Thailand has said it will lift a state of emergency in three northern provinces but not in Bangkok, two months after the end of mass anti-government protests in the capital.
The emergency law, which bans public gatherings of more than five people and gives security forces the right to detain suspects for 30 days without charge, will remain in place in 16 other provinces.
The cabinet decided to revoke the state of emergency in Lampang, Roi Et and Sakon Nakhon provinces, in addition to five areas where the decree was recently lifted, said deputy government spokesman Supachai Jaismut.
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"There are no political movements in those three provinces and local officials are confident that they can handle the situation," he said.
Earlier this month Thailand extended the emergency powers across about one quarter of the country by three months, prompting concern among rights groups and key allies including the United States.
A visiting senior US envoy last week urged to lift the state of emergency "as soon as possible".
William Burns, the State Department's number three, said that to retain these powers indefinitely was "not healthy for a democratic system".
Two months of mass rallies by the Red Shirts, who were seeking immediate elections, sparked outbreaks of violence that left 90 people dead, mostly civilians, and nearly 1,900 injured, ending in an army crackdown in May.
Critics say the government may be fanning the crisis as it clamps down on and censors the protest movement -- which broadly supports fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- rather than addressing its grievances.
The authorities have used the powers to arrest hundreds of suspects -- including most of the top leaders of the "Red Shirt" protest movement -- and shut down anti-government TV channels, radio stations and websites.
The government has rejected calls from the opposition for the decree to be revoked in time for a parliamentary by-election in Bangkok on July 25 in which a Red Shirt leader detained on charges of terrorism is running.
