Court warns Thai govt. against using emergency powers
Iran Press TV
Wed Feb 19, 2014 3:16PM GMT
A Thai court has warned administration of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra against using state of emergency powers to disperse peaceful protesters across Bangkok.
The Civil Court said in Bangkok on Wednesday that the government was 'not allowed to use clauses in the state of emergency to disperse the protests'.
However, the court dismissed a case brought by protest leaders who wanted a 60-day state of emergency announced last month declared illegal.
The ruling comes as anti-government protesters surround the temporary office of Prime Minister Yingluck, threatening to storm the building.
Thousands of protesters have encircled the heavily-guarded office in northern Bangkok.
Yingluck and her cabinet have been using the building since protesters closed down the Government House in December.
Security forces are now stationed inside the building to avoid a confrontation with protesters.
On Tuesday, police detained and removed about 100 protesters who had camped out near a government ministry in Bangkok.
At least four an anti-government protester have been killed during clashes that erupted amid a police operation to clear occupied government buildings.
The latest wave of protests come after Thailand held a general election on February 2 in an attempt to curb the protests, which were triggered in October 2013.
However, the protesters disrupted the polls by preventing thousands of polling stations from opening mainly in opposition strongholds in Bangkok and the south.
The demonstrators want Yingluck to quit, so that an unelected "people's council" could enact reforms.
The protest campaign was launched in November, with the goal of ousting Premier Yingluck and her administration.
Opponents see her as a proxy for her elder brother and former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a military coup in 2006.
JR/SL
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
