Soldiers to lie low during ramadan

As part of a truce agreement with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), police and defence volunteers will replace soldiers in villages in the Muslim-dominated border provinces in the South during Ramadan, which began yesterday, National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanathabutr said.
Paradorn, who heads the Thai delegation in the peace dialogue with the BRN, said yesterday that his group had proposed a “rearrangement of troops” to the BRN on the weekend.
However, he dismissed talks of Thailand bowing to BRN’s demand for a total withdrawal of security forces from the restive area.
“We will only cut down on checks, laying siege and searching villages except in the case of emergency incidents,’’ he said.
He added that under the proposal, soldiers would be removed from villages and stationed in their local barracks, but would be on standby to move in case of insurgency attacks. Police and defence volunteers will replace soldiers in carrying out security work.
Paradon downplayed reports that the BRN had cancelled a truce agreement for Ramadan, saying they had only deferred the announcement and both sides had agreed to wait for Malaysia to announce the truce agreement.
Responding to questions about opponents of the truce agreement putting up posters attacking the government, Paradorn admitted that insurgents were split over the peace deal.
Meanwhile, Muslims in the deep South began observing Ramadan yesterday and many came out to shop for fresh food for their celebratory dinner after sunset.
The market at Yala municipality was crowded with people buying up ingredients for their first meal of the day. Security measures have been boosted and checkpoints set up, with all vehicles being checked for weapons.
The office of the Chularatchamontri, the Islamic spiritual leader in Thailand, announced that Ramadan officially began yesterday. He has also called on authorities to allow Muslim officials in the deep South time to relax during the fast and attend prayer ceremonies.