Southern people file complaints with Thai PM

PHUKET, March 19 (TNA) - Groups of southern people have asked Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to solve their problems when she arrived here for a Cabinet mobile meeting on March 19 and 20. Representatives of people’s groups for poverty reduction, social and political reform, justice and community rights met Yingluck at the Phuket Airport Monday morning, asking her government to protect residential areas and livings of Moken people, issue community title deeds in Phuket, protect local people from land encroachment accusations by business persons, improve public utilities and solve problems from mining and rock grinding in Songkhla province. The prime minister said that she has not been aware of the problems in Phuket and other southern provinces, promising to hurriedly work out solutions and asked the local people to be patient, as her government has many urgent problems to handle. The demonstrators ended their gathering after filing their complaints. The Pheu Thai premier also greeted some 2,000 southerners in front of the Phuket Airport and then left for nearby Phang-nga province. (TNA)