Govt extends emergency decree for three months

The emergency decree in force across most of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat will be extended by another three months.

Lt Gen Patchasak Patirupanont, deputy spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, said yesterday that the Emergency Situation Administration Committee met to discuss the situation in the three southernmost provinces.

The committee decided that the emergency decree will be extended for the 72nd time, from June 20 to Sept 19, he said.

The decree will be in force throughout the deep South, except in Si Sakhon, Sungai Kolok, Waeng and Sukhirin districts in Narathiwat; Yaring, Mayo, Mai Kaen and Mae Lan districts in Pattani; as well as Betong and Kabang districts in Yala.

At the meeting, Gen Prawit thanked security agencies for maintaining peace and order in the restive region and for their assistance during the election, the spokesman said.

Separately, the Move Forward Party said it would move to revoke the emergency decree, which has been in force in the deep South for 19 years, if it can form the next government. MFP deputy secretary-general Rangsiman Rome said the decree hadn't improved the situation in the region.