Muslims in South Cast Votes for Peace

February 6, 2005

Source: Reuters

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK261458.htm

On February 6, 2005 Reuters reported, "Voters in Thailand's largely Muslim south, where more than 500 people were killed in assassinations and explosions last year, thronged to polling stations on Sunday to vote for the restoration of peace.

Friends and foes of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said they hoped their votes would either change the government or alter government strategies to solve unrest in the region, filled with more than 30,000 troops and police from around the country... [A] Muslim voter, a 45-year-old village leader in Takbai, said he wanted a government that could bring peace and harmony for followers of the two faiths, Islam and Buddhism."