[Excerpt: �One of the country�s longstanding problems is the unrest, which has caused almost daily losses, and my government wants to brainstorm ideas for measures to effectively uproot the problem,� Shinawatra told 700 lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives....�I had a lot of free time to contemplate what was right or what was wrong in what I�ve done,� added Shinawatra, who won another nationwide landslide poll victory last month, but not a single seat in the Muslim south, according to Reuters.]
http://198.65.147.194/English/News/2005-03/30/article06.shtml Thai Premier Adopts Softer Approach for Muslim South Shinawatra has faced widespread criticism at home and abroad for his heavy-handed policies in the Muslim south. (Reuters) BANGKOK, March 30, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) � Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced he would be adopting a softer approach in dealing with the violence-marred Muslim south, as the Thai government approved financial compensations for the families of Muslim victims, who brutally died while in the custody of Thai troops in October 2004. During a rare parliamentary joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Wednesday, March 30, at the start of a two-day debate on the Islamic uprising in the South, Shinawatra announced a policy shift on the predominantly-Muslim areas, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported. �I urge all members to turn toward compromise and abandon personal prejudices for the sake of reconciliation,� Shinawatra said as he opened the session. He further stressed that his government will consider all suggestions on tackling the Muslim revolt in the South. The Thai government of Thaksin Shinawatra has faced widespread criticism at home and abroad for its heavy-handed response to the Islamic uprising in the mostly-Muslim southern provinces. The 57-member Organization of Islamic Conference has recently issued a strongly worded statement condemning the Thai government�s hard-line policy towards Thai Muslims. Not Best Solution In a clear attempt to put the blame with the other party, Shinawatra stressed that violence is not the best solution for the Islamic uprising in the South, AFP said. �One of the country�s longstanding problems is the unrest, which has caused almost daily losses, and my government wants to brainstorm ideas for measures to effectively uproot the problem,� Shinawatra told 700 lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives. �I had a lot of free time to contemplate what was right or what was wrong in what I�ve done,� added Shinawatra, who won another nationwide landslide poll victory last month, but not a single seat in the Muslim south, according to Reuters. On February 17, Thaksin has vowed to crush �separatist revolt� in the predominantly-Muslim south within four years, saying his government would cut off aid to villages who help separatists there. But the plan drew fierce criticism in the region, with Muslim leaders, academics and politicians saying it would encourage support for a separatism in which more than 500 people have been killed since it erupted in January last year and damage business confidence further. Policy Shift The Thai Premier, pilloried for the deaths of 85 Muslim protesters in army custody and 32 lightly armed militants inside a mosque last year, announced the policy shift following an appeal from opposition Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva in the first parliamentary joint session since August 1997, Reuters said. �The government has to send out a clear signal that it is changing its policy in tackling violence in the south since society is still confused about what has been going,� Abhisit said in an hour-long speech. In response to Abhisit's suggestions, Shinawatra said he welcomed the proposals, stressing that his government would provide education and development in the predominantly-Muslim South. �Soldiers will be deployed to do more development work so they won�t be spotted carrying guns all over the place,� he said. Earlier Tuesday, the Thai government has approved a $728,000 (28.4 million baht) compensation for the families of 85 Muslims, who died after Thai troops brutally broke up a protest in the south in October 2004. �The families of the 85 who died and seven missing will receive 300,000 baht each, while 11 injured will receive 80,000 baht compensation,� Danuphorn Punakanta, deputy government spokesman, was quoted by AFP as telling a press conference. A total of 85 Thai Muslims died on October 25, after Thai troops broke up a protest at Tak Bai in the southern province of Narathiwat with tear gas, water cannon and gunfire. The majority of victims suffocated or were crushed after being bound and left for hours on trucks. Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist nation but about five percent of the population is Muslim, and most live in the five southern provinces bordering Malaysia. Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat are the only Muslim majority provinces in Thailand, where Muslims have long complained of discrimination in jobs and education and business opportunities. enditem ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
