ID :
60713
Fri, 05/15/2009 - 08:50
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/60713
The shortlink copeid
THAILAND COMMITTED TO RESOLVING ISSUES IN SOUTHERN PROVINCES
KOTA BAHARU (Malaysia), May 15 (Bernama) -- The Thai government led by Abhisit Vejjajiva is committed to ending the violence in Thailand's southern provinces through peaceful means rather than using arms.
Its Deputy Home Minister Thavorn Seniem said Thai leaders had been going to
the ground and holding discussions with people in the Muslim-majority restive
southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
"We prefer using peaceful means rather than arms, while we observe that
the people of southern Thailand have started to trust and have confidence in the
government of being fair to them.
"Since the new government came into power, violent incidents have declined
compared to before. The government has also set up syariah courts to deal with
Muslim cases involving Islamic law," he said.
Thavorn was speaking to reporters after he led a delegation of about 50 MPs
and senators from southern Thailand for a courtesy call on Peninsular Malaysia's
northeast state of Kelantan's Chief Minister Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat at his
official residence, here, Thursday.
He said the Thai government had also reopened the investigation papers into
the Tak Bai incident in Narathiwat and storming of the Kerisik Mosque in Pattani
where hundreds of Muslims were killed.
On April 28, 2004, 107 people believed by Thai security forces to be
separatist movement members were killed by soldiers after hundreds of Muslims
sought refuge in the mosque.
In the Tak Bai incident on Oct 25 the same year, 78 Muslim protesters died
from suffocation after they were arrested and placed one on top of another in
army trucks while the rest were fired at by Thai security forces.
Muslims in the southern provinces claimed that they had been treated as
second-class citizens by the Buddhist-controlled Thai government.
Meanwhile, Nik Abdul Aziz urged the people of the three southern Thai
provinces bordering Kelantan to discuss with the Thai government their problems
or dissatisfaction.
-- BERNAMA
Its Deputy Home Minister Thavorn Seniem said Thai leaders had been going to
the ground and holding discussions with people in the Muslim-majority restive
southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
"We prefer using peaceful means rather than arms, while we observe that
the people of southern Thailand have started to trust and have confidence in the
government of being fair to them.
"Since the new government came into power, violent incidents have declined
compared to before. The government has also set up syariah courts to deal with
Muslim cases involving Islamic law," he said.
Thavorn was speaking to reporters after he led a delegation of about 50 MPs
and senators from southern Thailand for a courtesy call on Peninsular Malaysia's
northeast state of Kelantan's Chief Minister Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat at his
official residence, here, Thursday.
He said the Thai government had also reopened the investigation papers into
the Tak Bai incident in Narathiwat and storming of the Kerisik Mosque in Pattani
where hundreds of Muslims were killed.
On April 28, 2004, 107 people believed by Thai security forces to be
separatist movement members were killed by soldiers after hundreds of Muslims
sought refuge in the mosque.
In the Tak Bai incident on Oct 25 the same year, 78 Muslim protesters died
from suffocation after they were arrested and placed one on top of another in
army trucks while the rest were fired at by Thai security forces.
Muslims in the southern provinces claimed that they had been treated as
second-class citizens by the Buddhist-controlled Thai government.
Meanwhile, Nik Abdul Aziz urged the people of the three southern Thai
provinces bordering Kelantan to discuss with the Thai government their problems
or dissatisfaction.
-- BERNAMA
