Pulo accuses ICG report of misleading

A long-standing Malay Muslim separatist group on Tuesday lashed out at a recent report that said Islamic schools were breeding ground for an armed ethno-nationalist struggle in Thailand's deep South.

In a detailed report, the International Crisis Group (ICG) has said insurgency groups scout for new militant recruits among students at Islamic schools, locally known as pondok in Thailand's Malay-speaking South.

In a statement released Tuesday, Kasturi Mahkota, the foreign affairs chief of the Patani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), said the report from the International Crisis Group (ICG) played into the hand of "Thai ultra-nationalist" and dismissed allegations that the pondok school system "is being used in any way to propagate violence."

The Nation