Thai FM rules out autonomy for restive south<\/p>\n
Shino Yuasa and Rene Slama, Agence France-Presse\/Bangkok<\/p>\n
Thailand on Monday ruled out any form of autonomy for its Muslim-
\nmajority south and said there was no evidence that foreign terror
\ngroups linked to al-Qaeda were involved in the region's unrest.<\/p>\n
In an interview with AFP, Foreign Minister Kantathi
\nSuphamongkhon rejected an appeal for self-rule made last week by
\nthe separatist Islamic group the Patani United Liberation
\nOrganization (PULO).<\/p>\n
\"We're not a federal system. Autonomy in that sense is
\nsomething that is not part of our system,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's a unified system that we have. We don't have the concept
\nof autonomy within our constitution,\" Kantathi said.<\/p>\n
Asked if any foreign extremists from Indonesia, Malaysia or
\nelsewhere with links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network were
\ninvolved in the unrest, the minister said: \"We have no indication
\nso far.\"<\/p>\n
\"Of course, people know one another sometimes. But there is no
\nindication of any foreign terrorism involvement in the
\nsituation,\" he said, adding that the trouble in the south was \"an
\ninternal problem in Thailand.\"<\/p>\n
\"There have been attempts by certain people to use violence
\nand then try to bring religion down as justification. But what is
\nclear is that it's not a problem of religion. It's a problem of
\ncertain groups of people using violence and then getting people
\nconfused by bringing religion.\"<\/p>\n
Violence in the three Muslim-majority provinces of mainly
\nBuddhist Thailand has killed more than 1,000 people since January
\n2004 and has proved to be one of the toughest challenges for
\nPrime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.<\/p>\n
Thaksin on Monday ordered local officials to instal sirens at
\nBuddhist temples throughout the south to help protect monks as he
\nmade a two-day visit there.<\/p>\n
\"All Buddhist monks as well as abbots can use the signal to
\nalert security forces to any emergency. Monks and laymen at
\ntemples will also be allowed to carry walkie talkies,\" he told
\nsome 3,000 devotees in Narathiwat.<\/p>\n
Authorities blame the almost daily attacks in Narathiwat,
\nPattani and Yala provinces on Islamic separatist militants,
\norganized criminals and local corruption.<\/p>\n
\"The situation in the southern part of Thailand has been with
\nus actually for a long time. Sometimes it's warm, sometimes it's
\na bit hot and sometimes it's calm. There is a separatist
\nmovement,\" the foreign minister said.<\/p>\n
Critics say Thaksin's heavy-handed approach is making the 22-
\nmonth conflict harder to resolve but Kantathi said the government
\nmust maintain law and order.<\/p>\n
A military solution in the south is \"not a number one option,\"
\nthe foreign minister insisted.<\/p>\n
But \"there are certain groups of people using violence. When
\nthey use violence, of course like any society, police and
\nmilitary must protect people so they have to maintain law and
\norder.\"<\/p>\n
Last week the Islamic militant group PULO said the conflict
\ncould degenerate into a war between religions unless Bangkok
\ngrants the region self-government.<\/p>\n
PULO was active in the 1970s but had splintered and largely
\ndisintegrated by the mid-1990s. Some of its remaining leaders
\nlive in exile in Europe.<\/p>\n
Muslims in Thailand make up for just 4 percent of the
\npopulation of 63.5 million and live mostly in the three
\nsouthernmost provinces bordering Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Many are ethnic Malays who speak a dialect called Yawi. They
\nare culturally closer to Malaysia and there is a widespread
\nbelief that Thailand discriminates against them because they are
\nMuslim.<\/p>\n
But the foreign minister said Bangkok fully respects the
\nMuslims in the south.<\/p>\n
\"The Thai government fully respects Muslim community. Within
\nthe constitution and our policy, it is clear that we want Muslim
\nThais to live happily and in peace with Buddhist Thais with due
\nrespect for cultural differences and religious differences,\"
\nKantathi said.<\/p>",
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