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Deputy PM visit southern provinces

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:32:23 +0000

BANGKOK, July 12 (TNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said he will visit the South Saturday to observe the progress of official operations and to boost the morale of the local people after a fresh series of attacks in the southernmost provinces – particularly the shooting at Al-Furqan mosque in Narathiwat on Monday that left 11 worshippers dead.

The deputy premier in charge of security affairs said during the visit he would expect to get first hand information about the problems in the South and would re-emphasise to security personnel to step up security measures, especially to at risk groups, including teachers.

Mr. Suthep said the committee in charge of the southern development plan and cabinet ministers in charge of resolving the southern unrest, which met on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, evaluated the situation and believed that violence may flare up.

The security personnel, therefore, were instructed to intensified security measures to protect innocent local residents while the authorities would speed up their development plans in parallel, he said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would clarify the situation to foreign countries to understand the kingdom’s stance on the southern provinces, he said, adding that the assistant to the foreign minister will head the Thai delegation to clarify Thailand’s stance at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). (TNA)

Army Chief to separate troops to tackle southern border unrest

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:33:43 +0000

NARATHIWAT, 9 June 2009 (NNT) – Army Chief Anupong Paojinda said that army troops would be divided into two groups to tackle the southern border unrest and confirmed that Malaysia would cooperate with Thailand in dealing with the problems.

General Anupong gave an interview during a provincial visit in the southern province of Narathiwat prior to convening with the related agencies about the severe incidents in three southernmost provinces, saying that the existing operations were planned in the right direction to tackle with the issues. He said authorities were receiving more support and cooperation from the local people.

In addition, General Anupong stated that the troops would be divided into two groups, consisting of a 24 hour security group and operational group tasked with mass psychology.

Regarding the mosque shooting incident in Narathiwat, the Army Chief viewed that it was a severe incident but added that the authorities also tried their best to resolve conflicts and prevent violence.

Earlier, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, accompanied by the army chief and his entourage paid an official visit to Malaysia. General Anupong stated that Malaysia had responded positively to Thailand’s call for cooperation to resolve the national southern unrest. However, he cited that the name list of the criminals was unclear.