State of Emergency lifted in Bangkok

As the situation in Bangkok has vastly improved and continues to remain calm and generally peaceful, the caretaker government have announced today to end the State of Emergency in Bangkok and the vicinities and will be downgraded to the Internal Security Act (ISA) from Wednesday 19 March. The ISA is still needed to maintain law and order during the senate election on 30 March and the reruns of the general election, expected in April.

The removal of the state of emergency reflects on the overall situation within the capitol and the surrounding provinces which is one of calm and normalcy as Bangkok now functions at a normal level and people go about their daily routines as normal and with no hindrance.

While the above information is good news and a step in the right direction, we must still be cautious due to the fact that two protest sites still remain active: Lumpini (Silom) and Pan Fah Bridge. We expect that these protest sites will remain peaceful, but again we strongly advise that visitors should still avoid any areas of demonstrations, especially in the evening, as sporadic incidents and out breaks of violence may occur without warning.

All areas outside Bangkok and other tourist destinations within Thailand such as Phuket, Samui, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Chiang Mai remain fully operational and are not overly affected by the demonstrations. We also wish to make clear that these out-of-Bangkok destinations fall outside the jurisdiction of this State of Emergency.

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