New army chief to end Thai far South's unrest with peaceful solutions

BANGKOK, October 15 (TNA) - Thailand's newly-appointed Army Chief General Udomdet Sitabutr vows to promote peaceful solutions in southern border villages to end violent unrest in the Thai far South, in lieu of suppressive measures, but insisting he will never accept any regional independence. General Udomdet told journalists on Wednesday that he plans to apply peaceful solutions pioneered in Thung Yang Daeng District of Pattani Province to expand his peace-oriented policy in the troubled Thai deep South despite recent arson attacks at six local schools. General Udomdet noted that people in Thung Yang Daeng understand the government and have become generally cooperative, but security at local schools remain weak. General Udomdet assumed that the recent arson attacks could be a retaliation against government authorities, following the earlier arrests of armed insurgent leaders, and security measures and equipment must, thus, be increased. According to the army chief, if the Thung Yang Daeng model is successful, it will then be expanded to all other areas in the Thai far South. The new army chief assured that students at the torched schools will have temporary classrooms in time for their next semester, which starts on November 3, while the repair of damaged school buildings will be done soon. According to the army chief, peaceful solutions at the village level are aimed at convincing opponents to cooperate with the state. The army chief insisted, however, that the Royal Thai Army will never tolerate the separation of the Thai territory, saying that the Constitution makes it clear that the Thai territory must not be separated and local people do not want the independence. Besides, other countries and even the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) understand the work of the Thai government. The army chief revealed that he and Deputy Education Minister General Surachet Chaiwong will soon visit the Thai far South to inspect the situation. (TNA)