Boonrawd said the aim was to gain the needed trust from the local community in the Muslim-majority three southernmost provinces, citing a number of government development initiatives and schemes, including the hiring of local residents in Ranger units.

He said it was hoped relatives of the locally hired Rangers would be the "eyes and ears" for the government agencies.

"These Rangers have been trained in guerrilla warfare. They will be able to put up a good fight against the enemy," Boonrawd said.

When asked about the issue of negotiation with the militant separatists, Boonrawd said more time was needed because of the complexity of the issues and the number of groups who claimed to be speaking on behalf of the Malay-speaking region in southern Thailand.

He said a series of talks in the Malaysian island of Langkawi had came to a halt because the participants were separatist leaders from the previous generation who may not have the ability to influence the outcome on the ground.

The government would like to carry out a dialogue with the group directly responsible for the violence in the three southernmost provinces, he said.

The defence minister said the government would continue to employ carrot-and-stick tactics, and would continue to use the emergency law, despite pleas from human rights advocators to abandon it.

More than 1,900 people have been killed since the violence re-emerged in the three southernmost provinces in January 2004. The military-appointed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said the priority of his government included restoring peace and justice in the deep South through reconciliation. However, violence continues unabated in almost daily attacks.

Piyanart Srivalo

The Nation