PM cancels rebel boss bounties

Gives them a chance to prove innocence

Post Reporters

The government has cancelled rewards for the arrests of key leaders of the southern insurgency, leaving the door open for those who want to turn themselves in under the national reconciliation plan.

Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, adviser to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, said the premier has revoked the offers made by the previous administration as it was felt that these forced the militants further into the shadows.

"Gen Surayud has cancelled [the rewards] to give them a chance to prove their innocence. There will be no fears the authorities will arrest them to claim rewards," said Gen Wattanachai, a former Third Army commander.

Among those with a price on their heads, Sapae-ing Basor, former principal of Thammawitthaya school in Yala, is regarded as the most wanted.

He is said to chair the secretive Dewan Pimpinan Party (DPP), which aims to create an independent state of Pattani.

Gen Wattanachai reportedly met five leaders of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), which has recently been restructured, on Thursday night to discuss the government's proposed political dialogue to end the unrest.

They also discussed the proposed Islamic bill, under which an Islamic administrative body would be established to supervise Islamic affairs.

Gen Wattanachai said that insurgent violence in the deep South has increased because Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and al-Qaeda have come into play with help from an old power clique in Malaysia.

To help troops understand insurgent violence, the Army Military Intelligence Command has distributed a handbook to unit commanders in the deep South.

Besides background information and details of separatist movements, the 408-page handbook includes a list of more than 1,000 supporters and sympathisers.

According to the handbook, the DPP is a secret organisation formed to support Perjuangan Merdeka Patani, or the movement for an independent state of Pattani.

The DPP is divided into sections including foreign affairs, youth recruitment and training, psychological operations and economic affairs.

The Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) Coordinate is a key element in the separatist movement, with more than 1,000 supporters and sympathisers across the three southernmost provinces and some parts of Songkhla. Its armed force is the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK).

Citing statements by Islamic teachers and students who graduated in Indonesia, militants are said to have received weapons training in Indonesia and Malaysia, while female members also received medical training in Malaysia's Kedah state.

According to the book, Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam Patani (Selatan Thailand) Di Patani, an association of Thai students in Indonesia, takes care of the finances of the insurgency.

Meanwhile, the government has stepped up efforts to boost the economy in the deep South, which has been badly affected by the ongoing violence.

The cabinet approved a tied-over budget of 495 million baht to expand the existing Chantarat airport in Yala's Betong district, said Betong mayor Khunnawut Mongkolprachak. It is hoped that the scheme will bring tourists back to the southernmost district. The government also approved an allocation of 506 million baht over three years, from 2007 to 2009, to expand and improve Narathiwat airport.

Pruek Wongnaroj, deputy manager of a newly-opened luxury hotel in Betong, has called on the government to allow a casino to open in the district.

He said the casino would probably bring foreign tourists back to the town.

In Pattani's Panare district yesterday morning, a school building in tambon Ban Nok was badly damaged in a fire.

Three firefighting trucks were sent to the scene after the fire broke out at the two-storey building at Pulamawor school. But the blaze spread quickly, engulfing the building. Police suspected arson.

In Yala's Bannang Sata district, a villager's pickup truck was destroyed by fire. Arson was suspected.

Bangkok Post

Saturday April 07, 2007