Thailand will extend a state of emergency in three southern provinces to cope with an escalating Muslim insurgency, the prime minister said Tuesday. "The government definitely has to extend the state of emergency. The situation requires us to do so," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said. The state of emergency, declared July 20, allows the government to impose curfews, ban public gatherings, limit travel, censor and ban publications, detain suspects without charge, confiscate property and tap telephones. It also gives officials immunity from "civil, criminal and disciplinary penalties" while carrying out acts under its provisions, including the killing of suspects. Under a special decree issued in July, the government can declare states of emergency for up to three months. The state of emergency declared in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat _ Buddhist Thailand's only Muslim-majority areas _ was due to expire Thursday, and will now continue for three more months. At least 1,113 people have been killed and 1,691 injured in the insurgency since it flared in January 2004, The Associated Press reported.
