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Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Sunday a state of emergency would remain in force although his country had stabilised since a bloody end to weeks of anti-government protests.

"We are back, stable and secure," he told the World Economic Forum on East Asia, a gathering of global business leaders and regional politicians, on his first trip abroad since the bloodshed.

Thai troops moved on May 19 against the fortified encampment which "Red Shirt" anti-government protesters had occupied in an upscale retail and hotel district of central Bangkok.

The move brought an end to street demonstrations and outbreaks of violence which, at their climax, turned parts of Bangkok into battlezones, left major buildings torched, and led to travel warnings from foreign governments.

Unrest also spread to the Reds' stronghold in the impoverished northeast.

Eighty-nine people, mostly civilians, were killed and nearly 1,900 wounded in violence during two months of protests.

Despite his assurances to the Vietnam forum, Abhisit said it was still too early to lift a state of emergency in place across about one third of the country, including Bangkok, because of fears of fresh unrest.

"We have to accept that even though the situation seems to be more back to normal now, the problems of terrorism and security still exist," he said in his weekly television address.

"We are reviewing the appropriate time to lift the state of emergency."

Human rights campaigners have voiced concern that the government's use of emergency powers lacks transparency and violates freedom of expression.

But Abhisit said in Vietnam that most people would not notice the impact of the decree.

In the television address he also said he was reshuffling his cabinet, seeking to shore up his hold on power after the protests and a rift in his fragile ruling coalition.

The reshuffle is to give the government unity and enable it to "keep on working" to solve the security problems and implement reconciliation, Abhisit said.

There are no changes to the key roles of finance, defence and foreign ministers.

The Reds, whose stronghold is in the rural northeast, complain that Thailand's poor have been left behind. They were campaigning for elections they hoped would oust the government, which they view as undemocratic because it came to power with the backing of the army after a court ruling threw out the previous administration.

Abhisit, who does not have to face voters until the end of next year, had proposed November elections in a bid to end the protests, but he said in Vietnam that a ballot late this year is unlikely given what happened.

"But next year is possible," he said.

He said he is "very determined" to achieve reconciliation in the society and believed most protesters did not want violence -- but some of their leaders "have their own agenda".

"I'm willing to talk to all the elements who refuse the use of violence and illegal means to achieve political ends," he said.

He said he wants to ensure "Red Shirt" representation on an independent panel which will be set up to review what happened over the past two months.

While protesters complained about inequality, Abhisit said a widely-used measure of income inequality shows the rate is "probably about the same" as in the United States. He added that his economic stimulus policies last year had improved indices of poverty.

"Nevertheless, because the perception is there, and perhaps feelings are there about inequality, we will address them," he said.

Confronting concerns about investor confidence after the unrest, Abhisit said the economy has "strong fundamentals" and, despite their political disagreements, Thais are committed to a market economy.

AFP/vm