WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- Thailand's government on April 18 decided to extend by three months its emergency decree covering the country's three troubled southern Muslim majority provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
Since January 2004 when violence erupted in the region between Muslim militants and government troops more than 1,000 people have died. Government attempts to negotiate a peaceful solution to the disturbances have failed.
The Thai news agency or TNA reported Saturday that government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee told reporters following a Cabinet meeting that the emergency decree covering Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala would be extended by another three months starting from April 20.
The emergency decree suspends habeas corpus and allows the government to detain suspects for up to 30 days without charges. The decree also permits searches and arrest without a judge issuing prior warrants.
Surapong said that the emergency legislation had led to the arrest of 454 militants since August 2005, adding that more insurgent sympathizers are cooperating with the government.
Acting Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya, the former deputy Prime Minister who has succeeded former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra following Thaksin's the wake of his decision to take a break from politics, said that extending the emergency decree in the south would depend on the local situation.
Albanians, Bosnians, Macedonians, Ukrainians and Serbians will soon see the price of Schengen visas rise from $43 to $73. The price change will be implemented on Jan. 1, 2007.
The change will inflict significant fiscal hardships on the various nationalities. Monthly salaries range from a low in Ukraine of $150 to less than $200 for Serbia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia.
France has been pushing for the price increase because of the increased expenses that will occur once the European Union's central visa information base, which will incorporate biometric data, becomes operational at the end of 2007.
The 1985 Schengen Agreement now includes 26 nations. All European Union nations except Ireland and Britain are members along with non-EU states Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
Under the Schengen Agreement, the signatories have agreed to a common immigration and border policy. Frontier posts and checks have been removed between Schengen countries while the common "Schengen visa" allows citizens of member nations access to the entire region covered by the accord. The Schengen Agreement, however, does not cover residency or work permits for non-EU nationals.
Serbia's B 92 radio reported Friday that, following prolonged debate, the proposal was adopted by the EU Foreign Affairs Minister meeting in Luxembourg on April 20.
Recent EU members Poland and Hungary argued against the fee increase, as they receive many Ukrainian and Serbia visitors.
The new visa fees will only apply to short-term visits of up to three months, as each EU member sets its own prices for longer visas. Under the Schengen Agreement revisions, visa prices will not increase for children under the age of six, students and researchers.
The EU is offering a reduction on visa prices to the Balkan nations if they sign agreements on the repatriation of their illegal immigrants in Schengen member states on the road towards European integration. Russia and Ukraine have already signed such agreements.
The recent natural gas tariff dispute has left European Union nations scrambling to ensure its energy security by developing alternatives to relying on Russian Gazprom exports.
Kazakh Foreign Minister Kasimjomart Tokaev said that Kazakhstan has now begun discussions about of construction of a natural gas pipeline under the Caspian Sea to cross the other former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Prime-News reported Saturday that the European Union has already expressed its interest in the underwater construction, which would bypass the current Russian natural gas export monopoly through Eastern Europe.
The $3.6 billion, 1,093 mile-long Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline has proved the viability of alternative energy corridors bypassing Russia. The BTC pipeline is currently being filled with oil and is expected to become operational later this year, initially pumping 300,000 barrels per day, which will rise to one million barrels per day in 2008.
Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy Natik Aliev said that the proposed system could be interlinked into the already existing infrastructure of the South Caucasian Gas pipeline and estimated costs of the undersea Caspian Sea pipeline at approximately $5 billion, with additional funding need for upgrading the South Caucasian Gas grid.
In looking for the widest possible alternative to Russia, EU countries are also considering natural gas deliveries from Iran and Turkmenistan in addition to Kazakhstan.
The Philippine government has received new warnings of terror attacks by al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah militants but it has also assured the public that they are doing everything to ensure security.
The Philippine Star Sunday quoted government press secretary Ignacio Bunye as saying, "The warning against the JI is well taken, but we believe this is old stuff and does not reflect the stable situation that is obtaining on the ground. Working with our allies, we have been gaining solid ground in uprooting homegrown and foreign terror cells within our territory, and we shall never put our guard down. President Arroyo has spared no effort to ensure that terrorists are kept at bay while communities are kept alert."
Bunye confirmed reports that some dissident radical Moro Islamic Liberation Front leaders in Mindanao were sheltering JI guerrillas but added that authorities there were coping with the issue.
During an anti-terrorism conference in Cebu Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor told attendees that Philippine security officials were aware of JI militants in central Mindanao's jungles five years ago, "But as to how many they are, we don't really know and they are indeed a security concern. There have been terrorist operatives and they may even number 100 but there have been continuous operations against them."
Defensor told his audience that efforts to deny the presence of the JI in Mindanao would be futile and embarrassing for the government, adding that insinuations that mainstream MILF leaders were giving refuge to the JI militants was incorrect, as the government in its peace initiatives with the MILF had addressed the allegations. Defensor added that Arroyo had even praised the MILF for its efforts to contain terrorism in the southern Philippines.
Philippines National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said that while the central government has been successful in neutralizing threats posed by terror groups in the southern Philippines, the war against terror groups like the JI has yet to be won.
"The Jemaah Islamiyah militants have been with us. What we can say is that this is a continuing threat. It is difficult to talk of numbers. So what my office will do is check these figures," Gonzales said.
