NSC chief:People in Thai deep South don’t want curfew

BANGKOK, February 12 (TNA) - People in the Thai far South do not want the government to impose any curfew in the region, where violent unrest has continued for slightly more than nine years. Speaking to journalists before attending the Cabinet's weekly meeting at Bangkok's Government House on Tuesday morning, National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Lieutenant General Paradorn Pattanathabutr said he has received reports that local people have confidence in the government’s security measures and do not want any curfew to be imposed in the deep South. But, as there are different opinions whether the government should enforce a curfew in some sensitive areas of the troubled far South, Lieutenant General Paradorn acknowledged that an official decision should be announced after the next meeting of a committee tasked with implementating strategies on solving problems in the southernmost Thai region, set on February 15. According to the NSC chief, the number of violent cases in the southern border region has actually declined, compared with those when the unrest erupted in first years, or 2004-2005. Asked what compensation the government will offer to people affected from the bloody violence in the Thai far South, the NSC chief noted it is the duty of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre to propose assistance measures to the committee, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Police Captain Chalerm Yubumrung. (TNA)