Thailand says it has photographic proof that militants in the south of the country are being trained in Malaysia. Deputy Interior Minister Sutham Saengprathum said the photographs were relatively clear, but he did not say who had taken them, or when. | "I can say(cough)NRO(cough)CIA(cough)no more!" |
In comments over the weekend, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said southern insurgents had links with both Indonesia and Malaysia. Both nations reacted angrily to the accusation and demanded evidence.
Sutham Saengprathum said the photographs proved that militants had received training in Malaysia's northern state of Kelantan, which borders southern Thailand. "There are pictures which are relatively clear and can be accepted as evidence in court. If the Malaysian government wants to see them, we can oblige," Mr Sutham told Reuters news agency. His comments are unlikely to ease tensions with Kuala Lumpur, says the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Kylie Morris.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmed Badawi has rejected any suggestion that his country is a base for insurgents. Malaysian officials have accused the Thai prime minister of attempting to divert attention from his government's handling of the violence in the south of his country, which has left more than 500 people dead so far this year. Jakarta is also annoyed, after Mr Thaksin said that Thai militants were being indoctrinated by radical Indonesian groups. The Indonesian government has demanded an explanation, calling on Mr Thaksin to substantiate or retract his accusations. |