Defence Minister to visit Thai far South

BANGKOK, December 24 (TNA) - Defence Minister Air Chief Marshal Sukumpol Suwanatat is scheduled to visit the violence-plagued Thai far South on December 25, despite widespread floods in Narathiwat province. Air Chief Marshal Sukumpol told journalists on Monday that his scheduled trip to the Thai deep South on the Christmas day is aimed to inspect the situation and to boost morale of local security forces. The defence minister vowed to handle the situation in the troubled southern border Thai region to the best of his ability to be a New Year present to the public, particularly those in the region. The defence minister acknowledged he believed that the situation in the Thai restive South would be improving and all parties would properly understand the Thai government's relevant, but stable, policies, including those on modified operational tactics to deal with complicated problems in the southernmost Thai region, as insurgents have always changed their operational strategies. The defence minister was also quoted by his ministry's spokesman, Colonel Thanatip Sawang-saeng, as saying after Monday's meeting of the Defence Council that he is considering to assign rangers and border patrol police to help teach students, temporarily, at schools in the Thai far South, where there are shortages of Buddhist teachers until permanent teachers are filled at the schools. Meanwhile, six districts in Narathiwat, including Sungai Kolok, Takbai, Srisakorn, Sungai Padi, Wang and Janae, have been flooded, after runoffs from the San Kara Kiri mountain range had overflown the Sungai Kolok River and widely inundated houses and buildings along the river banks. The flooding kept rising Monday morning, forcing villagers in the affected areas to evacuate to safe places, as more than 10 roads were under the flooding water although they remained passable. (TNA)