March 21, 2008
BANGKOK - Premier Samak Sundaravej plans to boost private investment in Muslim provinces hit by a deadly insurgency to ease the violence.
The premier got the idea after meeting with the security chiefs to find ways to handle the southern unrest which has claimed more than 3,000 lives over four years.
The region is one of the poorest in the country, with economic growth averaging 1.8 percent a year, compared with 4.3 percent for the entire southern region of Thailand, according to AFP.
The halal food projects, agriculture support schemes, and increased trade with neighbouring Malaysia are parts of the investment plan.
However, private companies investing in the south have to allow the military to hold a 51 percent stake in their projects.
At least 108 factories have shut their doors so far.
10.8% of the region’s people lived in poverty in 2006, compared with 9.7 percent two years earlier.
Despite tax incentives and other measures, businesses are hesitant to invest in those southernmost provinces where shootings, bombings and arson are parts of the daily life.
Government statistics show that attacks have become far more frequent as the insurgency has progressed, with 2,633 attacks last year, compared with 1,324 in 2004 when the unrest broke out.
The violence has widowed 954 women, and orphaned 1,784 children, according to government data.
