THAILAND’S state of martial law, imposed since May 22 last year, was announced overnight to have been lifted across the country.
The move reportedly follows Thailand’s king Bhumibol Adulyadej approval to lift the law that was imposed to topple the former government following months of upheaval and sometimes violent street protests in Bangkok.
But tourism, which comprises almost 10 per cent of the country’s GDP, took a beating as a result, as did its MICE industry. Travel operators and tourism stakeholders have been for months urging the government to lift the ruling.
Reuters reported that Thailand has at the same time enacted a security clause known as Article 44 in its interim constitution giving military the power to continue to make arrests without court warrants as well as detain individuals without charges.
