Thai PM says preparing to lift emergency in Bangkok

BANGKOK, Oct 21 —Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said today he was preparing to lift emergency measures in Bangkok, which were imposed to stop protests, and that disputes should be settled through parliament.

The emergency measures, imposed last Thursday, prompted demonstrations by tens of thousands of people.

“I will make the first move to de-escalate this situation. I am currently preparing to lift the state of severe emergency in Bangkok and will do so promptly if there are no violent incidents,” he said in pre-prepared remarks ahead of an address due to be delivered at 7 p.m. (1200 GMT).

“We must now step back from the edge of the slippery slope that can easily slide to chaos,” he said. — Reuters