No jungle camps to training militants in Malaysia: Najib<\/p>\n
Reuters, Kuala Lumpur\/Bangkok<\/p>\n
There are no jungle training camps for militants in Malaysia,
\nDeputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Wednesday, firing off
\nthe latest volley in a row over Muslim militants stirring up
\nviolence in southern Thailand.<\/p>\n
Thailand says it has photographs showing militants responsible
\nfor the violence being trained in hideouts in Malaysia. About 500
\npeople have been killed since the militant campaign began in
\nThailand in January.<\/p>\n
Najib urged Bangkok to hand over the evidence it had.<\/p>\n
\"Our stand is that we have no information as alleged by them,\"
\nNajib told a news conference. \"There is no camp in the northern
\npart of the peninsula to train militants.\"<\/p>\n
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra upset Malaysia and
\nIndonesia by saying Thai militants had trained in the jungles
\nalong the border with Malaysia and had been exposed to radical
\nideas in Indonesia, where members of Jamaah Islamiyah, regarded
\nas the regional arm of al-Qaeda, have launched bomb attacks.<\/p>\n
Thaksin said the Malaysian and Indonesian governments had
\nnever supported the militants and were cooperating with Bangkok,
\nbut his weekend remarks angered them, drawing a shocked denial
\nfrom Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who asked
\nfor evidence to support the claims.<\/p>\n
\"If the Thai government has information, it's better for them
\nto inform the Malaysian government through official channels in
\nconfidence,\" Najib said, speaking after a weekly cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
\"To us, this is outside the international norms because this
\ninvolves sensitive information. Sensitive information should be
\nhandled appropriately.\"<\/p>\n
But Malaysia has no plans to respond with an official protest,
\nor by closing the border with Thailand, Najib added.<\/p>\n
\"We want good ties with Thailand to continue. We hope they
\nhandle this case with care,\" he said. \"It is incumbent upon them
\nto give us the information rather than for us to go to them.\"<\/p>\n
Najib said he did not know how Thai authorities obtained the
\npictures of militants in training camps that Thai deputy interior
\nminister Sutham Saengprathum referred to on Tuesday, in remarks
\nto journalists.<\/p>\n
Sutham did not show reporters the pictures or describe them,
\nbut he said they proved militants had received training in
\nMalaysia's northern Kelantan province, just across the border.
\nLater, he told Reuters the pictures had been taken by Thai agents
\nthis year with the help of Malaysian intelligence.<\/p>\n
\"According to our knowledge, there are about 10 ringleaders in
\nKelantan state,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Bangkok has said several times over the past 11 months that
\nmilitants flee to Malaysia after carrying out attacks.<\/p>\n
More than 300 schools were closed in southern Thailand on
\nWednesday, as staff demanded better security a day after gunmen
\nriding motorcycles killed two Buddhist teachers and a district
\nofficial in Pattani province.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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