ISA imposition in Bangkok, nearby provinces extended

BANGKOK, December 25 (TNA) - As anti-government protests have persisted, mainly in Bangkok, where party-list candidacy has been blocked, the Thai Cabinet of Caretaker Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has resolved to extend the enforcement of of the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the capital and certain areas in nearby provinces for another two months. The decision on extending the imposition of the ISA in all areas in Bangkok and Nonthaburi Province, as well as some areas in Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan Provinces, from January 1-March 1, 2014, was made at the Cabinet's weekly meeting at the Royal Thai Air Force headquarters in the city on Wednesday, as proposed by the National Security Council (NSC). NSC Secretary-General Paradorn Pattanatabutr told journalists that the extended imposition of the special law is for the caretaker government to cope with the prolonged anti-government protests. Meanwhile, election registrations for party-list candidates were halted on its third day on Wednesday morning, as anti-government protesters of the Network of Students and People for Reform of Thailand (NSPRT) besieged its venue, the Thai-Japanese Stadium in Bangkok, using two loudspeaker vehicles to break through a line of police to reach Gate 2 of the venue in the capital's Din Daeng area and blocked access to the building. The Election Commission of Thailand (EC), thus, withdrew its staffs from the place.(TNA)