Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon insisted Monday that Mara Patani, an umbrella organisation of insurgent groups in the South, had agreed during peace talks that one district in the deep South would be kept as a safety zone.
He was responding to news reports that quoted Mara Patani as saying that no safety zones had been designated in the deep South although discussions between the group and the Thai government were ongoing.
Earlier, Gen Aksara Kerdphol, chief of the government's peace talks delegation, said the Thai government and Mara Patani agreed to support the idea and one district would be designated as a pilot safety zone.
Gen Prawit said that there was no discrepancy in the information even though 4th Army commander Piyawat Nakvanich was quoted as saying that 14 districts had already been designated as safety zones.
He said the information was not contradictory as the one district mentioned by Gen Aksara was part of the larger goal.
It was reported that safety zones have been proposed for five districts in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces.
The names of the districts would be kept classified as it might be perceived as a challenge by some insurgent groups, according to the report.
In a separate development, a total of 348 students in the three southernmost provinces are vying for scholarships to study in Egypt, according to the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC).
Sommai Boonkliang, assistant secretary-general, said the scholarship is a collaboration by the Office of the Chularatchamontri, or Muslim spiritual leader, and the Egyptian embassy in Thailand.
Aimed at providing better educational opportunities for Muslims in the strife-torn region, there are 80 grants available, he said, adding that the students will sit an exam tomorrow in Bangkok.
