ID :
48684
Tue, 03/03/2009 - 12:20
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/48684
The shortlink copeid
WINNING THE SOUTHERN THAI CONFLICT THROUGH HEARTS AND MINDS
By Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa
PATTANI (Thailand), March 3 (Bernama) -- "Is it safe to travel by road to Pattani?," I asked Nik Salleh, a Thai Muslim driver who works for a travel agency in Sungai Kolok, Thailand.
Safety is a serious consideration when one travels to Pattani and other
cities in the predominantly-Muslim south of Thailand, which since 2004 has been
witnessing bloodshed.
As reported by the media, more than 3,000 people have fallen victim to the
violence, which the Thai authority has squarely blamed on the Muslim separatist
movement including the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (PULO).
"Insyaallah (God Willing) the ride will be smooth," answered Nik Salleh in
thick Kelantanese accent to my question.
Endless violence, heavy presence of armed security personnel as well as the
negative media portrayal of the unrest has turned away potential tourists and
income for the region, lamented Nik Salleh.
The father of two young sons has been ferrying Malaysian tourists to
southern Thailand for almost ten years now but his livelihood like the rest
of the people there has been affected by the unrest.
"You cannot expect tourists to come here, everywhere there are soldiers with
guns," he said nodding his head as we stopped at one of the security checkpoints
manned by gun-totting soldiers sitting on an armoured carrier.
As our vehicle passed the town of Narathiwat, Tak Bai and the historical
Krue Se Mosque that witnessed the massacre of some 40 insurgents, enroute to
Pattani, Salleh stated to me that both sides in the conflict had to settle their
differences on negotiating table before the unrest slips into an endless
conflict.'
Indeed, the conflict in Thailand's deep south has the potential of
spiraling out of control as pointed out by the country's independent research
network, Deep South Watch.
The network in a report published recently noted that since 2004 the
southern unrest has taken a huge toll on people and livelihood with 3,287 killed
and 109 billion Baht of the state budget going to waste in tackling the problem.
Nevertheless, Thailand's new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva has given
fresh hope to the people in the troubled south especially in Pattani, Yala and
Narathiwat with his new approach.
The Oxford-educated Abhisit, sensing that the military strategy alone would
not bring the desired results, now wants to engage in a battle to win the
"hearts and minds" of Muslims in the troubled south using political and civilian
approach.
During a meeting with the visiting Malaysian media in Pattani recently,
Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya noted that Abhisit wanted to tackle
head-on problems in Muslim-provinces bordering Malaysia.
"The political branch must take up the matters relating to the southern
Thailand issue and not leave all to the bureaucrats like the police and military
to solve it," said Kasit, a former diplomat.
Since violence erupted in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat five years ago,
the security forces failed to return peace and public order to the provinces and
instead there were allegations of serious violations of human rights against
Muslim civilians and insurgents.
On this, Kasit called on the military "to respect the rule of law" when
operating in the south.
According to Kasit, among the initial measures introduced by Abhisit to
tackle the growing crisis in the south is to turn the Southern Border
Provinces Administration Center (SBPAC)-- a body responsible for running
civilian affairs in the south -- a permanent entity.
The influential and effective SBPAC was shut down by former Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra in 2002 who opted for military tactics to find
a quick-fix to the insurgency in the south.
Based in Yala, the SBPAC according to Kasit would ensure government policies
spanning the economic, education and social spheres in the provinces were
implemented successfully and expeditiously.
The man tasked with implementing efforts to win the hearts and minds of the
Muslim South is SBPAC's Director General Pranai Suwanrath who has put education
as the most important tool in eradicating violence and extremism.
"Through education, people will have more hope, which is very important in
this region. The SBPAC will provide more educational opportunities for Muslim
students in the provinces to enable them to achieve their dream," he told
Malaysian media.
More than 70 percent of the students in the Muslim provinces study in the
religious school like the `pondok' (hut) and `madrasah', while the rest are in
the government schools, he said adding that presently there were about 6,000
religious schools in the south.
Because of this, the percentage of Muslim students entering universities in
Thailand is among the lowest in the country.
In helping to change the situation, Pranai said the SBPAC last year provided
more than 1,000 scholarship to deserving Muslim students in the troubled south
to study overseas namely in Malaysia, Indonesia and other Middle East countries.
Abhisit's efforts to win the hearts and minds of Thailand's Muslim
population in the south goes to show that those in the seat of power in Bangkok
finally realised that the five year confrontation in the south can only be
solved through constructive engagement.
-- BERNAMA
PATTANI (Thailand), March 3 (Bernama) -- "Is it safe to travel by road to Pattani?," I asked Nik Salleh, a Thai Muslim driver who works for a travel agency in Sungai Kolok, Thailand.
Safety is a serious consideration when one travels to Pattani and other
cities in the predominantly-Muslim south of Thailand, which since 2004 has been
witnessing bloodshed.
As reported by the media, more than 3,000 people have fallen victim to the
violence, which the Thai authority has squarely blamed on the Muslim separatist
movement including the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (PULO).
"Insyaallah (God Willing) the ride will be smooth," answered Nik Salleh in
thick Kelantanese accent to my question.
Endless violence, heavy presence of armed security personnel as well as the
negative media portrayal of the unrest has turned away potential tourists and
income for the region, lamented Nik Salleh.
The father of two young sons has been ferrying Malaysian tourists to
southern Thailand for almost ten years now but his livelihood like the rest
of the people there has been affected by the unrest.
"You cannot expect tourists to come here, everywhere there are soldiers with
guns," he said nodding his head as we stopped at one of the security checkpoints
manned by gun-totting soldiers sitting on an armoured carrier.
As our vehicle passed the town of Narathiwat, Tak Bai and the historical
Krue Se Mosque that witnessed the massacre of some 40 insurgents, enroute to
Pattani, Salleh stated to me that both sides in the conflict had to settle their
differences on negotiating table before the unrest slips into an endless
conflict.'
Indeed, the conflict in Thailand's deep south has the potential of
spiraling out of control as pointed out by the country's independent research
network, Deep South Watch.
The network in a report published recently noted that since 2004 the
southern unrest has taken a huge toll on people and livelihood with 3,287 killed
and 109 billion Baht of the state budget going to waste in tackling the problem.
Nevertheless, Thailand's new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva has given
fresh hope to the people in the troubled south especially in Pattani, Yala and
Narathiwat with his new approach.
The Oxford-educated Abhisit, sensing that the military strategy alone would
not bring the desired results, now wants to engage in a battle to win the
"hearts and minds" of Muslims in the troubled south using political and civilian
approach.
During a meeting with the visiting Malaysian media in Pattani recently,
Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya noted that Abhisit wanted to tackle
head-on problems in Muslim-provinces bordering Malaysia.
"The political branch must take up the matters relating to the southern
Thailand issue and not leave all to the bureaucrats like the police and military
to solve it," said Kasit, a former diplomat.
Since violence erupted in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat five years ago,
the security forces failed to return peace and public order to the provinces and
instead there were allegations of serious violations of human rights against
Muslim civilians and insurgents.
On this, Kasit called on the military "to respect the rule of law" when
operating in the south.
According to Kasit, among the initial measures introduced by Abhisit to
tackle the growing crisis in the south is to turn the Southern Border
Provinces Administration Center (SBPAC)-- a body responsible for running
civilian affairs in the south -- a permanent entity.
The influential and effective SBPAC was shut down by former Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra in 2002 who opted for military tactics to find
a quick-fix to the insurgency in the south.
Based in Yala, the SBPAC according to Kasit would ensure government policies
spanning the economic, education and social spheres in the provinces were
implemented successfully and expeditiously.
The man tasked with implementing efforts to win the hearts and minds of the
Muslim South is SBPAC's Director General Pranai Suwanrath who has put education
as the most important tool in eradicating violence and extremism.
"Through education, people will have more hope, which is very important in
this region. The SBPAC will provide more educational opportunities for Muslim
students in the provinces to enable them to achieve their dream," he told
Malaysian media.
More than 70 percent of the students in the Muslim provinces study in the
religious school like the `pondok' (hut) and `madrasah', while the rest are in
the government schools, he said adding that presently there were about 6,000
religious schools in the south.
Because of this, the percentage of Muslim students entering universities in
Thailand is among the lowest in the country.
In helping to change the situation, Pranai said the SBPAC last year provided
more than 1,000 scholarship to deserving Muslim students in the troubled south
to study overseas namely in Malaysia, Indonesia and other Middle East countries.
Abhisit's efforts to win the hearts and minds of Thailand's Muslim
population in the south goes to show that those in the seat of power in Bangkok
finally realised that the five year confrontation in the south can only be
solved through constructive engagement.
-- BERNAMA
