Until August 31st, foreigners enrolling for courses in Thai language and culture were offered, on payment for the course, a visa issued by Chiang Mai Immigration. This offer and the courses were suddenly cancelled last month with many students left without visas and with no explanation or refund of the considerable sums paid.

It is thought that over 300 students of all ages have been affected, and the Australian Honorary Consul of Chiang Mai has received no fewer than 80 complaints from his fellow nationals.

Please make it clear that this is nothing to do with us”

said an Immigration officer.

We have issued visas on paperwork provided by the University. If they don’t give the students the paperwork, we can’t issue visas.”

Australian Dr Matthew Kay of International University Services, which ran the courses at the Language Institute (a faculty of CMU) had already issued an apology to affected students and the media, adding that he was given no reason for the abrupt ending of the courses and visa offer.

The only hint at the cause of this massive disruption is an assertion in the Institute’s public notice that some students had “violated the terms and conditions of enrolment and were not undertaking their studies.”

A firetruck is set alight by protesters in Chiang Mai

After red shirt protesters blocked the main bridge into the city with burning tyres yesterday mid-day, the government announced a night time curfew in Chiang Mai, as well as Bangkok and other cities covered by the ‘state of emergency.’

No-one should be on the streets between 9.00pm and 5.00am until Monday morning.

Traffic chaos broke out yesterday when the Nawarat Bridge was blocked, along with the main road into the city from the railway station, where the ‘reds’ erected a stage a week ago and have been assembling since.

Airport Shopping Plaza and Kad Suan Kaew shopping mall closed early afternoon and were followed by Carrefour a few hours later. It is not known if these moves were made due to specific threats, or simply as a precautionary reaction to the burning of the Central World mall in Bangkok. Government schools and many international schools have been closed this week, along with banks and some petrol stations.

Yesterday, a government spokesman gave almost unprecedented English language advice to foreigners on Channel 7 TV.  He said that the problems in Bangkok were being contained, that travel within Thailand was unrestricted and reminded people that, according to Thai law, foreigners should carry their passports with them at all times.

Soldiers inspect the damage at the provincial governor's residence in Chiang Mai

The British Embassy, Bangkok, now closed to the public, yesterday extended its warning “to avoid all but essential travel” from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, mentioning ” a number of violent incidents, some involving gun fire.”

Editor’s Note: The atmosphere in Chiang Mai now is one of quiet frustration rather than tense anxiety. We have had no reports of violence against persons and no gun fire. Some expats here feel that the British Embassy warning is greatly over-cautious with no grounding in fact.