DHAKA: Thailand’s martial law will not be lifted for the foreseeable future despite an earlier pledge to lift the law in some provinces to help the tourism industry which has struggled since a military coup in May.

The justice minister General Paiboon Koomchaya of Thailand said this on Friday, reports the NDTV.

The announcement came as Thailand prepares to enter its peak tourism season, over the Christmas and New Year period.

The tourism sector accounts for nearly 10 percent of GDP.

However, the government said this month that Thailand expects around 25 million tourists this year, down a million from 2013, for the protests in Bangkok that kept many visitors away.

The army imposed martial law nationwide in May, days before it took power in a coup that it said was necessary to end months of street demonstrations aimed at ousting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

“Martial law is necessary and we cannot lift it because the government and junta need it as the army’s tool,” Thai Justice Minister said.

All political protests are banned under the law, but that has not stopped some university students from staging protests against the junta this week by flashing a three-finger salute, a gesture adopted from The Hunger Games films.

BDST: 1738 HRS, NOV 21, 2014