Govt issues six protest edicts

Office workers are out on Sukhumvit Road on Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 to support anti-government rallies.

The caretaker government on Thursday issued six measures to tackle the protests, including a ban on gatherings of five people or more.

Anti-government protesters cheer and blow whistles as they respond to a speech by protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban at their protest staged at Pathumwan intersection on Thursday night, Jan 23, 2014. (EPA photo)

Under the measures, newspapers and other media are prohibited from presenting news which could raise public fears or distorting information that could affect national security.

The Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order (CMPO) will be in charge of enforcing the measures under the emergency decree.

The measures were published in the Royal Gazette on Thursday.

To ensure security and maintain public order, the CMPO can prohibit the use of certain routes or the use of vehicles, and ban the use of buildings as well as declaring any premises off-limits to the public.

The centre can also order people to be evacuated from certain areas for their safety.

The CMPO will be responsible for setting the time-frames for enforcing the measures and applying conditions for operations to avoid causing more trouble to the public than necessary.

The government declared Bangkok and its surrounding provinces were under a state of emergency from Wednesday, effective for 60 days, following attacks on at anti-government protest rallies organised by the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC).

Caretaker Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, who is in charge of the CMPO, can directly order the army and the police force to step up security.

Speaking before the special cabinet meeting on Thursday, Mr Chalerm said he would not use force to disperse the protesters as the government only wanted to maintain peace.

He said he would assign national police chief Pol Gen Adul Saengsingkaew, who is deputy director of the CMPO, to oversee operations under the measures.

Responding to the PDRC's threat to hunt down and and arrest her, caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra asked the protesters to respect her personal rights and liberties. "No other prime minister has ever faced a situation like this," Ms Yingluck said.

Air force chief Prajin Jantong refused to allow Mr Chalerm to use the Royal Thai Air Force headquarters as the CMPO's operations base.

Speaking after a Defence Council meeting, ACM Prajin said the air force headquarters is an air base with strict rules, and not a convenient place to serve as the CMPO's base.

PDRC co-leader Sathit Wongnongtoey said he had received information that Mr Chalerm had plain-clothes police deployed secretly at the Asok intersection and in the Pratunam area to arrest PDRC leader Suthep Thaugsuban. He urged supporters at the rally sites to keep an eye on police movements.

Issara Somchai, another PDRC co-leader, said the PDRC's lawyers will file a suit against the invocation of the emergency decree. They are considering which court has the jurisdiction to rule on the matter, he said.

The National Human Rights Commission called on the government to scrap the emergency decree in Bangkok and nearby provinces, saying harsh measures would only make the situation worse.

The photo gallery captures the events surrounding anti-goverment protests, led by Suthep Thaugsuban, in Bangkok on Thursday, Jan 23, 2014. (Bankgok Post photos)