US rights activist slams Thailand's insurgency area zoning plan.

(From Thai Press Reports)

Section: General News - Zoning of the deep South is a 'very poor idea' and would only serve to attract more 'jihadists' and exacerbate the ongoing conflict, a human rights activist from the United States said.

"It is important that he, the prime minister, move into listening mode as opposed to CEO mode," said Brad Adams, director for Asia Pacific at Human Rights Watch.

Adams was in Bangkok to deliver his appraisal of Thailand's human rights record over the past four years, and the prospects for Thaksin Shinawatra's second term.

"The last four years have been a grave disappointment. The trend is clearly and unambiguously negative," Adams said, adding that Indonesia is now being seen as taking a lead ahead of Thailand in human rights protection.

This is a 'great embarrassment for Thailand' and the government should learn from its mistakes. While some might regard human rights as a luxury, real democracy cannot function without it, he said.

The incessant attacks in the southern border provinces are atrocious, but the public must not forget that hundreds are being held without charge and that many are being mistreated while in custody, even tortured, Adams said.