Caretaker prime minister Somchai Wongsawat lifted the state of emergency in Bangkok on Sunday, bringing more smiles to the Land of Smiles.
Somchai said tensions had eased in Bangkok since the emergency decree was imposed on on September 2 after violent clashes between anti-government protesters and government’s supporters that left one person dead and dozens injured.
"The country has been damaged heavily," he said, adding that Thailand is already facing a number of problems affecting the economy, poverty and natural calamities.
"Thailand is known as the 'Land of Smiles' among foreigners," he said, "and we should try our best to bring back that impression."
The imposing of the state of emergency by the ex-premier Samak Sundaravej drew negative criticism from all parts of public, as it did not work out to calm the situation and severely damaged the country's reputation and slow economy. Furthermore, the police and the army refused to follow Samak’s orders to intervene.
For the PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) protesters it's struggle as usual as they refused to leave the Government House and vowed to fight on.
