In the last week, the societal situation of Thailand marked with protests and violence, series of disturbances from anti-government protestors. Thailand Prime Minister Samak declared on the morning of Sept. 2 the imposition of state of emergency in Bangkok, where gatherings of more than five people is prohibited, in order to prevent further clashes between pro-government supporters and anti-government demonstrators. Chinese missionaries from Hong Kong ministering in Thailand urged believers around the world to pray for the safety of local missionaries and also the soon-to-be-held mission conference.
According to Associated Press, while the Thailand’s Samak administration were dealing with rumors of scandals, anti-government groups made used of this chance to rally for protestors in Bangkok. Early last Tuesday, close to 35,000 demonstrators stormed a state-run TV station and surrounded at least three ministries before finally invading the grounds of Government House.
"At this moment there are more than 10,000 protesters inside," deputy government spokesman Nuttawut Saikua told AFP.
Until now, the “People’s Alliance for Democracy” (PAD) surrounded the government building, blocking the entrance with trucks and human shield, and some even ran inside the PM’s office. Furthermore, demonstrators occupied the airport’s landing zones and runways at Phuket Airport, causing the closure of three airports in Krabi and Hatyal. An estimated 15,000 tourists from different countries in the world were left stranded. Despite the reopening of the airport Sunday afternoon, tourists had to miss work and class.
On the morning of Sept. 2, pro-government groups clashed with the PAD, which left 10 people injured and 1 dead, and that was when the PM imposed the state of emergency in Bangkok. To prevent any further conflicts, rules were set that gatherings of five or more people are prohibited.
A Methodist missionary working in Thailand wrote in an email on Aug. 28 reporting that the national railways workers labor union has decided that day to go on strike in support of the PAD protestors, which will disrupt the service of the national railroad transportations. In addition, rumors have been spreading that water and electricity companies that are anti-government are planning to cut off the water and electricity services. If the rumors are true, then Bangkok will have no water and electricity.
While reporting the latest society news on their blog, Hong Kong missionaries of Bangkok CCMA Agape Church & Language Resources center urged everyone to pray for Thailand.
From the current situation, Bangkok’s state of emergency has not brought any disruptions or dangers to the local missionaries; Hong Kong missionaries have reported of their well-being. However, they urged for everyone to pray for the national security of Thailand and in particular to pray for the leaders of PAD to be able to engage in peaceful dialogues.
Since from Sept. 2, Chinese Coordination Centre of World Evangelism has been praying at each noon time for the CCCOWE Senior Mission Conference, which is to schedule to begin on Sept. 9 in Thailand. Seeing the recent social upheaval and instability in Thailand, CCCOWE center stated that Satan always bring disruptions in the country of meeting or causes the main-speaker to get sick or experience difficulties, preventing some to people from attending. They encouraged those who have already registered to participate while looking at the testimonies of those who attended past conferences believing in the protection of God and then returning home safely, and with faith to welcome the conference held in Thailand.
From Oct. 25-30, World Evangelical Alliance will be hosting a large scale conference in Thailand. No special announcements or changes have been made.
