Thai PM presses peace bid in Muslim south

YALA, Thailand, Nov 8 (Reuters) New Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, pressing hard to bring peace to the rebellious Muslim far south, went to a school founded by an insurgent leader today to appeal for an end to the violence.

On his second trip to the region in less than a week -- his first was to issue a public apology for the hard line policies of his ousted predecessor -- Surayud promised justice at a school security forces believe is a breeding ground for insurgents.

''The blacklists must be torn up and burned,'' he said at the Thamma Wittaya School founded by most-wanted insurgent leader Sapaeing Bazo after a teacher complained of frequent raids on it by security forces armed with blacklists of suspected rebels.

''Investigations must start again to give everyone justice,'' he said at the private school of more than 6,000 students, whose founder has a 10 million baht price on his head.

Surayud, a day after saying ''no separation'' was his only pre-condition for peace talks with rebels in a region which was a Muslim sultanate until annexed by Bangkok a century ago, also went to a college suspected of producing insurgents.

''I am an ageing man who wishes to see the country progress in the hands of youths like you,'' Surayud told thousands of students and teachers at Yala college, from which security forces say several suspected bomb makers are on the run.

The comments by Surayud, a retired army chief appointed after a bloodless Sept 19 coup, reinforced his policy U-turn from elected predecessor Thaksin Shinawatra's hardline approach to an insurgency in which more than 1,700 people have been killed.

APOLOGY After he apologised for Thaksin's iron-fist policies blamed for stoking unrest in the region, the new government dropped charges against 92 Muslims involved in a 2004 demonstration and agreed to pay compensation for the deaths of 78 protesters.

Southern Muslims, an ethnic Malay minority in overwhelmingly Buddhist Thailand, deeply resented Thaksin's refusal to apologise for the deaths of the 78 crushed or suffocated in army custody and Surayud's peace offensive is showing signs of hope.

Several armed groups had responded positively to the offer of talks, Army chief and coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin told reporters in Bangkok.

''We are at a stage of opening up a channel to communicate openly and constructively, but they have not stated any demand. Eventually, involved officers will have a chance to meet them,'' said Sonthi, the first Muslim to head the Thai army.

Surayud also appears to have advanced his cause by saying Thailand's three southernmost provinces where most of the violence has occurred could have Islamic Sharia law.

''The government is showing its sincerity in trying to understand the Muslim way of life, which should bring better understanding and cooperation from the Muslims,'' Pattani Islamic Council chief Waedueramae Maminchi told Reuters.

''We don't want to see Sharia implemented at its extreme like amputating hands of thieves, but the Islamic law should be accepted widely when it comes to family affairs like inheritance or divorce,'' he said.

Still, despite all the government's gestures, insurgent attacks on security forces and civilians alike continue.

Two insurgents and a soldier were killed today in a clash at a village in Yala, 60 km from the town Surayud was visiting, police said.

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