Thailand decided to lift the state of emergency in Bangkok Wednesday that was imposed late January after mass violence broke out amid political unrest.
Government security official Tharit Phengdit said Tuesday, the Cabinet annulled the emergency decree after security agencies found that violence had subsided. It will be replaced with the less-severe Internal-security law from March 19 to April 30.
The Thai government declared a state of emergency after demonstrators threatened to shut down Bangkok by blocking key intersections and government offices. The protests seemed to ease lately with demonstrators gathering only at Lumpini Park in the capital.
The government announced the decision of lifting the emergency after Tuesday's cabinet meeting. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrived for the meeting in a wheelchair after she slipped as she stepped out of her car Saturday in the northern city of Chiang Mai, reports Reuters.
"The cabinet lifted the state of emergency to instil more confidence in the private sector and tourist industry," she told reporters.
Officials under the emergency had the right to detain suspects without charge, censor media, impose curfews and prohibit political assembling of more than five people. However, the Internal-security law does not ban public gatherings and can arrest people only if warrants are issued, but can impose curfews, block roads and restrict access to areas or buildings, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said lifting the emergency will improve the country's image in the international arena following the massive protests that left 23 dead and over 700 wounded since November last year.
"What the government has to do is ... to get rid of the military bunkers on the streets, which make the areas look like war zones," Surapong told reporters on Tuesday, reports the Associate Press.
