BANGKOK, June 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Unrest in Thailand's Muslim-dominated deep south didn't stem from religious disputes, said Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

    Religion could be misused by a few ill-intended people in local insurgence, but the southern problem was not a religious issue, Bangkok Post on Wednesday quoted former OIC assistant secretary-general Sayed El-Masari as saying.

    Sayed made the remark on Wednesday at the end of an OIC delegation's one-week field trip to the troubled region.

    "It could be a cultural factor or the way the South has been neglected for many years, or even non-local factors," he said.

    "However, the people down there said they would like to work and needed consultations with the government."

    Thailand's southernmost provinces bordering Malaysia have fallen into spiraling violence since the beginning of last year.

    The government has pointed finger to revived separatist movement and interest groups' power struggle for the unceased violence, which has claimed around 700 lives in the past 17 months.

    Meanwhile, opposition and critics believed the long-term neglect of local culture and development was the root reason of violence.

    Having beefed up security in the region, the government admitted that neglect of local Muslim culture might have deteriorated the situation.

    The government was willing to work with the OIC and southern communities to solve problems peacefully and to develop the region,Foreign Minister Kantathi Supham-ongkhon told Sayed during their meeting on Wednesday.

    However, Thailand hope OIC would keep the issue of southern violence off the agenda of their ministerial meeting in Yemen later this month.

    "We therefore hope the OIC foreign ministers will ...not discuss an internal issue of Thailand at their annual meeting," said Thailand's foreign spokesman Sihasak Puangketkoew. Enditem