Insurgency to end 'within 2 years'
4/03/2012

4TH ARMY CHIEF CONFIDENT OF PEACEFUL RESOLUTION IN DEEP SOUTH

The southern insurgency will be brought under control within a year or two at the most, said Fourth Army chief Udomchai Thammasarorat yesterday.

Gen Udomchai's prediction was at odds with speculation by others that it would take another 20 or 30 years for the conflict in the region to end.

Authorities have received better cooperation from local communities, allowing them access to all areas to provide security, he said.

Gen Udomchai added that security forces had also stepped up public relations campaigns to gain more trust from local residents.

"I expect we will be able to control the situation in the next couple of years," he said.

The commander cited a significant decline in membership of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) separatist group, blamed for frequent violent attacks in the far South.

The RKK had 10,000 members eight years ago but the latest estimates put its membership at half that.

The remaining members are mostly junior operatives who launch sabotage operations such as setting fire to targeted locations and scattering spikes on the roads to halt rescue efforts, Gen Udomchai said.

Insurgent groups worked to cause divisions between the military and villagers. They picked on blunders in security missions and cast the authorities in a negative light with the aim to drive them out of communities.

In a recent incident, a recorded sex act between an army private and a 16-year-old Muslim girl in Pattani became an issue rallying public anger towards the military.

"Villagers are being incited to demand the withdrawal of troops from their villages," Gen Udomchai said.

However, the army has insisted on maintaining its security presence.

"When there is an allegation against the military, I ask that the people not jump to conclusions," he said.

Military personnel are barred from having intimate relationships with local people while on a mission. In the latest case, the private was disciplined and is awaiting prosecution although both he and the girl may be equally to blame, the commander said.

In Yala yesterday, a suspected militant was caught when a joint military-police unit raided a house in Muang district.

Amad Usni Bakoh, 24, was taken from the house in tambon Lammai. He is wanted on two arrest warrants for allegedly running a criminal syndicate.

The unit also searched a nearby house and arrested an unidentified man believed to be member of a separatist group. The house was previously occupied by insurgent suspect Hamdi Tohluboh, who was arrested on Feb 22.

bangkokpost.com