Authorities discuss solutions to Thai far South

BANGKOK, August 15 (TNA) - Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Thursday attended a meeting of a government committee on the implementation of policies and strategies to solve problems in the violence-plagued Thai far South. Concerned authorities participating in the meeting, held at the Ministry of Defence in Bangkok and attended by Premier Yingluck as the concurrent defence minister for the first time, include the Royal Thai Armed Forces' chiefs and the national police chief, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Police General Pracha Promnok, Deputy Defence Minister General Yutthasak Sasiprapa, Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan, Labour Minister Police Captain Chalerm Yubamrung and National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Paradorn Patanatabutr. The meeting discussed the overall situation in the troubled Thai deep South, security measures after the Ramadan fasting month of Muslims and the next round of peace negotiations between the Thai government, through the NSC, and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) insurgency movement. The meeting was also reported on operations to solve security problems in the southernmost Thai region by the NSC and the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) and the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC), including development projects and security operations. The NSC chief insisted, meanwhile, that peace negotiations with the BRN will continue and his side will try to set the next round of negotiations through Malaysia, the facilitator of the NSC-BRN peace process. (TNA)