EDITORIAL
The Nation
The Nation
Drama shows that govt claims of progress and a drop in violence are not soundly based
The huge car-bomb that rocked Narathiwat on Friday has cast a cloud over the supposed progress that authorities say they have made over recent months in their fight against insurgency in the far South.
More than 10 people were injured and about 20 shophouses and food stalls damaged by the blast.
For some months now, the government has pointed to the fact that the overall number of violent incidents has dropped by more than 40 per cent compared to the previous year.
But if anything, the Narathiwat car-bomb was a reminder that the number of violent incidents alone is not enough to justify a claim of success or progress.
For the past decade or so the central government has been sounding like a broken record: The insurgents hit us because we are on the right track; the insurgents don't hit us because we are on the right track.
With Thai society largely indifferent to the plight and grievances of ethnic Malays in the southernmost provinces, the government could just about say anything and get away with it.
Over recent months, the authorities have been telling the general public and the world that the number of "green zone" areas is up while the number of troubled "red" zones has dropped.
Superficial attempts to quantify progress are straight out of a warfare textbook. But the conflict in the far South is anything but conventional.
Insurgents, at this point in time, are not out to win geographical space, but mental space. This is a war of hearts and minds - at least at this stage anyway.
And if the current crop of Thai security planners can't understand this point, they should step aside and let people with better understanding of sub-national conflict take over.
It's amazing how the authorities can blindly believe their own propaganda - about how they have won over the hearts and minds of the local people.
Yes, intelligence has improved as more and more moles are being placed in various pockets and communities throughout the region. And they do, every once in a long while, provide information leading to the arrest of suspects.
And of course, forensic science has been stepped up tremendously to help secure convictions. In the past, most suspects would confess to whatever allegations the police made against them - then retract their statement when the case gets to court.
And without concrete evidence, the court has no choice but to let them go. This explained why, until just over a year ago, more than 80 per cent of such cases were thrown out by the courts. People will say anything, it seems, if they are being tortured.
But it would take a lot more than just forensic science and an improved judicial system to secure peace in this highly and historically contested region.
Understanding the root cause is a good start. From that our policy makers could see the difference between the Thai state-constructed narrative and the narrative embraced by the Malays of Patani. Perhaps our leaders could understand why the Malays in Patani refer to them as colonial masters and call themselves colonial subjects.
If we get this far, then we can start talking about what kind of concessions the state is willing to give to the Malays of Patani. But sadly, our attitude to the Malays of Patani has not been that different from the longstanding notion of the "white man's burden" - the duty of colonisers to civilise indigenous people.
The locals may take our freebies and we immediately think they are on our side because they wouldn't bite the hands that feed them.
Well, it has been more than 10 years now - this wave of insurgency - and more than 6,000 people, mostly Malay Muslims, have died. It's high time to rethink the whole thing. It is up to us to find a better way to resolve this problem.
More than 10 people were injured and about 20 shophouses and food stalls damaged by the blast.
For some months now, the government has pointed to the fact that the overall number of violent incidents has dropped by more than 40 per cent compared to the previous year.
But if anything, the Narathiwat car-bomb was a reminder that the number of violent incidents alone is not enough to justify a claim of success or progress.
For the past decade or so the central government has been sounding like a broken record: The insurgents hit us because we are on the right track; the insurgents don't hit us because we are on the right track.
With Thai society largely indifferent to the plight and grievances of ethnic Malays in the southernmost provinces, the government could just about say anything and get away with it.
Over recent months, the authorities have been telling the general public and the world that the number of "green zone" areas is up while the number of troubled "red" zones has dropped.
Superficial attempts to quantify progress are straight out of a warfare textbook. But the conflict in the far South is anything but conventional.
Insurgents, at this point in time, are not out to win geographical space, but mental space. This is a war of hearts and minds - at least at this stage anyway.
And if the current crop of Thai security planners can't understand this point, they should step aside and let people with better understanding of sub-national conflict take over.
It's amazing how the authorities can blindly believe their own propaganda - about how they have won over the hearts and minds of the local people.
Yes, intelligence has improved as more and more moles are being placed in various pockets and communities throughout the region. And they do, every once in a long while, provide information leading to the arrest of suspects.
And of course, forensic science has been stepped up tremendously to help secure convictions. In the past, most suspects would confess to whatever allegations the police made against them - then retract their statement when the case gets to court.
And without concrete evidence, the court has no choice but to let them go. This explained why, until just over a year ago, more than 80 per cent of such cases were thrown out by the courts. People will say anything, it seems, if they are being tortured.
But it would take a lot more than just forensic science and an improved judicial system to secure peace in this highly and historically contested region.
Understanding the root cause is a good start. From that our policy makers could see the difference between the Thai state-constructed narrative and the narrative embraced by the Malays of Patani. Perhaps our leaders could understand why the Malays in Patani refer to them as colonial masters and call themselves colonial subjects.
If we get this far, then we can start talking about what kind of concessions the state is willing to give to the Malays of Patani. But sadly, our attitude to the Malays of Patani has not been that different from the longstanding notion of the "white man's burden" - the duty of colonisers to civilise indigenous people.
The locals may take our freebies and we immediately think they are on our side because they wouldn't bite the hands that feed them.
Well, it has been more than 10 years now - this wave of insurgency - and more than 6,000 people, mostly Malay Muslims, have died. It's high time to rethink the whole thing. It is up to us to find a better way to resolve this problem.
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