Najib: No training camps for separatists
Published: May 1, 2006 1:25 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
Malaysia has blasted allegations the country is hosting training camps for Thai separatists, saying the claims in a Thai newspaper are "preposterous," according to reports.
Malaysia has blasted allegations the country is hosting training camps for Thai separatists, saying the claims in a Thai newspaper are "preposterous," according to reports.
"I don't like reports like this, suggesting there are training camps in Malaysia. If there are such reports in the papers, they must be backed by facts," Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was quoted as saying by Bernama.
"If there are others who suggest there are, please back up with the necessary facts. Otherwise, stop making such preposterous accusations or statements in the press," he added.
The Bangkok Post report said 50 Thai women were being trained in Malaysia to replace male insurgents captured by security forces in restive southern Thailand, where an Islamic insurgency has been raging.
Quoting an unnamed Thai military intelligence source, it said the women had been sent for a one-month course in Malaysia's northern Kelantan state, which borders Thailand, to be trained in bomb-making and intelligence gathering.
No information
But Najib, also the country's defence minister, denied the existence of the camps and said he did not expect to receive information from Thai authorities about them.
"As far we know, there are no training camps in Malaysia," he was quoted as saying in the Star daily.
Majority Muslim Malaysia and Thailand have an uneasy relationship over the Muslim insurgency, which has been raging since January 2004 and has claimed over 1,200 lives.
Tensions were ramped up last year when 131 Thai Muslims from the south sought refuge in northern Malaysia, saying they feared for their lives due to the fighting.
A diplomatic spat ensued over the fate of the Thais, with Malaysia insisting the group should not be forced to return, particularly if their safety cannot not be assured, and Thailand refusing to talk to Kuala Lumpur.
In December, Malaysia extradited to Thailand one of the group who was wanted in connection with the Muslim insurgency, putting relations on the mend. The remaining Thai Muslims are still in Malaysia.
"I don't like reports like this, suggesting there are training camps in Malaysia. If there are such reports in the papers, they must be backed by facts," Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was quoted as saying by Bernama.
"If there are others who suggest there are, please back up with the necessary facts. Otherwise, stop making such preposterous accusations or statements in the press," he added. The Bangkok Post report said 50 Thai women were being trained in Malaysia to replace male insurgents captured by security forces in restive southern Thailand, where an Islamic insurgency has been raging.
Quoting an unnamed Thai military intelligence source, it said the women had been sent for a one-month course in Malaysia's northern Kelantan state, which borders Thailand, to be trained in bomb-making and intelligence gathering.
No information
But Najib, also the country's defence minister, denied the existence of the camps and said he did not expect to receive information from Thai authorities about them.
"As far we know, there are no training camps in Malaysia," he was quoted as saying in the Star daily.
Majority Muslim Malaysia and Thailand have an uneasy relationship over the Muslim insurgency, which has been raging since January 2004 and has claimed over 1,200 lives.
Tensions were ramped up last year when 131 Thai Muslims from the south sought refuge in northern Malaysia, saying they feared for their lives due to the fighting.
A diplomatic spat ensued over the fate of the Thais, with Malaysia insisting the group should not be forced to return, particularly if their safety cannot not be assured, and Thailand refusing to talk to Kuala Lumpur.
In December, Malaysia extradited to Thailand one of the group who was wanted in connection with the Muslim insurgency, putting relations on the mend. The remaining Thai Muslims are still in Malaysia.
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