Malaysia Holds Thailand Militant

Malaysia has arrested a man Thailand accuses of masterminding separatist violence in its troubled south.

Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters he wanted Malaysia to extradite Abdul Rahman Ahmad, also known as Chae Kumae Kuteh.

But Malaysian leader Abdullah Badawi noted there was no extradition treaty between Thailand and Malaysia.

He said his government might still be able to help in other ways, if Thailand lodged a formal request.

Abdul Rahman Ahmad, also known as Deraman Koteh, or Doramae Kutae, was arrested in Malaysia earlier this month, Malaysian intelligence officials have said.

There had been initial confusion about his nationality, but Mr Abdullah said on Thursday that the man's papers suggested he was a Malaysian citizen.

Mr Abdullah said that he had been arrested because "he has done something which we believe is important for us to detain him and conduct a full investigation".

Mr Thaksin described the man as the "mastermind" behind a wave of violence in Thailand's south, including a raid on an arms depot in January 2004 which heralded the unrest.

Mr Thaksin's extradition request - which he first mentioned to journalists - irritated Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who said the Thai authorities should have made the request through diplomatic channels rather than through the media.

"This is not the way to co-operate with each other," Mr Syed said.

Delicate relations

The BBC's correspondent in Kuala Lumpur, Jonathan Kent, says the Malaysian authorities were equally upset by the Thai leader's earlier public accusation that separatist guerrillas were training on and operating from Malaysian soil.

There are strong family and cultural links between Malay Muslims in southern Thailand and those over the border.

Our correspondent says sympathy in Malaysia for Thailand's Muslim minority has increased sharply since nearly 80 protesters died while in army custody following demonstrations in October.

Southern Thailand's recent upsurge in violence began on 4 January last year, when suspected Muslim militants attacked an army base close to the Malaysian border, killing four soldiers and escaping with hundreds of automatic rifles.

It has been followed by almost daily bombings and shootings in Thailand's deep south, and more than 500 people have been killed.

Source: BBC News Website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4211603.stm