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October 6, 2005

Thailand: Prime Minister Goes South

Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai PM, has visited the reoubled southern part of his country. He arrived in Narathiwat, and went to stay for the night at Cho -I-Rong (Jor ai Rong) district, where 5 soldiers were recently killed in an ambush. Throughout his visit he has been intensely guarded. 1,000 troops met him at the airport and escorted him to Cho-I-Rong. Soldiers were posted every 10 metres along the route, according to a report from ABC. This is the first time Thaksin Shinawatra has visited the region since two Thai marines were taken hostage and then murdered by a mob in Narathiwat province on September 21.

In another report today, from the Borneo Bulletin, the Malaysian foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, announced yesterday that the 131 Thai Muslims who had fled across the border into Malaysia are not "illegal immigrants", and his country has a duty to protect their interests. The issue of the refugees has caused dipplomatic feuding between Malaysia and Thailand.

On Tuesday, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra repeated his criticism of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees because it investigated the case of the 131 Muslims, whom Thai officials have said aren't refugees but people who were manipulated by insurgents to damage Thailand's international image.

Syed Hamid said he disagreed with the Thai PM's claim at a press conference. He said that his country had never refused to cooperate with Thailand, but insisted that, before any people were handed over "we need be satisfied that all matters related to the law, basic human rights, due process and the rule of law are complied with," he said.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 6, 2005 11:15 AM

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