Thai Foreign Minister Dismisses Southern Thailand Terrorist Concerns
Josephine Roque - All Headline News Staff Writer Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (AHN) - Regional officials rejected concerns that southern Thailand possibly could be a hotbed for regional terrorists. Muslim insurgents have expressed little motivation to link with foreign militant networks, according to sources. "As far as the situation in the southern part of Thailand is concerned, there is no relationship with any international linkages of any sort," Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said after a meeting with his Australian counterpart, Alexander Downer. Counterterrorism experts expressed concerns that the southern Thailand violence could escalate if Islamic militant networks provide external assistance. Kantathi dismissed comments that the area could evolve to become like the Mindanao province in the Philippines. Downer added that the Thai conflict was controlled so that it was "not seen as something relevant to international terrorism." "There's very limited evidence of any contact with any broader jihadist movement," Downer told the AP. "I suspect some of the jihadists have endeavored to link up, but have failed to do so with those in southern Thailand." "I don't try to micromanage Thailand from Australia," Downer added. "It's a sensitive and difficult issue. ... The main thing is that the international community gets behind the Thai government's efforts to try to solve the problem."
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