Police chief visits Thailand's troubled South

NARATHIWAT, Sept 12 -- Thailand's newly-appointed national police chief Pol Gen Wichean Potephosree will visit the troubled southern province of Narathiwat Sunday afternoon and meet with teacher representatives of 365 schools with the goal of boosting their morale following the shooting deaths of two teachers in the province last week.

Gen Wichean's visit to Narathiwat is his first in his capacity as national police chief and, according to sources, he will meet teachers representing 365 schools closed since Wednesday, the day after the couple were shot dead by presumed insurgents.

He is expected to try to boost the morale of the teachers in the troubled province, teachers who have been living with the daily possibility of violence since the insurgency resumed than six years ago.

Tuesday’s violence raises the death toll of teachers killed by presumed insurgents to 137 while at least 140 were wounded since January 2004 when the violence re-erupted in the three southernmost border provinces, including Yala and Pattani.

The overall death toll rose to at least 4,100 people including local residents, security personnel, teachers as well as known and suspected insurgents.

Gen Wichean is expected to learn more about police strategy and challenges in dealing with insurgents during the visit, which might involve providing additional budget for the provincial initiatives.

In Bangkok, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said during his weekly TV and radio address that he had ordered Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam and Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat to visit the restive southern provinces.

Mr Abhisit said teacher representatives from the region would meet him in Bangkok on Monday to discuss security measures to be provided to teachers and ways to boost morale and providing more incentives to teachers there.

He asked the Education Ministry study offering more incentives and benefits to teachers in the region, Mr Abhisit said. (MCOT online news)