Emergency rule unnecessary in Bangkok
- Published: 29/07/2010 at 12:01 PM
- Online news: Opinion
Sunday's fatal bomb blast outside Big C department store, Ratchadamri, should not be the sole factor in deciding if emergency rule should be lifted or extended in Bangkok.
Senator Lertrat Rattanawanich couldn’t be more correct when he said the government should lift emergency rule in Bangkok and the other 15 provinces because the situation there has returned to normal.
The retired general was not the first to call for the total lifting of the emergency decree.
Business leaders have been voicing the same demand, saying the continuing state emergency has affected business, the tourism and hotel sectors in particular. It has also painted a negative image over the country.
Gen Lertrat’s assertion that emergency rule can be reimposed if ever the situation warrants it is also sensible. But it is doubtful that the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation, which is in charge of the areas under emergency rule, will respond favourably in the near future given Sunday night’s bomb explosion in front of Big C department store in Ratchaprasong shopping district that left one person dead and 10 others injured.
The security services suspect that the bomb blast was not an isolated incident and was politically motivated to discredit the government and hurt the economy.
However, red shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan suspects that the blast could be the work of elements supporting the government, in order to justify the extension of the emergency decree in Bangkok and elsewhere.
Jatuporn’s logic is that the government stands to benefit because it has always wanted to extend emergency rule and the bombing provides a good protext to do so.
This arguement is also flawed because, from another perspective, the red-shirt movement has also benefited from the bombing because it casts the government in a negative light as not being capable of controlling the situation.
However, a single bomb blast should not be the only issue indeciding whether emergency rule should be lifted or extended in Bangkok. Other factors, which are more important, such as the negative impact on the tourism industry -- a major foreign exchange earner and a major provider of jobs -- must also be taken into serious consideration.
For the time being, Bangkok is considered fairly safe, despite the weekend explosion. Continuing the emergency will not make the situation any better but, to the contrary, tends to make the situation appear insecure.
After all, the emergency decree has been proven to be ineffective in preventing bomb explosions in the city. Improvement of the surveillance system such as installation of more and high-quality surveillance cameras at important public places and a network of citizens serving as “eyes and ears” to watch out for suspicious activities would be a better alternative.
