A group of Buddhist peace campaigners completed their 1,100-kilometre walk in Pattani yesterday to a warm welcome by local officials and residents.
Pattani Governor Thirathep Sriyaphan and more than 1,000 others including local officials, students and adult residents gathered in front of the CS Pattani Hotel welcomed the group. A troupe performed a Chinese-style lion dance as part of the welcoming ceremony.
Some of the locals walked together with the peace campaigners on their way to the mosque while others lined up along the route offering them flowers and drinking water.
The group, who originally numbered 11 but had been joined by others during their journey, arrived at the Central Mosque at about 9.45am and were greeted by its imam, Yacob Raimanee, and other local Muslims who applauded energetically.
The peace campaigners began their walk on July 11 at Mahidol University's Salaya campus in Nakhon Pathom.
Gothom Arya, director of the university's Research Centre for Peace Building, said the walk by itself would not help solve the problem of violent insurgency in the deep South without action from local residents and the government.
"Many people talk about the problem but they don't help … It's difficult to solve the problem because of lack of confidence from the public and distrust. There must be sincerity. If the government is not sincere, it will not be able to solve the problem. The government and the local residents must prove their sincerity," Gothom said.
"By showing sincerity, the problem on the southern border will be solved and there will be sustainable peace."
On the same day the peace campaigners arrived in Pattani, violent attacks continued unabated there and in other provinces in the restive region.
In the afternoon, an explosion occurred at the outdoor car park of a school in Pattani's Muang district. There were no reports of injuries after an explosive device in a metal box was detonated by a mobile phone. Police said they believed the attack was aimed at causing terror rather than taking any life.
In the southern province of Yala, Sergeant Metha Peng-o, from the local 5th Infantry Company, was shot dead while riding his motorcycle from his military camp into the downtown area. Witnesses said the soldier was shot by a passenger of another motorcycle.
In neighbouring Narathiwat province, six soldiers assigned to provide protection to teachers going to work were slightly injured yesterday morning when a bomb hidden on the roadside in Tak Bai district exploded while the soldiers on three motorcycles were riding past. The bomb in a metal box was believed to have been detonated with a mobile phone.