Thailand: Ban on street food takes effect in capital amid junta crackdown

**rickschoppers** · 12-05-2017, 03:28 PM

So it appears the government will allow the food vendors to stay for now. I never really thought the getting rid of street food would last very long. Just another misstep by the powers to be.

**kmart** · 12-05-2017, 04:21 PM

^They seem to have a real inferiority complex with Singapore for some reason.

**redhaze** · 12-05-2017, 04:36 PM

I heard they cleared several areas of street food. Including Ekkamai, Sukhumvit near the malls, Thong Lo, and a few more. Are those areas back or still off limits to vendors?

**forreachingme** · 12-05-2017, 08:13 PM

Dammit, i get a 15% discount on street food shops with my Thaielite card, i hope they will survive this crackdown

**Farang Ky Ay** · 13-05-2017, 12:38 PM

As said a few weeks ago, I was waiting for the back pedaling and here it is... It took so some time to be aired but I'm pretty sure I read about just a few days after the ban announcement...need time to save face, allowing the story to be picked up by foreign newspapers ...

This ban is not implemented in popular Street food spot like Yaowarat and Khao San rd, for other spots the ban has been turned into training on hygiene, waste management and I guess not hindering people flow on pavements...l expect a few bahts would help to pass the exam, and indeed some adjustments in their occupation ...

**redhaze** · 13-05-2017, 01:58 PM

Has anyone seen whether the carts are gone or are being let back into areas like Ekkamai, Sukhumvit, Thong Lo, victory monument? Those are pretty big food spots and I heard they all were cleared out when this all came down

**TuskegeeBen** · 14-05-2017, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by Farang Ky Ay

This ban is not implemented in popular Street food spot like Yaowarat and Khao San rd, for other spots the ban has been turned into training on hygiene, waste management and I guess not hindering people flow on pavements...l expect a few bahts would help to pass the exam, and indeed some adjustments in their occupation ...

The detailed training in hygiene (like not handling food, directly after handling money, without the vendor first "sanitizing" their hands) is what I hope you mean.

Compared to what I've witnessed in some other Southeast Asian nations, Thais remain the most "innately" cleanest of the lot.

**Mike Watson** · 15-05-2017, 12:19 AM

Are the kebab joints on Soi 3 still trading ?

**David48atTD** · 18-03-2018, 04:00 AM

Speak up and go to jail

Under the military regime, not much can be done about the situation.
Protests against the street food ban have so far been in vain.

As Ms Sae-Heng explains, "If you speak your mind you end up in jail. So, it's better to be silent."

Bangkok police did not respond to a request for comment.
Journalists, former politicians and professors who oppose the new regime have been imprisoned without trial,
while the country's strict "lese-majesty" laws have inflicted long jail sentences on people criticising the royal
house on social media.

Since the coup four years ago, the junta has promised that democratic elections will be held.

With increasing pressure from the international community and Thai citizens, junta leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha
announced last October that "elections will be held in November 2018", but that has recently been delayed again until March next year.

Democracy activist Rangsiman Rome has been imprisoned for his involvement with the Democracy Restoration Group.

Democracy activist Rangsiman Rome has been imprisoned for his involvement with the Democracy Restoration Group.
The law student from Thammasat University says the constitution needs to be rewritten before any hope of an election.
"The current one is not democratic," he said.

The latest constitution from April 2016 gives power to non-elected decision-makers within the military elite.
Thailand is a constitutional monarchy where the royal court has a huge influence on society.

"The military coexists through the king. They support each other and form two pillars of society," Mr Rome explains.

"The military swears to protect the king, not the people."

Despite the political chaos, he is hopeful.
Social media, he says, is the most crucial tool in reaching out to potential young voters.

In a country where freedom of expression is non-existent, it must be done through a careful balance, for example by
using local Thai celebrities as advocates.

"We have support from the young generation," Mr Rome said.

It's too early to predict the outcome of this political struggle. But the world's most famous street food hangs in the balance.

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