BANGKOK - Thailand declared emergency rule across virtually the whole of its Muslim south on Sunday in a surprisingly tough move to reign in a raging insurgency.
| Surprising that he didn't do it earlier. |
Invoking new powers, the government declared an emergency in Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani provinces plus four districts in neighbouring Songkhla province, where at least 810 people have died in violence since January 2004.
| All dead at the hands of the Religion of Peaceâ¢. |
âThe decree will cover every district in the three provinces, plus four neighbouring districts in Songkhla province. Those districts also need monitoring, because something could happen,â Interior Minister Chidchai Vanasathidya told reporters.
The government had been expected to announce âemergency zonesâ within the provinces rather than declaring the whole provinces under emergency rule. Few details of the new measures were announced but authorities will have powers to tap phones, search and arrest without warrant and censor news, among other actions. Authorities initially will focus on limiting the movement of people in the region, and on news reporting of the insurgency, Chidchai said. âWe will try to take a soft stance on reporting and not infringe on press freedoms,â he said.
| A focus on killing terrorists also would be helpful. |
A newly formed Council of Ministers comprising interior, defense and justice ministers among others will meet on Monday to set out the details on implementing the new orders, Chidchai said.
The emergency was declared under a controversial decree approved at a special cabinet meeting on Friday, one day after terrorists militants staged a daring raid on the southern town of Yala in which four people were killed and at least 20 others injured. The decree centralizes in the prime ministerâs office many powers that the military was already using in much of the region along the southern border with Malaysia, which has been under martial law since the insurgency broke out in January 2004.
âWhen the law takes force, everything will be the same but the enforcement will be more strict,â the army chief, General Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters before the security meeting. âEverything will follow the law. We donât have to adjust the way we work,â he said.
The decree drew swift condemnation in Thai media and from Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatraâs critics, who warned that placing so much power in his office could escalate unrest which shows no signs of abating.
| Localized version of the "it's all our fault!" meme. |
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