last Friday was declared a holiday when the “Red Shirts” blocked a major intersection in the city centre, causing major disruptions to Bangkok traffic.

Extra days were needed to clean up the mess that was left in many parts of the capital following the riots early in the week and the previous two weeks of rallies in the area around Government House.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s televised address came after the protest leaders abandoned their positions mid-day on Wednesday. They had been surrounded by the military and civilians who were angered by the continuing disruptions and violence that was being caused.

According to the prime minister, the peaceful end of the riots constituted “a victory for all of society” – and not a “win” or a “loss” for any particular faction.

Thanks to www.nationmultimedia.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

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