Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced he would be adopting a softer approach in dealing with the violence-marred Muslim south, as the Thai government approved financial compensations for the families of Muslim victims, who brutally died while in the custody of Thai troops in October 2004.
During a rare parliamentary joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Wednesday, March 30, at the start of a two-day debate on the Islamic uprising in the South, Shinawatra announced a policy shift on the predominantly-Muslim areas, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.