Govt awaits legal study on SBPAC set up - The Nation

South

The Nation March 3, 2012 1:00 am

The government is holding back on approving the new structure of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre because it is still awaiting a legal study and not because it would give the military more power, Fourth Army Area commander Lt-General Udomchai Thammasarojrat said yesterday.

As the Council of State is looking into the legal aspects of the new SBPAC structure, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is awaiting their advice before approving it, he added. He also said that the new structure would not give the armed forces more power under the new structure as speculated.

The commander was speaking after yesterday's meeting at the Internal Security Operations Command in Bangkok to discuss the situation in the deep South and the proposed new SBPAC structure. The meeting also discussed other important issues, including extending the strict security measures in Songkhla's four districts to November this year. The meeting was also briefed on several topics, including the latest sex-related controversy involving a young Muslim woman and two soldiers as well as the investigation into the shooting of four villagers.

Progress has been made with six schemes under the current SBPAC structure, including more cooperation from locals, while the number of assault rifles stolen from a depot has dropped to 78 from the 400 lost.

Meanwhile, one soldier was killed and another severely injured in Pattani yesterday as insurgents ambushed their unit on escort duty with a roadside bomb.

Police said a squad of eight soldiers from Pattani Task Force 25 was patrolling a road to escort teachers to school when insurgents detonated a 5-kilogram home-made bomb using a mobile phone. Private Jakkrit Jinarat, 22, succumbed to his injuries at Pattani Hospital, while Private Jirasak Boonruang, also 22, was being treated for severe wounds.

The attack occurred at 8.30am in Krawa village in Ma-Yor district.

Meanwhile, in Pattani's Sai Buri district, a Muslim couple was shot dead in their home late on Thursday, police said. Quoting witnesses, police said Malee Jehmu, 54, and his wife Bungo Jehmu, 51, were shot dead by two men who arrived on a motorcycle and opened fire on the victims with an assault rifle and a pistol.

The husband was killed in front of the house, while his wife fled inside but succumbed to her injuries. Police said the couple's son, a defence volunteer for the district, had been killed by insurgents in 2010.

Security has been heightened in neighbouring Yala province in the wake of 74 attacks on security officials and civilians in February alone, provincial police chief Pol Maj-General Pheera Bunliang said.

According to a report from Deep South Watch, 39 people had been killed and 69 wounded in 74 insurgent attacks so far.

Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, meanwhile, called on the government to follow up on development projects underway in the South, saying they were essential to winning over the local population.

Latest stories in this category

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Govt-awaits-legal-study-on-SBPAC-set-up-30177164.html

kareem abdul jabbar tim lincecum karl rove miramonte elementary school mark jenkins susan powell super bowl commercials 2012