The Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC) has been instructed to survey local opinion on whether a curfew should be imposed and report its findings to a meeting of the Centre for Implementation of Policies and Strategies for Solving Problems in the South on Friday.
National Security Council (NSC) chief Paradorn Pattanathabutr said this after an NSC meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Monday.
He said Ms Yingluck stressed at the meeting that local people's opinions must be listened to on the question of whether to impose the limited curfew proposed by Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung.
Pol Col Tawee Sodsong, secretary-general of the SBPAC, was assigned to gather local people's opinions and report to the meeting on Friday, he said.
At the meeting, Gen Udomdej Sitabutre, the army chief-of-staff, and Lt-Gen Udomchai Thammasarorat, the 4th Army commander, insisted the situation in the far South was still under control.
However, they were ready to follow any decision reached by the committee chaired by Mr Chalerm.
The prime minister has the power to order a curfew without having to seek cabinet approval, Lt-Gen Paradorn said.
Mr Chalerm said if a decision on the proposed curfew could not be reached on Friday, he believed a final decision could be made in the following two weeks.
He said he would not take it as a loss of face if his proposal was rejected at the meeting.
Mr Chalerm said that information from the authorities operating in the troubled areas was that the insurgents usually planted their bombs during the night and exploded them during the day.
If a night curfew was imposed, it could be relaxed as deemed necessary by local officials to allow people to go to work in rubber plantations and perform religious duties.
No government would want to implement a policy which would affect society and innocent people, he said.