UPDATE Military Imposes Nationwide Curfew in Thailand from 10pm to 5am: Tourism Expected to be Badly Hit
By Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison in Bangkok
Thursday, May 22, 2014
UPDATING All Day, Every Day
PEOPLE can travel as anticipated to Thailand's airports, a spokesperson for Airports of Thailand said tonight. ''We understand there are no restrictions on people travelling by aircraft,'' the spokesperson said.
RETAIL outlets, including convenience stores, closed at 10pm.
THOUSANDS of supporters of the People's Democratic Reform Committee are due to leave Bangkok tonight after their leaders agreed to call off their protests and to disperse, Thai PBS reported. Earlier, Red Shirt followers rallying at Aksa and Utthayan road had been dispersed and bused home by the military.
Original Report
BANGKOK: A nationwide curfew is to come into operation from 10pm to 5am from tonight, the military authorities announced about 90 minutes after taking over Thailand in a coup today.
The curfew will apply until further notice, deputy army spokesman Winthai Suwaree announced on national television on Thursday evening.
The curfew will affect tens of thousands of tourists in resort areas like Phuket, Chiang Mai and Pattaya.
It is also expected to create chaos for travellers arriving and leaving Thailand and will affect dozens of flights, because passengers are prohibited from travelling after 10pm.
''We are telling passengers that services are continuing as usual,'' Sita Divari, chairman of Airports of Thailand, told the Bangkok Post. ''No one has issued any order to ban anyone from entering or exiting AOT's airports.''
The curfew is likely to end hopes that tourism to Thailand could escape serious damage from the conversion of Tuesday's announcement of military law into a coup today.
The swift action by the Army indicates the process has been carefully planned, with security as the prime concern.
A BBC journalist reported: ''Most people are expecting the Red shirts to rally now and are extremely concerned about the possibility of confrontation.''
The consequences of the coup, though, have yet to become known.
There was widespread uncertainty at the prospect of a nationwide lockdown in the 10pm-5am curfew, announced in Bangkok soon after 6pm.
The travel insurance policies of thousands of Australians in Thailand may be voided now that political unrest has turned into an army coup, with at least one leading insurer refusing to cover those planning to visit the country, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
A senior airport official at Phuket International Airport said that the airport was already shut between 1am and 7am because repairs were being carried out to the sole runway.
However, residents and tourists across Thailand were awaiting further information from the generals now running the country with absolute control.
An army spokesman said people should remain calm and continue to go about their normal activities.
''We will provide security for foreigners,'' he said.
With Thai television and radio stations taken off the air, many Thais will not know about the curfew, although the internet and social media sites like Twitter are still operating.
UPDATE Military Imposes Nationwide Curfew in Thailand from 10pm to 5am: Tourism Expected to be Badly Hit
By Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison in Bangkok
Thursday, May 22, 2014
UPDATING All Day, Every Day
PEOPLE can travel as anticipated to Thailand's airports, a spokesperson for Airports of Thailand said tonight. ''We understand there are no restrictions on people travelling by aircraft,'' the spokesperson said.
RETAIL outlets, including convenience stores, closed at 10pm.
THOUSANDS of supporters of the People's Democratic Reform Committee are due to leave Bangkok tonight after their leaders agreed to call off their protests and to disperse, Thai PBS reported. Earlier, Red Shirt followers rallying at Aksa and Utthayan road had been dispersed and bused home by the military.
Original Report
BANGKOK: A nationwide curfew is to come into operation from 10pm to 5am from tonight, the military authorities announced about 90 minutes after taking over Thailand in a coup today.
The curfew will apply until further notice, deputy army spokesman Winthai Suwaree announced on national television on Thursday evening.
The curfew will affect tens of thousands of tourists in resort areas like Phuket, Chiang Mai and Pattaya.
It is also expected to create chaos for travellers arriving and leaving Thailand and will affect dozens of flights, because passengers are prohibited from travelling after 10pm.
''We are telling passengers that services are continuing as usual,'' Sita Divari, chairman of Airports of Thailand, told the Bangkok Post. ''No one has issued any order to ban anyone from entering or exiting AOT's airports.''
The curfew is likely to end hopes that tourism to Thailand could escape serious damage from the conversion of Tuesday's announcement of military law into a coup today.
The swift action by the Army indicates the process has been carefully planned, with security as the prime concern.
A BBC journalist reported: ''Most people are expecting the Red shirts to rally now and are extremely concerned about the possibility of confrontation.''
The consequences of the coup, though, have yet to become known.
There was widespread uncertainty at the prospect of a nationwide lockdown in the 10pm-5am curfew, announced in Bangkok soon after 6pm.
The travel insurance policies of thousands of Australians in Thailand may be voided now that political unrest has turned into an army coup, with at least one leading insurer refusing to cover those planning to visit the country, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
A senior airport official at Phuket International Airport said that the airport was already shut between 1am and 7am because repairs were being carried out to the sole runway.
However, residents and tourists across Thailand were awaiting further information from the generals now running the country with absolute control.
An army spokesman said people should remain calm and continue to go about their normal activities.
''We will provide security for foreigners,'' he said.
With Thai television and radio stations taken off the air, many Thais will not know about the curfew, although the internet and social media sites like Twitter are still operating.
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