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| Southeast Asia |
| Abhisit insists Thailand stable, but emergency decree remains |
| 2010-06-07 |
| HO CHI MINH CITY — Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Sunday a state of emergency would remain in force although his country had stabilised since a bloody end to weeks of anti-government protests. "We are back, stable and secure," he told the World Economic Forum on East Asia, a gathering of global business leaders and regional politicians, on his first trip abroad since the bloodshed. "We have to accept that even though the situation seems to be more back to normal now, the problems of terrorism and security still exist," he said in his weekly television address. "We are reviewing the appropriate time to lift the state of emergency." Human rights campaigners have voiced concern that the government's use of emergency powers lacks transparency and violates freedom of expression. But Abhisit said in Vietnam that most people would not notice the impact of the decree. In the television address he also said he was reshuffling his cabinet, seeking to shore up his hold on power after the protests and a rift in his fragile ruling coalition. The reshuffle is to give the government unity and enable it to "keep on working" to solve the security problems and implement reconciliation, Abhisit said. There are no changes to the key roles of finance, defence and foreign ministers. |
| Posted by:Steve White |