(Photo courtesy of Royal Thai Police)The military has talked with 10 local politicians for allegedly being "partly" responsible for the southern unrest, 4th Army commander Lt Gen Piyawat Nakwanich said. Lt Gen Piyawat refused to name the politicians, but said they appeared to understand why the military had talked with them, and he expects they will in due course end their role in the unrest. "In other regions, such people would be called hitmen, but in the [deep] South, they are called insurgents," he said. Local industry is expected to prosper after the government recently issued a policy to promote mining activity -- once a cash cow for the deep South. So far, three have already received concessions to do business, Lt Gen Piyawat.

Source: Bangkok Post December 30, 2017 22:30 UTC