BANGKOK, 16 July 2015 – The Royal Thai Police has insisted that the Public Gatherings Act which will be effective soon, is a crucial tool for officers to ensure peace and order in the kingdom.
The Police echoed the Prime Minister’s sentiment that the new legislation will facilitate the work of security officers. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-Ocha earlier asserted that the Public Gatherings Act which has been published in the Royal Gazette will be applied to all groups of people, not only student activist groups.
He said that protesters could peacefully voice their views within the democratic framework and without firearms.
The National Legislative Assembly had passed the public gatherings bill earlier this year. Among the restrictions introduced by the new legislation are advance notice that organisers of public gatherings must submit to the chief of the police station in the locality where the protest will be staged, a ban on protests to be held within a 150-metre radius from certain places such as the Grand Palace and the parliament, and prohibition of blockade of the entrance and exit of government buildings, airports and offices of international organisations.
