Thaksin says Malaysia helping in rebel hunt

Thaksin says Malaysia helping in rebel hunt

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said during a visit to Malaysia on Tuesday the two countries were working together to hunt down separatist militants, suspected of recent bomb attacks in southern Thailand.

"We are confident of the Malaysian (policy) towards the separatists in Thailand," Thaksin told a news conference during his one-day visit to Kuala Lumpur.

Several bombs exploded in Muslim-dominated southern Thai towns early this month. A child was killed and dozens of people were wounded in the blasts which Thai security officers blamed on Muslim separatists.

"We receive tremendous cooperation and support of the Malaysian government. We still receive more and more support," Thaksin said.

The Thai leader earlier held talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Thaksin said they discussed bilateral economic cooperation and "touched a little bit" on border cooperation between their security forces.

Thai newspapers have quoted unnamed security sources as saying Muslim separatist groups held a meeting in March in Kuala Lumpur to plan sabotage in southern Thailand in April.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told Reuters late on Monday that Kuala Lumpur would assure Thaksin it would not allow separatist militants to operate from its territory.

"We will not allow Malaysia to be used as a launching pad or training ground for any separatist movement or terrorist act from our side," Syed Hamid said.

Thaksin said last week Thai police would send a list of up to 80 suspected separatist guerrillas to Malaysian police, in the hope they would be arrested and sent back to Thailand for trial.

Most of Thailand's Muslims, about five percent of the country's 62 million people, live in the five southernmost provinces bordering mostly-Muslim Malaysia.

Up to the mid-1990s, the southern Thai provinces saw a wave of bomb attacks on railway tracks and stations, most attributed to Muslim separatist groups seeking independence from mainly Buddhist Thailand.

A few decades ago, relations were less sure as Kuala Lumpur suspected Malaysian communist insurgents crossed the border from Thailand, while Bangkok believed Muslim separatists were hiding out in the hills and jungles on the Malaysian side of the border.

Pipeline

Officials also said on Tuesday that following the warm talks, Thailand agreed to push ahead with a stalled gas pipeline venture.

Thaksin, heading a high-powered 71-member delegation, was greeted by a military honor guard when he arrived at the administrative capital of Putrajaya to start his first overseas visit since taking office in January.

After talks between the two premiers and delegations from both sides, Syed Hamid said Thailand was committed to the pipeline.

The pipeline will transport gas from the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area along their maritime border. It has been stalled by strong opposition from Thai environmental groups.

Syed Hamid said the Thais had promised to try to resolve the problems within three months. "Our understanding is that the project will go ahead ... they are not going to stop the project," he told reporters.

The project is a joint venture between Malaysia's state energy firm Petronas and the Petroleum Authority of Thailand.

Syed Hamid said Malaysia wants work to start as soon as possible since costs were accumulating daily and most were borne by Petronas.

Talks, which Syed Hamid described as "very very friendly and warm," also covered a variety of economic issues.