Thailand Cancels Emergency Order as Protests Continue
2020-10-23
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1Thailand's government has canceled an emergency order that failed to end continuing pro-democracy demonstrations.
2The state of emergency was declared last week.
3It banned public gatherings of more than four people.
4It also permitted censorship of the media and gave police powers to detain people temporarily without charge.
5But daily protests continued in Bangkok and other cities even with the emergency order in place.
6The order was lifted at 12 p.m. on Thursday.
7A government statement said it was canceled because "the current situation that led to the announcement of the severe situation had eased."
8Government officials and state agencies were told to deal with ongoing events with existing laws, the statement said.
9The protesters are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
10He is a former army general who has led the country under military rule since his group seized power in 2014.
11The protesters are also pushing for changes to the constitution and reforms of the country's monarchy.
12Prayuth went on national television Wednesday night to appeal to protesters to reduce political tensions.
13"I will make the first move to deescalate this situation," he said.
14"I am currently preparing to lift the state of severe emergency in Bangkok and will do so promptly if there are no violent incidents."
15As he spoke, protesters marched near Government House, the place of his office, to demand that he step down.
16They also called for the release of activists arrested in connection with earlier demonstrations.
17Protest leaders said that withdrawing the emergency order was not enough.
18"(Prayuth) is still seeking to stay in power while ignoring all the people's demands.
19The emergency decree shouldn't have been issued in the first place," said Sirawith Seritiwat, one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement.
20The demonstrators said if their demands were not met, they would return in three days.
21There were no large demonstrations on Thursday, as some protesters said they were taking a day to rest.
22Wednesday had marked the eighth straight day of protests.
23On Tuesday, the government approved a request to call a special meeting of parliament next week to seek to find a solution to the political crisis.
24But the pro-democracy movement has so far not shown much interest in a parliamentary solution.
25Prayuth's supporters hold a majority in parliament.
26The order's cancelation came as a Bangkok court was preparing to rule on legal motions to force the government to end the order on the basis that it illegally restricted freedom of assembly.
27The government suffered a legal setback Wednesday when a judge barred it from carrying out orders to ban several media companies for failing to obey rules under the emergency order.
28A police order permitted officials to block news websites that published what was described as "distorted information."
29In Geneva, the United Nations' human rights office said its experts had urged Thailand's government to honor the rights of peaceful assembly and free speech.
30The U.N. statement said Thai people should be permitted "to freely speak their mind and share their political views, both online and offline, without prosecution."
31I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Thailand's government has canceled an emergency order that failed to end continuing pro-democracy demonstrations. 2The state of emergency was declared last week. It banned public gatherings of more than four people. It also permitted censorship of the media and gave police powers to detain people temporarily without charge. But daily protests continued in Bangkok and other cities even with the emergency order in place. 3The order was lifted at 12 p.m. on Thursday. A government statement said it was canceled because "the current situation that led to the announcement of the severe situation had eased." 4Government officials and state agencies were told to deal with ongoing events with existing laws, the statement said. 5The protesters are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. He is a former army general who has led the country under military rule since his group seized power in 2014. The protesters are also pushing for changes to the constitution and reforms of the country's monarchy. 6Prayuth went on national television Wednesday night to appeal to protesters to reduce political tensions. "I will make the first move to deescalate this situation," he said. "I am currently preparing to lift the state of severe emergency in Bangkok and will do so promptly if there are no violent incidents." 7As he spoke, protesters marched near Government House, the place of his office, to demand that he step down. They also called for the release of activists arrested in connection with earlier demonstrations. 8Protest leaders said that withdrawing the emergency order was not enough. "(Prayuth) is still seeking to stay in power while ignoring all the people's demands. The emergency decree shouldn't have been issued in the first place," said Sirawith Seritiwat, one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement. 9The demonstrators said if their demands were not met, they would return in three days. 10There were no large demonstrations on Thursday, as some protesters said they were taking a day to rest. Wednesday had marked the eighth straight day of protests. 11On Tuesday, the government approved a request to call a special meeting of parliament next week to seek to find a solution to the political crisis. But the pro-democracy movement has so far not shown much interest in a parliamentary solution. Prayuth's supporters hold a majority in parliament. 12The order's cancelation came as a Bangkok court was preparing to rule on legal motions to force the government to end the order on the basis that it illegally restricted freedom of assembly. 13The government suffered a legal setback Wednesday when a judge barred it from carrying out orders to ban several media companies for failing to obey rules under the emergency order. A police order permitted officials to block news websites that published what was described as "distorted information." 14In Geneva, the United Nations' human rights office said its experts had urged Thailand's government to honor the rights of peaceful assembly and free speech. The U.N. statement said Thai people should be permitted "to freely speak their mind and share their political views, both online and offline, without prosecution." 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 17________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19censorship - n. the process of removing opinions from books, movies, letters and other media 20monarchy - n. a system of government in which a country is ruled by a king and queen whose power is limited by a constitution 21deescalate - v. decrease the size, scope, or intensity of something 22prompt - adj. acting quickly and without delay 23decree - n. an official order or decision from a government or leader 24assembly - n. the bringing of people together in a group 25setback - n. a problem that makes progress difficult or success less likely 26distort - v. to change the information so that it is not true or realistic 27prosecute - v. to officially accuse someone of a crime in a court of law