More than 200 billion baht have been spent by successive governments during the past 11 years since 2004 to cope with the unrest problem in the Deep South, according to the latest report from the Police Operations Centre of Southern Border Provinces and Isra News Centre.

Heroin may not be a popular illicit drug among drug abusers in the three southernmost provinces. But an increasing number of people are addicted to it cases of police arrests are picking up.

The perpetrators of violent incidents in the far South should be treated as terrorists whereas the government must be ready for peace talks with the terrorist groups and must come up with new peace overtures, said Panitharn Wattanayakorn, a respectable security expert and former secretary-general of of former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The next round of peace talks between the government and southern separatist groups may take place in December because the government will have to reset its negotiating team, according to Lt-Gen Paradorn Pattanathabutr, secretary-general of the National Security Council and head of the Thai team.

Altogether 46 people were killed and 72 others injured in 64 violent incidents in the Deep South in February, according to statistics compiled by the Isra news agency.