Thailand promises aid for violent Muslim south

BANGKOK, Nov 23 (Reuters) Thailand's military-appointed government, which has embarked on a peace offensive in the rebellious Muslim far south, said today it would launch a development programme for the region.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said after a cabinet meeting devoted to the issue that he would take control of policy on the region, where more than 1,800 people have been killed in nearly three years of separatist violence.

The cabinet agreed to set up a special development programme for the region, which was an Islamic sultanate until annexed by predominantly Buddhist Thailand a century ago.

It would include tax cuts to help businesses struggling as a result of the insurgency and efforts to promote industry in the largely agricultural area where rubber and fishing are the backbone of the economy, and to create jobs, Surayud said.

''I will look after the policy of the south and will assess the situation again in three to six months,'' he told reporters.

He did not spell out the details of the programme, which he said would be financed and administered by various ministries.

Surayud has visited the region three times since he was appointed in early October following a coup which ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

His first was to apologise for Thaksin's iron-fist policies in the Malay-speaking region, for which he has promised substantial autonomy.

However, the daily attacks by insurgents who never claim responsibility for any violence or spell out their aims, have continued remorselessly.

Twice they have launched attacks on towns a day after Surayud visited them in apparent repudiation of his campaign for peace.

REUTERS SP BST2050