BANGKOK - THAILAND'S cabinet agreed on Tuesday to lift a five-year-old state of emergency in one area of its restive deep south as a test case for the rest of the Muslim-majority region, officials said.
The emergency laws - which give broad powers to security forces - will be rolled back in Mae Lan district in Pattani, one of three provinces near the Malaysian border which have been under the decree since 2005.
They will be replaced by the less severe Internal Security Act.
'It shows the government is making progress in addressing the problem of unrest in the south,' said Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, noting that there was a decline in the number of violent incidents this year.
The authorities said they were also considering lifting emergency rule in two more districts, one in Yala province and another in neighbouring Narathiwat.
Suspected Islamic insurgents have waged a violent campaign in the region since early 2004, leaving more than 4,400 people dead, both Muslims and Buddhists. -- AFP
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