Thailand lifts emergency decree in Bangkok and surrounding provinces

BANGKOK, Dec 21(TNA) - The Thai Cabinet approved Tuesday (Dec21) the lifting of the emergency decree in Bangkok and three surrounding provinces- Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan, effective Wednesday (Dec 22).

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirmed after the Cabinet weekly meeting the revocation of the state of emergency in the capital and the three peripheral provinces--as proposed by security agencies concerned.

Abhisit said normal security laws under the supervision of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) will be enforced in place of the revoked emergency decree, and that the government's Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation(CRES) will also be automatically dissolved once the revocation of the state of emergency takes effect.

The emergency decree had been imposed in several areas in Thailand, including Bangkok, since April 7 to deal with anti-government red-shirt protests--which resulted in riots and bloody crackdowns by the government in mid-May, killing 90 people, mostly civilians.(TNA)