The enforcement of the 2005 Executive Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations in the three southern border provinces is to be extended for another three months, except in 10 districts.

The Cabinet on 13 June 2023 acknowledged the decision by the Committee on Public Administration in Emergency Situations to extend the enforcement of emergency declaration in Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala, from 20 June to 19 September 2023.

The committee deems it necessary to extend the enforcement of the executive decree for the continuation of tackling violence in the three southern border provinces and to ensure public safety, as well as protecting the people’s lives and property. 

The emergency decree declaration is the 72nd of its kind, and it was announced in 2005 as an instrument that would enable state officials to deal with the southern situation more effectively, following the eruption of violent incidents in the predominantly Muslim deep South in 2004. The enforcement of the decree lasts three months at a time and may be renewed, if necessary.

The 10 districts to be excluded from the state of emergency in the deep South include Si Sakhon, Su-ngai Kolok, Waeng, and Sukhirin in Narathiwat; Yaring, Mayo, Mai Kaen, and Mae Lan in Pattani; and Betong and Kabang in Yala.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Defense General Chaichan Changmongkol on 15 June 2023 chaired a meeting of special representatives of the Government in tackling the southern situation. The meeting gave a briefing on the resolving of problems in the deep South in the 2023 fiscal year in three dimensions, namely security, development, and management.

It was told that the Government also attached importance to peace dialogues to achieve lasting peace in the deep South through peaceful means. All relevant agencies have been urged to work in an integrated manner to handle the southern situation.

In other related news, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai held a bilateral meeting on 8 June 2023 with Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), during his official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On this occasion, the OIC Secretary-General commended Thailand’s multicultural society, as well as the Thai government’s policy on economic and social development and education for the southern border provinces.