Peace in the South demands historical recognition

DON PATHAN
THE NATION

Published on August 25, 2009

THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been working hard to create understanding in the international community, especially in Islamic countries, that the ongoing violence in the Muslim-majority South is not in any way part of the global war on terror. Since January 2004, the violence has claimed more than 3,500 lives.

Over the past seven months, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has made at least four visits to the restive region, accompanying Thai ambassadors and foreign envoys. Recently, he hosted diplomats from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and journalists from Arab countries.

Like those before them, the OIC delegation was taken to Army-run projects where they were greeted by smiling Malay-Muslim villagers, flag-waving children, smiling drug addicts and former insurgents who told them how they had been "misled" into taking up arms against the Thai state and how grateful they are to the government for the chance to redeem themselves.

Across the street from the Sirindhorn army camp in Yala, Fourth Army commander Lt General Pichet Wisaichorn showed off military-run community development projects that include the making of organic fertilisers.

"You are here because you wanted to be here, right?" hollered Pichet.

"Yes!" replied the Malay villagers as they huddled in the shade while curiously observing fellow Muslims who came from as far as Egypt and Oman.

Later in the day, speaking at what could be billed as a "town hall meeting" in a packed mosque in Narathiwat's Sueloh village, Kasit told local Muslims of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's determination to solve the conflict in the deep South. He also reminded them that they have the power to help make this happen if they are willing to put their hearts to it.

Outside the mosque entrance, villagers were whispering among themselves about the June 8 massacre by a group of government-trained village militiamen who fired into a mosque in Joh I Rong district, killing 11 Muslims who were praying at the time. The villagers said they didn't want to embarrass Kasit by confronting him with questions on the issue in front of the foreign dignitaries.

So far the police have issued just one arrest warrant. The leading suspect is Sutthirak Kongsuwan, 34, a former paramilitary ranger. Whether he turned rogue and took matters into his own hands or is a product of some security unit operating in the region, remains to be seen.

Not far from the Sueloh mosque were about 100 former insurgents who came to greet the delegation during its brief stopover in this highly contested district of Sungai Padi district. They were part of the "Pracha Ruamjai" project. The project combines religious education with civic responsibility for these former rebels who took up arms against the state about two decades ago. Most, if not all, enrolled in the project to clear their names from any possible "blacklist".

It was obvious that these men were not part of the new generation of militants, whose vast network stretches across the Malay-speaking South, and whose members do not appear to be interested in talking to anyone, much less the government of Thailand.

Wherever he went, Kasit told the audience that the current government is committed to peaceful means to resolve the conflict. Together with development funding and political accountability, it is hoped that the foundation for a lasting peace and reconciliation between the Thai state and the Malay-speaking region will be paved.

Kasit briefly touched on the issue of cultural differences, saying that the authorities assigned to the region will be more sensitive towards the local people.

The idea of bringing foreign diplomats to the deep South was to convince them that the problem in the region is not a religious one and that Muslims in the southernmost provinces, like anywhere else in the country, have all the freedom they need to practice their religion.

But it doesn't take an Islamic expert to see that such freedom is self-evident. As pointed out by Muslim clerics here, Muslims in Thailand probably have more freedom to practice their religion than Muslims in Arab countries.

Speaking to the Arab journalists who accompanied him in the region, Kasit, without singling out ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra or dwelling on the root cause of the problem, said past administrations may have employed questionable security tactics that have made the situation worse.

Given Thaksin's all-or-nothing attitude toward the conflict in the deep South, as well as his decision to dissolve certain institutions such as the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC) - an organisation viewed favourably by the local population - the former premier has often received much of the blame for what has gone wrong in the region.

But while Thaksin's approach to the conflict may have made things worse and driven a bigger wedge between the Patani Malays and the rest of the country, one can't deny the fact that the new generation of militants had been in the making long before he assumed power in 2001.

Like the generation of militants before them, the young men who have been carrying out roadside bombing and ambushes over the past five years grew up under a cultural narrative that is different from the rest of the Thai people. In this case, it is the century-old occupation of the Malay historical homeland by Siamese invaders.

The state's so-called reconciliation process has never seriously addressed the sticky issue of historical mistrust and the ethnocentric nature of Thailand's nation-state building. And so for the time being, the Malays of the deep South are conveniently dismissed as "Thai Muslims". But "Thai" Muslims don't question the legitimacy of the Thai state. It's the Malays of the southernmost border provinces that do.