Thailand rolls back state of emergency in nod to protesters

Thai officials on Thursday reversed a week-old state of emergency in Bangkok implemented in response to massive protests calling for the prime minister’s resignation.

Under the state of emergency, public gatherings of more than four people were banned and officials were authorized to censor media. The restrictions will be effective at noon Thursday, The Associated Press reported.

The move came soon after a judge on Wednesday blocked authorities from censoring some media outlets, saying they had not properly followed procedures.

Protesters have called for the ouster of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former leader of the country’s military junta, over the disputed results of the 2019 election. They are also calling for a new national constitution and reforms to Thailand’s monarchy.

“I will make the first move to deescalate this situation,” the prime minister said in a televised Wednesday address. “I am currently preparing to lift the state of severe emergency in Bangkok and will do so promptly if there are no violent incidents.”

Monarchist counterdemonstrators have also turned out, holding separate rallies in several cities Wednesday. The two sides clashed at a smaller Bangkok demonstration the same day.

Cholanan Srikaew, a lawmaker in the opposition Pheu Thai party, called the prime minister’s lifting of the state of emergency an act of self-preservation.

“He’s really doing it to protect himself. Why? Because if he didn’t lift the emergency decree today, and the court ordered the temporary protection of the protesters, it would mean all his orders and announcement relating to this were illegal,” he said, according to the AP.

The United Nations’ human rights office has also called on Thai officials to allow peaceful demonstrations, saying “the Thai people should be allowed to freely speak their mind and share their political views, both online and offline, without prosecution.”