BANGKOK, Feb 18 – Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung has made new proposals to stimulate southern militants to turn themselves in to the authorities and adopting non-violence measures under the Internal Security Act (ISA) to deal with them.
He is meeting with senior officials of the National Security Council and the Fourth Army Region Command today to discuss guidelines for insurgents to surrender.
Mr Chalerm did not elaborate on how the ISA will be enforced to cope with militant attacks and the series of explosions in the Malaysian border provinces over the weekend, apparently in retaliation against the government after 16 Muslim insurgents were killed in a failed assault against a marine outpost in Narathiwat’s Bacho district early Wednesday morning.
The latest bomb explosions were reported near the city clock tower in Pattani town on Sunday, killing three defence volunteers and wounding nine other people.
Mr Chalerm said there were eight explosions but southern authorities managed to handle four of the incidents.
He refused to say if the escalating violence will lead to the government’s revision of a curfew in the South.
“I won’t talk about it (curfew) anymore. Let officials in the South decide if they want a curfew,” he said. Mr Chalerm’s proposed curfew in the far South was flatly turned down in a high-level security meeting on Friday.
The deputy premier said the to-be-proposed non-violence measures will mainly involve negotiations with militants so that they give themselves up after which they will be treated under the ISA enforcement. (MCOT online news)
