Army chief proposes fence along Thai-Malaysian border

BANGKOK, May 22 (TNA) - Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has proposed the construction of a fence along the Thai-Malaysian border, as there is not a serious problem about demarcation, in order to block suspected insurgents in the Thai far South to flee across the border into Malaysia. General Prayuth told journalists on Monday that he raised the proposed idea to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra during an informal dinner meeting Sunday evening, as the prime minister wants to meet with concerned authorities a few times monthly. General Prayuth pointed out that the Thai-Malaysian border stretches over 600 kilometers and they cannot be blocked or overseen completely, as some sections are narrow canals where people can always cross them, although he has asked the interior minister to order heads of villages and village clusters and local authorities to help soldiers supervise border areas. The Thai army chief insisted that his talks with the prime minister focused on the situation in the southern border region and preparations for, probably, disasters. Regarding continual violent incidents in the troubled Thai deep South, the army commander-in-chief acknowledged that militants were trying to pressure the government to bow to their demands. According to the army chief, security authorities have arrested militants, but many bombers have been released on bail and the authorities are checking if they were involved in recent bombings; while asking villagers to help block the transport of bombing components. (TNA)