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Wanted lawmaker travels to crisis-hit southern Thailand

A ruling party lawmaker wanted by police over a deadly raid on a military armory in Thailand's Muslim-majority south flew to the troubled region yesterday with two Cabinet ministers to meet with local residents.

Hit-and-run attacks in the region has surged since the January raid and dozens of people have been killed. The government of this predominantly Buddhist country has blamed the violence on Islamic separatists, with possible links to international terrorists.

Lawmaker Najamudeen Umar accompanied Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisang and Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula on what they described as an effort to assess problems and create understanding with local residents.

A Thai court on Thursday approved an arrest warrant for Najamudeen, a member of parliament from the southern province of Narathiwat, and eight other people. But police can only arrest Najamudeen if Parliament approves the action by a vote, or if he waives his parliamentary immunity. Five of the others have been taken into custody.

The nine suspects are wanted over the bloody Jan. 4 raid in Narathiwat, in which four soldiers were killed and hundreds of assault weapons stolen. According to police documents submitted in court, Najamudeen took part in three secret meetings at which the raid on the armory was planned. He denies the allegations.

Narathiwat and neighboring Pattani and Yala are the only provinces with Muslim majorities in Buddhist-dominated Thailand. A decades-old separatist movement in the south was contained in the late 1980s, but violence began to resurface two years ago.

More than 50 people, mostly security personnel, have been killed by gunmen in the south since the raid. Another official was killed in Narathiwat yesterday. Lieutenant Pramote Kansap, 50-year-old local security official, was shot dead while jogging alone, said police Capt. Nond Chanboonrawd.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra this week said he's not concerned about the allegations against Najamudeen, a member of his party.

Thai Muslims have long complained of discrimination in jobs and education by the central government.
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