Thailand extends emergency rule

Thailand extends emergency rule

THAILAND: Thailand extended on Tuesday emergency rule in its three mainly Muslim southern provinces by another three months, as the death toll nears 1,000 in nearly 22 months of unrest.

"The cabinet approved the extension of emergency rule in three southern provinces for another three months," Gen. Vinai Phattiyakul, head of the National Security Council, told AFP after the Cabinet's weekly meeting.

Cabinet approval of the extension was widely seen as a formality, with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra publicly saying the controversial emergency measures would be extended several times before the meeting on Tuesday.

Thaksin imposed the measures by decree in July but the tough new rules were set to expire on Oct. 20 without approval of the Cabinet.

Under emergency rule, authorities can detain suspects for up to 30 days without charge, search and arrest without warrants, and tap phones, among other actions aimed at quelling insurgency and other unrest. -- AFP