Maeve Hasselman for BBC

State of Emergency Imposed on Bangkok After Protests Turn Violent

by Maeve Hasselman for BBC

The Thai government has imposed a 60-day state of emergency in its capital, Bangkok, and the surrounding provinces as a response to the increasing forcefulness of anti-government protesters in the area. The protesters are voicing concerns that the government is being controlled by the exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra through his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, the current Prime Minister of Thailand.

Anti-government protesters have been protesting in the capital since November, cutting off water and power to ministers' homes and attacking government ministries. The situation escalated rapidly when a grenade landed on a lorry driven by protesters during a march, injuring 35 and killing one protestor on Friday the 17^th. Further escalating the situation, on Sunday the 19^th, two explosions went off at an anti-government demonstration site in Bangkok, wounding at least 28 people.

When asked about the situation, the deputy prime minister, Surapong Tovichaikul, stated, "The cabinet decided to invoke the emergency decree to take care of the situation and to enforce the law." This decree, which will go into effect on Wednesday, is an attempt by the government to instil some sense of law and order in the capital. This will enable security forces to detain suspects without charge, impose a curfew, censor the media, close off parts of the capital, and prevent political groupings of five or more people. BBC reached out to Ms. Yingluck, asking how the government planned on dealing with the protestors, to which she replied, "We will use peaceful negotiations with the protesters in line with international standards... We have told the police to stick with international standards, to be patient with the protesters.”

One of the protesters' main leaders, Issara Somchai, announced the protests would continue despite the decree, as they considered the protests within the people's constitutional rights. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, while addressing the crowd of protestors gathered around, said, "Is it right for them to use the emergency decree to declare a state of emergency to come and deal with us? Come and get us." It appears that even through the state of emergency, the protestors have no plans of giving up on their quest to oust Ms. Yingluck from her position as prime minister.

With all these new developments in Thailand, it will be interesting to see if any of the committees meeting this year at the annual Johns Hopkins University Model United Conference will be affected by the state of emergency. This will surely be something to keep an eye on throughout the conference. This is Maeve Hasselman at the scene in Thailand, reporting to you for the BBC.