Thailand declares state of emergency in Bangkok

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declared a state of emergency in Bangkok on Tuesday at about 8.00am(SG Time) and gave the army control of public order after a man died in overnight clashes between pro and anti-government protesters.

Following are details of the security measures announced on television and radio:

• Public gatherings are banned in areas and roads declared restricted or off-limits by state officials.
• People can be barred from entering areas or buildings declared off-limits by the government.
• Newspapers and other media deemed to be publishing information provoking the situation can be banned throughout the country.
• The army commander-in-chief has the authority normally bestowed on the police to control public order.

Samak appointed the powerful army commander General Anupong Paojinda as chief of a new team tasked with enforcing the emergency decree, with Bangkok's police chief and the capital's regional army commander as his deputies. Thailand also banned gatherings of more than five people in Bangkok, and the emergency decree gave the army chief, power to break up any gathering and to force people to leave any location.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy in Bangkok are closely monitoring the situation. They had advised that if there's no pressing need to travel to Bangkok, one should postpone the travel to a later date. Those intending to travel to Thailand should closely monitor news developments there. Should one decide to travel, they should register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at MFA eRegister. This will enable the Ministry and Embassy in Bangkok to contact them and render them the necessary consular assistance in case of emergencies.

This is bad & I'm flying there in 4 days time...