Martial law to be lifted 'in days'
The government is expected to lift martial law in selected areas deemed to have returned to normalcy and will announce the details in a few days, Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said yesterday.
"The cancellation of martial law will definitely take place before Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont attends the Apec summit," Boonrawd said, referring to Surayud's visit to Vietnam next Friday to meet with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum's leaders. He said Council for National Security chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin had asked for two to three days to complete security checks before ending the enforcement of draconian security measures. "All sectors of society should cooperate with authorities in order to enable a speedy end to martial law," he said. With regards to the ban on political meetings, its cancellation yesterday by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) was a mere formality to ease the curbing of basic rights because its provisions had never been strictly enforced, he said. By a unanimous vote, the NLA revoked the ban after three consecutive readings. During the debate on the issue, many NLA members urged the government to speed up the lifting of martial law.
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