Thailand remains under Martial Law – and the travel and tourism industry loves it. It appears the country is orderly and safe – this is mirroring also to the tourism industry. Visitors feel at ease. Less fraud, less thefts, the country is functioning.
If you visit or work in Thailand, you would not think the government all over the kingdom had put drastic restrictions in place.
Human Rights Watch however said in a statement this week that Thailand “had fallen into an apparently bottomless pit.”
To make it worse for Human Rights Watch Thailand’s defense minister says a general election originally promised for next year will be delayed until 2016 as the martial law imposed all over the country in May remains in place.
Prawit Wongsuwan said Thursday that the general election will not be held next year, citing certain groups’ opposition to the ruling junta as one of the reasons behind the delay.
Prawit, who is also a deputy prime minister, said that the vote would be delayed as more time was also needed to draft a new constitution.
Prime Minister and junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a military coup in May, had earlier promised elections for late 2015.
The Thai army seized power and ousted former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in May following months of anti-government protests and violence in the country.
Earlier this month, Bangkok also defied an earlier pledge to lift the martial law in some provinces and said the law, which has banned all political demonstrations, will remain in place all over the country “indefinitely”.
