[Benjamin]

The Thai government has imposed a 60-day state of emergency in the capital, Bangkok, and the surrounding provinces, from Wednesday, to cope with unrest.

The decree gives the government wide-ranging powers to deal with disorder.

Anti-government protesters have been blocking parts of the capital to try to force PM Yingluck Shinawatra to resign.

They accuse the government of being run by exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, the brother of the current prime minister.

Ms Yingluck has refused to resign and has called an election on 2 February to pacify the protesters.

Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra
Protesters have been waging a campaign to oust PM Yingluck Shinawatra
The state of emergency was announced after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday and comes after a spate of attacks with explosives and firearms on the anti-government protesters blockading central Bangkok for which the government and the protesters blame each other.

On Sunday, 28 people were injured when grenades were thrown at one of several protest sites set up at major road sections in the city.

"The cabinet decided to invoke the emergency decree to take care of the situation and to enforce the law," Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said.

The emergency decree gives the government power to censor the media, ban public gatherings and detain suspects without charge.

It also allows for curfews and for parts of Bangkok to be declared off-limits.

The Thai government has been contemplating a state of emergency for weeks, but in practice, it is not clear how many of those powers it will be able to use, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok.

Thailand's troubles

Sep 2006: Army ousts Thaksin Shinawatra
Dec 2007: Pro-Thaksin party wins election
Aug 2008: Thaksin flees Thailand
Dec 2008: Huge anti-Thaksin protests; court bans ruling party; Abhisit Vejjajiva comes to power
Mar-May 2010: Huge pro-Thaksin protests; dozens killed in army crackdown
Jul 2011: Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of Thaksin, elected PM
Nov 2013: Anti-government protests
Dec 2013: Ms Yingluck calls election
Emergency rule is supposed to be administered by the police and the army, but the police have until now been told to avoid any confrontation with the protesters, and military commanders have made it clear they do not want to be drawn into the increasingly bitter conflict between the government and its opponents, our correspondent says.

Ms Yingluck said the police, not the military, would mainly be used to maintain control under the decree.

"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," she told reporters.

Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, who will oversee the decree's implementation, said Thailand would abide by international standards.

"We will not use force. We have no policy to disperse them [the protesters] and we haven't announced a curfew yet," he said.

'Come and get us'
Addressing supporters in Bangkok, the leader of the protesters, Suthep Thaugsuban, questioned whether the state of emergency was justified.

"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. We are not afraid of you."

The decree extends past the date of the general election next month.

The official election commission has already expressed doubt over whether conditions are peaceful enough for the vote to go ahead.

Imposing emergency rule casts yet more doubt over the poll - yet the government, which is now acting in a caretaker capacity, insists there is no legal alternative, our correspondent adds.

The government says that as the Thai parliament has already been dissolved, only a new parliament can choose the next administration.

The demonstrators have been rallying in the streets of Bangkok for months.

They want an unelected "people's council" to run the country until Thailand's political system is changed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25825872

[Smithy]

Imagine trying to say Abhisit Vejjajiva when you're drunk

[Me. I Am Salman]

Poor them

[Kizzy]

My niece flew back from there last fri

[GypsyGoth]

I didn't know there was unrest there. It's crazy how close countries are to chaos lately.

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Smithy

Imagine trying to say Abhisit Vejjajiva when you're drunk

I cant say it when I'm not drunk

[Z]

I have the King of Thailand on my death list, maybe he'll be violently overthrown

I know people who were travelling there just recently, would hate to be over there while that's going on

[Crimson Dynamo]

man who go through airport door sideways


going to Bangkok

[Jezzy]

I'm sad about this, I was in Thailand in November and December - we at first mistook the peaceful protests for a street party (complete with live bands!) but subsequently spent a bit of time at them...my closest colleague at work is Thai and she filled me in with a lot of the background.

If anyone doesn't know, the current Prime Minister is the sister of a previous prime Minister who was caught in a huge fraud, deposed, and exiled. The current Prime Minister wants to change the law on exile, and she has been accused by the anti-government party that her brother still has a lot of influence in her decisions, and that if allowed to return to Thailand, he would get to keep his ill-gotten gains.

They are genuinely peaceful people, which shows just how strongly they feel about the situation.

[Jezzy]

Originally Posted by Zee

I have the King of Thailand on my death list, maybe he'll be violently overthrown

I know people who were travelling there just recently, would hate to be over there while that's going on

The King is absolutely worshipped by the Thai People, he is almost a demigod. They love him so much they stopped the protests for his birthday on December 5th (both sides) Why the hatred? I think he unifies them.

[Z]

Originally Posted by Jezzy

The King is absolutely worshipped by the Thai People, he is almost a demigod. They love him so much they stopped the protests for his birthday on December 5th (both sides) Why the hatred? I think he unifies them.

He's the longest reigning monarch in the world isn't he?