The army is ready to comply if the emergency decree now imposed in three southernmost border provinces is lifted, but doing this would weaken law enforcement by authorities, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Monday.
Gen Prayuth, the army chief, was responding to a comment by Lt-Gen Paradorn Pattanathabutr, the National Security Council (NSC) secretary general-designate, that security units would be instructed to re-assess the situation and lift the special law imposed in the three provinces plagued with insurgency.
He said if the emergency decree were lifted, changes would follow because the authorities would not be able to enforce the law immediately when an incident occurs.
What would happen is that they would have to seek a court warrant to make an arrest or conduct a search; would not have the power to detain suspects; examination for evidence would be difficult; and it would be easy for the culprits escape unpunished.
"There would not be a problem with me if the special law is lifted and police would then be required to apply for an arrest warrant. I can do as I am ordered.
"But I think the special law is not harmful to anyone, except the bad guys. Now everybody is speaking for the bad guys. Whenever there is a mistake, it is the authorities that take the blame," Gen Prayuth said.
On Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa's comment that the military forces in the southern border provinces were about 30% short of their full complement, Gen Prayuth said Gen Yutthasak was referring to the 15th Infantry Regiment, which has just been established.
He said Gen Yutthasak wanted the 5th Infantry Regiment and the new 15th Infantry Regiment under the 4th Army to be responsible for the entire region.
Whenever they were ready to begin full operations without help, the army would withdraw the 16 battalions sent to the South from other regions, Gen Prayuth said.
For the time-being, soldiers still needed help from police and local civilian forces such as village defence units and defence volunteers.
Gen Prayuth said the car bomb which caused a lot of casualties in Pattani's Sai Buri district on Friday showed that although some militants want to surrender, others still want to continue with the armed struggle.
The army commander-in-chief said he had stepped up preventive measures by ordering all units to set up more checkpoints and provide better protection for weak targets such as schools, temples, teachers and students.