BANGKOK, Jan 21 (TNA) — Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday urged all media to be more careful on southern violence coverage.
Gen Prayut who is also the chief of the National Council for Peace and Order issued an announcement warning media to carefully cover violent incidents in southern border provinces because, he said, southern insurgency movements are trying to trigger violent suppression and then achieve international interventions.
Gen Prayut cited the attack at Buddhist temple Wat Ratana Nuphab in Sungai Padi district of Narathiwat on Jan 18, saying it was aimed at exhausting the patience of officials and triggering all-out suppression.
That would prompt international organisations to intervene in the country as they had done in many other countries. Mass media, social media and other media should not support the attempt, the prime minister said.
“People are soft targets. They include teachers, students, Buddhist monks and religious leaders… They have been protected. But their areas and numbers and the times of their routines make 100% protection impossible,” Gen Prayut said.
The government and the NCPO gave moral support to all people, leaders of all religions, teachers, students, officials, police and military officers who were in danger-prone areas, he said.
The government would improve intelligence and adjust its strategies to cope, the prime minister said. (TNA)
