A more comprehensive draft law for deep South in the pipeline

Tavorn said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is sounding out various security and civilian agencies assigned to the restive region as the government puts together this draft law.

At the moment it has yet to be decided if the new agency will come directly under the prime minister or under the interior ministry, Tavorn said.

To give weight to the new agency, a council of ministers will oversees this administrative body, Tavorn said.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban was tight lips when asked if the new legislation will reduce the power of the army and its chief, General Anupong Paochinda, in the deep South. He only would say the new agency will make the working more efficiently.

Observers said certain aspects of the ISA, which covers the entire country, will overlaps with newly proposed agency legislation, especially in the area of chain of command and division of labour.

At the centre of debate is the role of the army-dominated Internal Security Operation Command (Isoc), whose mandate is outlined by the current Internal Security Act, or ISA.

A senior interior ministry official in Yala, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed concern that the process will not go smoothly with the army because their power will be tremendously reduced.

Nevertheless, news of civilians returning to the driver seat in the deep South, as opposed to the army, was quietly cheered by the civilians officials, he said.

Moreover, analysts see the violence in the Malay-speaking region as part of a conflict that required political solution.

Abhisit has said the new legislation will take into consideration the dynamics of the problems that include the lack of social mobility, as well as cultural and identity differences between the Malay-speaking region and the rest of the country.

Meanwhile, violence continued unabated on Tuesday with a ten-minute exchange of gunfire that ended in the death of a 47-year-old ranger.

More than 3,500 people have been killed since January 2004 when violence clash between the authorities and the militants spiked, becoming a daily occurrence in the restive region.