Resumption of emergency rule in Chiang Mai to be considered: Thai PM

The central government will consider Chiang Mai authorities' call for a resumption of the state of emergency in the province again, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Monday.

The government will try its best to maintain order in Chiang Mai without the reimposition of emergency decree, Abhisit said, after Chiang Mai's governor had proposed resumption of the special security law in the wake of a grenade explosion there on Sunday.

On the grounds of current situation, the prime minister does not think it is necessary to reinstate the emergency decree to Chiang Mai, one of the strongholds for anti-government movement red-shirts.

Abhisit said, however, the government will decide whether to reimpose the special security law in any specific areas based on the recommendation from the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES), and local agencies can ask the CRES to consider enforcing the decree in their areas, if needed.

Earlier the day Gen. Anupong Paojinda, Thai Army Chief, said the emergency decree will not be reimposed in Chiang Mai and no violence is expected during the red-shirts' event next Sunday. "Declaring a state of emergency in Chiang Mai again will affect the people's daily life,"said Anupong.

Sunday's grenade attack in Chiang Mai, reportedly targeting the company owned by the Bhumjaithai power Newin Chidchob's father-in- law, has prompted renewed concerns over the security in the northern province. Bhumjaithai is one of the coalition parties of Thai government.

The red-shirts, many of them supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin shinawatra, are planning to hold a demonstration in Chiang Mai on Sept. 19 to mark the forth anniversary of the 2006 coup d'etat, which ousted the then Prime Minister Thaksin.

The state of emergency was declared in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces on April 7, followed by the imposition of this special security law in some northern and northeastern provinces, after the red-shirts demonstrations in some areas turned into violent. Chiang Mai had been under the emergency rule till Aug. 16.

Source: Xinhua