Security measures stepped up in Thai far South in lead-up to 53rd anniversary of BRN

BANGKOK, March 12 (TNA) - Security measures have been beefed up in the Thai far South prior to the 53rd anniversary of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) insurgent group on March 13. Lieutenant General Paradorn Pattanatabut, Secretary-General of the National Security Council (NSC), told journalists of the update on Tuesday, assessing, however, that the situation should be under control. Lieutenant General Paradorn said that he has proposed to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra that the imposition of the executive decree on public administration in emergency situations be extended in the southernmost Thai region, and that the Internal Security Act (ISA) be exercised in place of the executive decree in five districts of three violence-plagued southern border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani if the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) saw the situation there improved. According to the NSC chief, the BRN insurgent group has informally proposed the imposition of the ISA and the NSC, representing the Thai government, and the BRN will, thus, discuss the issue on March 28, after both parties signed a peace talks pact recently. At the upcoming meeting, the NSC chief acknowledged, his agency will demand the BRN insurgent group to stop or reduce its violent movements in the troubled Thai deep South in return. In the meantime, the NSC chief revealed, his agency has also discussed the possibility of peace negotiations with other insurgent groups in the Thai far South since March 5, 2013. Meanwhile, local police carried out pre-dawn raids at rented rooms and dormitories in Hat Yai of adjacent Songkhla province to ensure that none of them shelter suspected insurgents in the Thai deep South. The local police have also set up check points in both inner and outer areas of Hat Yai, Thailand's southern business hub, to prevent or crack down any insurgent movement, as part of the intensified security measures in the region currently. The police have also sought cooperation from all local landlords to thoroughly check background of people before accepting them as tenants and to immediately report to local authorities if they detected any irregularity in their rented areas. (TNA)