By Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent

THAI Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday acknowledged that education was a key issue in the country's troubled southern provinces - and said that he hoped his government would be able to 'turn things around'.

The remark came in response to an International Crisis Group (ICG) report released yesterday, warning that separatist militants in the south continue to enlist young Malay Muslims, especially from private Islamic schools.

'The recruits are driven not by global jihad (holy war), but by a desire to defend their ethnic and religious identity from what they perceive as oppression by the Thai Buddhist state,' said the 20-page report of the independent, Brussels-based organisation focused on conflict studies.

'Recruiters target devout, hardworking, well-mannered students to join extra-curricular indoctrination programmes. Religious lessons, educational trips and sports teams provide opportunities for recruiters to assess the young students for a period that can range from a few months to over a year. The students are then asked to take an oath of allegiance.

'Some then undergo physical conditioning and military training before being assigned to different roles in village- level operations. For those rejected for front-line service, there are secondary roles...such as psychological warfare.'

In a statement, ICG's Thailand analyst Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat said: 'Recruiters appeal to a sense of Malay nationalism and pride in the old Pattani sultanate. They tell students...it is the duty of every Muslim to take back their land from the Buddhist infidels.'

In an interview with The Straits Times during his day-long visit to Singapore yesterday, Mr Abhisit said: 'This is one of the reasons why we think education is a key area we need to address.

'We have set up an office for private education specially for the (affected) provinces, partly so that we can do more to assist religious schools and make sure they are able to serve the local children, not just in terms of religious teaching, but also to give them skills for employment and opportunities for the future.

'We also have programmes where we provide funds and teachers for these schools; so we hope we can turn things around.'

The insurgency, mainly across the provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and part of Songkhla, has accounted for around 3,500 lives since early 2004, most of them civilians. Both Muslims and Buddhists are among the dead.

The conflict is complicated by criminality and personal feuds.

Mr Abhisit said a comprehensive programme for developing the affected provinces - where analysts say several human development indices lag behind national standards - 'sets clear targets in terms of how we want to raise the income and standard of living of people there in a way that also conforms to their way of life'.

He cited the development of halal products, Islamic banking and, in some cases, the application of syariah law.

'This I think will help along with the initiatives on education,' he said, adding that cooperation with Malaysia also sought to address issues like education, employment and entrepreneurship.

Addressing the issue of injustice in the south, where local Malay Muslims largely feel like second-class citizens at the mercy of security forces who have not been held to account for documented abuses, the Thai leader said: 'If they think (the militants) are fighting against injustice, we say we are addressing this injustice.'

But he acknowledged that operations of security forces 'must make sure we don't slip back to actions that only contribute further to this sense of injustice'.

He ruled out negotiations with separatists, saying 'there can be talks between officials and people who might be involved in these movements', but added that he could not see how 'in practical terms' negotiations could take place.

Mr Abhisit said: 'The objective is peace and stability and making sure local people have justice and opportunities equal to any other Thais. Who is to say that the people who come to the negotiating table will serve the local people better?'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.