Thai authority denies Pattani Metropolis

BANGKOK, March 12 (TNA) - Deputy Prime Minister for Security Affairs General Yuthasak Sasiprapa will visit Thailand's violence-plagued southernmost region later this week, denying that he plans to propose a Pattani Metropolis bill. General Yuthasak told journalists Monday that he and Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha are scheduled to visit the Thai far South on March 14, acknowledging that the violence in the country's southern border region has involved illegal goods, narcotics, influential people and illicit businesses of war weapons. General Yuthasak dismissed rumors that a bill has been prepared to establish the so-called Pattani Metropolis as a special administrative area, saying if any party raised the idea, he would order the National Security Council or NSC to study its pros and cons carefully because the issue is sensitive and is a factor of the national future. (TNA)