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Thailand's caretaker prime minister lifts state of emergency in Bangkok
Associated Press - September 14, 2008
Sutin Wannabovorn, Bangkok – Thailand's acting prime minister lifted a state of emergency in Bangkok on Sunday, urging all sides in a political standoff to find a peaceful compromise and restore the country's image as "The Land of Smiles."
Acting Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said he hoped that ending the state of emergency, which was imposed on Sept. 2, would help ease some of the tensions in Thailand and bring more tourists back to the country.
"The state of emergency is lifted," Somchai told a news conference after meeting with the country's army chief and other senior security officials.
He acknowledged that Thai society remained deeply divided but said the situation no longer justified keeping the capital under emergency rule, which empowers the army to restore order with the assistance of police.
"I appeal to all parties to turn to each other to resolve the problem and together heal the damage done to the nation," he said. "We should bring back the smile to the country once again as we are called 'The Land of Smiles.' We have to restore confidence to outsiders, especially tourists, that we are a peaceful country and have no more conflict."
Emergency rule was imposed Sept. 2 by then Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej after violent clashes between government supporters and opponents left one person dead.
Calm was quickly restored but several countries issued travel advisories that authorities say had a numbing effect on tourism, which is a valuable source of revenue for Thailand.
Samak was forced to resign in an unrelated twist to the crisis, when the Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that he had violated a conclict-of-interest law by accepting money for hosting television cooking shows while in office.
Anti-government protesters have occupied the prime minister's office compound since Aug. 26 in a campaign that was initially aimed at getting rid of Samak. Protesters now say they will remain camped out on the grounds of Government House until Parliament names a suitable replacement for Samak. Somchai, a former deputy prime minister, is serving as the interim leader.
Protesters accused Samak of being a stooge of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who recently fled to Britain to escape corruption charges. Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 military coup after street demonstrations by the same group.
Parliament is scheduled to vote in a new prime minister Wednesday but there was no consensus in the six-party ruling coalition over who should replace Samak.
The parliamentary vote was initially scheduled for last Friday but was postponed after the ruling party tried to renominate Samak, prompting its coalition partners to boycott the session. Samak has since withdrawn his bid to win back his job.
Samak's People's Power Party, which holds 233 of the 480 seats in Parliament, remained huddled in talks over the weekend.
Three members of the ruling party have been mentioned as possible candidates, including Somchai, who was deputy prime minister and education minister in Samak's Cabinet and is a brother-in-law of Thaksin; Justice Minister Sompong Amornwiwat, a veteran but low-profile politician; and Finance Minister Surapong Seubwonglee, another deputy prime minister and finance minister and a Thaksin confidante.
The protest group, which calls itself the People's Alliance for Democracy, is a mixture of monarchists, members of the military and the urban elite. They complain that Western-style democracy gives too much power to the poor people living in Thailand's countryside, whom they say are susceptible to vote buying.
The alliance, which says it will not accept a candidate from Samak's party, said Sunday it was unfazed by the lifting of the state of emergency.
"Removing the state of emergency has no effect on our rally because it does no solve the current problems in Thai politics," said an alliance spokesman, Parnthep Wongpuapan. "We will stay here and we will continue calling for the current system to be cleaned up."
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