Thai FM rules out autonomy for restive south

Thai FM rules out autonomy for restive south

Shino Yuasa and Rene Slama, Agence France-Presse/Bangkok

Thailand on Monday ruled out any form of autonomy for its Muslim-
majority south and said there was no evidence that foreign terror
groups linked to al-Qaeda were involved in the region's unrest.

In an interview with AFP, Foreign Minister Kantathi
Suphamongkhon rejected an appeal for self-rule made last week by
the separatist Islamic group the Patani United Liberation
Organization (PULO).

"We're not a federal system. Autonomy in that sense is
something that is not part of our system," he said.

"It's a unified system that we have. We don't have the concept
of autonomy within our constitution," Kantathi said.

Asked if any foreign extremists from Indonesia, Malaysia or
elsewhere with links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network were
involved in the unrest, the minister said: "We have no indication
so far."

"Of course, people know one another sometimes. But there is no
indication of any foreign terrorism involvement in the
situation," he said, adding that the trouble in the south was "an
internal problem in Thailand."

"There have been attempts by certain people to use violence
and then try to bring religion down as justification. But what is
clear is that it's not a problem of religion. It's a problem of
certain groups of people using violence and then getting people
confused by bringing religion."

Violence in the three Muslim-majority provinces of mainly
Buddhist Thailand has killed more than 1,000 people since January
2004 and has proved to be one of the toughest challenges for
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin on Monday ordered local officials to instal sirens at
Buddhist temples throughout the south to help protect monks as he
made a two-day visit there.

"All Buddhist monks as well as abbots can use the signal to
alert security forces to any emergency. Monks and laymen at
temples will also be allowed to carry walkie talkies," he told
some 3,000 devotees in Narathiwat.

Authorities blame the almost daily attacks in Narathiwat,
Pattani and Yala provinces on Islamic separatist militants,
organized criminals and local corruption.

"The situation in the southern part of Thailand has been with
us actually for a long time. Sometimes it's warm, sometimes it's
a bit hot and sometimes it's calm. There is a separatist
movement," the foreign minister said.

Critics say Thaksin's heavy-handed approach is making the 22-
month conflict harder to resolve but Kantathi said the government
must maintain law and order.

A military solution in the south is "not a number one option,"
the foreign minister insisted.

But "there are certain groups of people using violence. When
they use violence, of course like any society, police and
military must protect people so they have to maintain law and
order."

Last week the Islamic militant group PULO said the conflict
could degenerate into a war between religions unless Bangkok
grants the region self-government.

PULO was active in the 1970s but had splintered and largely
disintegrated by the mid-1990s. Some of its remaining leaders
live in exile in Europe.

Muslims in Thailand make up for just 4 percent of the
population of 63.5 million and live mostly in the three
southernmost provinces bordering Malaysia.

Many are ethnic Malays who speak a dialect called Yawi. They
are culturally closer to Malaysia and there is a widespread
belief that Thailand discriminates against them because they are
Muslim.

But the foreign minister said Bangkok fully respects the
Muslims in the south.

"The Thai government fully respects Muslim community. Within
the constitution and our policy, it is clear that we want Muslim
Thais to live happily and in peace with Buddhist Thais with due
respect for cultural differences and religious differences,"
Kantathi said.