Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva attends a parliamentary session to discuss the country's 2011 budget plan at parliament in Bangkok May 27, 2010. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai authorities lifted an overnight curfew in Bangkok and 23 provinces Saturday with the law-and-order situation improving after deadly riots last week, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said.
“We will not have to extend it,” Abhisit told reporters, referring to the curfew. “The situation is under control now.”
The curfew was put in place on May 19 after Bangkok suffered the worst riots in the country’s modern history. At least 85 people were killed and nearly 2,000 injured since April 10.
However, emergency laws, first imposed in early April, will remain in place, Abhisit said. The decree gives the army broad powers, allows authorities to suspend certain civil liberties, bans public gatherings of more than five people and stops media reporting news that “causes panic.”
Reporting by Manunphattr Dhanananphorn; Writing by Ploy Ten Kate; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.