PM insists on talks for the South
By Bangkok Post Reporters

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said the policy of negotiations with southern insurgents was not up for argument - and it was up to Isoc, which is led by army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, to implement it.

Gen Surayud yesterday insisted on negotiations as the way to end the insurgency in the South, rejecting a statement by new adviser to the chief of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), Gen Panlop Pinmanee that a soft approach would only make the situation worse.

Gen Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, adviser to the prime minister, yesterday said secret talks had just begun with high-level insurgents.

He said the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK), which is an operational group, was not party to the negotiations, as many had feared. The army would continue to hunt and contain them.

He could not say how long the talks with the top-level rebels would take.

"The southern extremists have formed an assembly and operate under the assembly's directives. Because it is not a one-man decision, the talks would advance gradually and cannot be concluded in one round," said Gen Wattanachai.

He said the southern insurgency is made up of independent groups. They differ in operational style and ideology, but share the same goal - to free the Muslim-dominated three southernmost provinces.

He insisted Thai insurgents received training from foreign terrorist experts, but he could not confirm that they were from Indonesia and Cambodia - a remark which he had made previously.

Meanwhile, a national committee on economic development chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Kosit Panpiemras, also industry minister, approved five proposals to stimulate the economy in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

According to Mr Kosit, the proposals called for the fees on additional insurance loans to be reduced, an increase in special-low interest loans, measures to promote investment, tax management, and speeding up the allocation of state budget.

Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn said the ongoing violence in the deep South has made business people feel insecure and the ministry was considering another proposal for tax reductions that they had tabled.

This calls on the Finance Ministry to bring down the 3% tax on their revenues to 1.5%.

Council for National Security chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin yesterday urged the Education Ministry to revamp education management in the far South.

Addressing a seminar in Songkhla, Gen Sonthi said Thai language and basic subjects should be offered at all levels, alongside religious study.

"I have never seen any country where the people could not speak the main language apart from Thailand. It shows our education system has failed to reach the locals. Southern youth therefore do not feel they are Thai," Gen Sonthi said.

Pranai Suwanrath, director of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre, said scholarships would be granted to 180 Mathayom 6 students who suffered mental trauma due to the unrest so they can complete the last semester in 13 well-known schools in Bangkok. The students would stay with host families.

In Yala's Raman district, a warning, which read, "Do not send your children to school for their safety," was put up in front of Ahae Utoh school yesterday, while two hoax bombs were found nearby.