Thailand makes peace efforts

Thailand’s government plans to reach out to militants in its three Muslim southern provinces to peacefully end a 16-month rebellion there that has been blamed on Islamic separatists and claimed 800 lives, the country’s foreign minister said today.

Many of the people who have taken part in the conflict have been misled into believing they are fighting a religious war against Thailand’s Buddhist-led government, Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said.

“For those who have been misled, and there have been so many people who have been misled because of this misuse of religion, we want to use understanding and reintegrate them into society,” he said. “We are happy to have multiple faiths living in Thailand.”

Suphamongkhon made the comments after meeting his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirayuda in Jakarta.