The State of Emergency (SOE) will not be used to press charges against protestors, the National Security Council (NSC) said on Wednesday.
Although extending the emergency decree until the end of August was necessary, the SOE will not be used against protestors, said Somsak Roongsita, the NSC’s secretary-general.
“We will not use orders within Section 9 of the emergency decree to ban demonstrations… it will no longer be included in this extension,” he said.
Section 9(2) of the emergency decree currently imposes a ban on political gatherings. The police have been using it to press charges against anti-regime protestors in recent months.
“This is being done to show that the SOE… is being used solely to prevent an outbreak,” he added.
Somsak said demonstrators will still have to abide by other regular laws that are already being used to regulate rallies.
The police will now have to rely on other charges against protestors, he added.
With regards to the extension of the SOE, Somsak said lawmakers are amending the Communicable Diseases Act to replace the emergency decree.
While the amendment is still in the process of revision, the emergency decree must be extended as there are no valid alternatives right now.
“The amendment will be done as soon as possible,” he said.
“The lawmakers are combining certain benefits from the SOE with the Communicable Diseases Act so that it can be used more effectively against any future outbreak,” he added.
Somsak said the current Communicable Diseases Act does not provide the state with the power to quarantine returnees and foreigners for 14 days in state facilities; therefore, the state-mandated quarantine must be included in the amendment before it can replace the SOE.
