THURSDAY , 25 NOVEMBER 2004

BANGKOK: The Thai government is offering big bounties for 74 suspected militants accused of involvement in violence in the largely Muslim south, a senior police officer said yesterday.

Major-General Thani Thavitsri said 7000 posters were being distributed in the region along the Malaysian border offering rewards for information leading to the arrest of the Muslim militants.

The biggest reward was for the capture of Jegumae Guteh, the suspected leader of the Mujahideen Islamic Pattani, who had a Bht5 million ($NZ177,680.09) price on his head, Thani said.

He said Jegumae was believed to have masterminded the raid on an army camp on January 4 which set off the unrest in a region where a low-key separatist war was fought in the 1970s and 1980s.

Nearly 500 people - government officials, police and civilians - have been killed in the violence since then and Thani said Jegumae was believed to have fomented several confrontations.

Another top suspect was Masae Useng, wanted for treason, murder, arson and robbery, with a Bht3 million reward. He is also accused of being behind the January raid on the army depot in Narathiwat in which more than 300 assault rifles were stolen.

"Their whereabouts are unclear as they have been in and out of the country," Thani told Reuters.

"Some have not been seen for a long time. We have asked the cooperation of our neighbour to track them," he said, referring to Malaysia where Thai police say some militants have taken refuge.

The rewards were meant to put pressure on the militants and reduce the scope of their operations, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters.

"The posters will at least narrow the areas of their movement, even though they still manage to avoid arrest," he said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/print/0,1478,3107660a12,00.html

THURSDAY , 25 NOVEMBER 2004

BANGKOK: The Thai government is offering big bounties for 74 suspected militants accused of involvement in violence in the largely Muslim south, a senior police officer said yesterday.

Major-General Thani Thavitsri said 7000 posters were being distributed in the region along the Malaysian border offering rewards for information leading to the arrest of the Muslim militants.

The biggest reward was for the capture of Jegumae Guteh, the suspected leader of the Mujahideen Islamic Pattani, who had a Bht5 million ($NZ177,680.09) price on his head, Thani said.

He said Jegumae was believed to have masterminded the raid on an army camp on January 4 which set off the unrest in a region where a low-key separatist war was fought in the 1970s and 1980s.

Nearly 500 people - government officials, police and civilians - have been killed in the violence since then and Thani said Jegumae was believed to have fomented several confrontations.

Another top suspect was Masae Useng, wanted for treason, murder, arson and robbery, with a Bht3 million reward. He is also accused of being behind the January raid on the army depot in Narathiwat in which more than 300 assault rifles were stolen.

"Their whereabouts are unclear as they have been in and out of the country," Thani told Reuters.

"Some have not been seen for a long time. We have asked the cooperation of our neighbour to track them," he said, referring to Malaysia where Thai police say some militants have taken refuge.

The rewards were meant to put pressure on the militants and reduce the scope of their operations, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters.

"The posters will at least narrow the areas of their movement, even though they still manage to avoid arrest," he said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/print/0,1478,3107660a12,00.html

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Good luck with Malaysia turning them over to Thai authorities.