Govt on right path despite setbacks: Thaworn

Thaworn Senneam Deputy Interior Minister

But it will take some time to solve the complicated issues which had persisted for too long, the minister, who is also a Democrat Songkhla MP, said.

"Let's face it, the separatists' movements exist. At the same time, armed troops are continuously instigating situations every chance they have," he said. "They take any cause or occasion [as an excuse] to do so."

The insurgents, about 10,000 out of two million population, also use psychological strategies to prevent local people from putting their trust or showing support for the government by threatening them and telling them they need the insurgents' protection, he said.

Meanwhile, the government is trying to bring back local people by showing them that although they are Muslims, they can live peacefully in the Kingdom where they can also get justice, he said.

Criminals must face fair legal process, he said and the government has set a goal for reducing the number of cases from over 2,000 annually to below 1,000.

More people have joined activities with the government and the Islamic committee in the five southernmost provinces  Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Satun and Songkhla - agreeing to cooperate with the government, he said. They had opposed the Thaksin Shinawatra administration which used harsh measures and worsened the problems.

More active public relations at personal level would be used to counter groundless rumours released by the insurgents.

With a budget of Bt18 billion allocated to the area this year, economic and social development would be in addition to security measures and forces.

Police, military officers and civil volunteers would be increased to protect villagers. Police officers specially trained in Yala would also be deployed. Three companies of a "Special Protection Unit" would protect Buddhist monks, teachers and important places. Meanwhile, financial and technological support for the protection would be granted, Thaworn said.

"It would not have ended up with death if police had bomb scanning devices and were trained to use them," he said referring to the explosion the day before of a homemade bomb hidden in a motorcycle outside Pattani's Sai Buri district police station.

The government will invest in logistic and the infrastructure supporting the economy in the five provinces, as well as trade around the borders.

Moreover, agriculture and agricultural industries would be promoted and developed in Narathiwat, the food industry in Pattani and education in Yala, Thaworn said.

An office for the administration in the southern border provinces would be created to be responsible permanently for solving problems and developing the provinces. It would be different from the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre, formed temporarily according to the situation.

It has not been decided whether the new agency would be directly under the Prime Minister or part of the Interior Ministry.

Prime ministerial control would shortcut the process, but it would need integration of other agencies to work. Meanwhile, the ministry is already cooperating with agencies in local areas.

Thaworn dismissed reported disagreement with the Army on the new administration structure as mere speculation the military does not want to lose money allocated for it to complete its mission.

"The Army chief General Anupong Paochinda always says only politics leading military would solve the problems," Thaworn said. "The military's roles on security and intelligence (information) would not be cut at all."

The new administration structure would not affect the military's budget, he said. It would be used on security under the Internal Security Operations Command while the new agency would take care of development, economic and social projects, the deputy interior minister said.

"The Bt18 billion is not for the military, it belongs to ministries, departments and agencies according to the new structure," he said, adding that the military's budget is normally set for particular missions. When the missions are complete, the projects end.