Bangkok Demonstrations – 28 January update
January 28, 2014 – 11:38 am
The State of Emergency in Bangkok that was announced last week has had no tangible impact to date on the protest sites or the ongoing blockades, and no freedom of movement restrictions or night time curfews have been imposed.
Talks between all parties concerned will be held from today until Friday as all sides try to find some resolution to the current situation. The planned elections for Sunday 2nd February are still confirmed to take place. The protestors are still adamant that they would like to postpone the elections until after a political reform takes place. All these subjects will be discussed and debated over the next few days.
The blockade of the core downtown protest area from MBK to Siam Paragon to Central World to the Rajaprasong intersection to Central Chidlom still remains in place. Additional road blockages may occur at other locations as the core group of protestors moves around the city to the other protest sites during the day. Please note that sporadic incidents and out breaks of violence may occur without warning, so visitors would be advised to stay clear of these blocked intersections and areas of demonstrations, especially in the evenings.
Bangkok continues to function at a near normal level with most businesses and offices continuing to operate, and people are able to move around the city freely. The Shopping Malls in the affected areas of the city also remain open for business, however most advised that they have implemented earlier closing times.
The public transport systems, including the BTS Skytrain, MRT Subway and Airport Rail Link continue to operate as scheduled, as do the rail services and bus links from Bangkok to the provinces.
All areas outside Bangkok and other tourist destinations within Thailand such as Phuket, Koh Samui, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Chiang Mai remain fully operational and are not affected by the demonstrations. These out-of-Bangkok destinations fall outside the jurisdiction of this State of Emergency.
