Thai Parliament to Convene Special Session Over Opposition Protests in Bangkok

BANGKOK (Sputnik) - Thai lawmakers will meet for an extraordinary parliament session to discuss the demands put forward by participants of the ongoing anti-government rallies in Bangkok, Parliament President Chuan Leekpai said on Monday.

"The lawmakers of the government and opposition parties agreed today that there was a need to convene an emergency parliament session to find a way out of the situation in Bangkok and in the country in connection with the mass protests, and it was decided to convene such a session", Chuan told reporters.

The official did not specify the exact date and time of the session.

The parliamentary opposition has been pushing for an emergency meeting since Thursday when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha declared a state of emergency in Bangkok set to last no longer than 30 days. The decree banned gatherings of more than five people and granted law enforcement agencies special powers.

The opposition has called the introduction of the state of emergency illegal since the demonstrations were peaceful and neither threatened national security nor public order.

Protests in Thailand are now in their third month, with thousands of pro-democracy protesters calling for large-scale constitutional reforms. The protesters demand the dissolution of what they call Prayut's military dictatorship. They also call for limiting the monarchy's power and scrapping the strict laws prohibiting criticism of the king.