In his speech to welcome theCommander-in-chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces, Gen. Azizan Ariffin,Minister of Defence Pravit Wongsuwa of Thailand praised Malaysia’s 3Einitiative, which offers help in education, economy and employment insouthern Thailand.
He also appreciated Malaysia’s civil and military commitments to Thai armed forces over the past 50 years.
He expressed the hope that in the upcoming visit to southern Thailandby Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Malaysian counterpartNajib Tun Razak would help reduce violence and increase trust amongpeople.
The duo is scheduled to make the trip in December.
For his part, the Malaysian commander-in-chief pledged not to interveneinto Thailand’s internal affairs while lending a hand to solveproblems in the troubled region.
Gen. Ariffin also asked his Thai counterpart, Gen. Songkitti Jakabatra,to arrange a joint trip to southern Thailand in preparation for thejoint State-level trip.
The three southern Thai provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani arelargely populated by Muslims. The Muslim insurgencies since January2004 have killed about 3,900 people./.