Academic raps lack of govt action in South
Thailand needs to focus more on political approach than military as well as establish greater cooperation with Malaysia to end the conflict in its south, which claimed 867 lives last year, an expert today told the Bernama news agency of Malaysia.
Srisompop Chitpiromsri, a political science lecturer at the Prince of Songkhla University in Pattani, said the military-government's efforts were not effective enough to restore peace in the provinces bordering Malaysia as violence, instead of abating, had only increased.
"Violence went up especially in the first half of last year but 2005 remains as the worst year in terms of violent incidents. There were an average of 200 incidents a month but dropped in the later part of the year (2007) when the military carried out sweeping operations to arrest militants," he said from his home in Pattani in an interview with Bernama.
Srisompop said that whichever party formed the government following the recent election, it should consider the Malaysian Government as a key factor in solving the problem and establish more tangible and concrete policies although the present cooperation did not yield much results.
He said the current good relationship enjoyed by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and his counterpart Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should be enhanced by Thailand's new leader as both coutries were working together well compared to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra's tough international relationship approach in the past.
Statistics compiled by Srisompop and his team of reseachers showed 2,848 people have died so far due to the conflict, including 31 in the last two weeks of 2007, since separatists resumed their campaign to seek independence for the Muslim-majority provinces in 2004 with an attack on an army camp in Narathiwat on Jan 4, 2004.
There were 2,025 violent incidents last year, killing 867 people and injuring 1,720. Among others, it included 1,167 shootings, 444 bomb explosions and 281 arson attacks.
Narathiwat had the highest number of incidents last year, with 694 cases, followed by Yala with 688, Pattani 574 and the nearby Songkhla province 69. Most of the victims were civilians and government officials, including teachers who were murdered in front of their students.
Srisompop said after a lull of two months at the end of 2006 when the military ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Sept 19, 2006, attacks increased dramatically in early 2007 due to perception that the military government's new policy to restore peace was not working.
"There was little expectation after the coup that the new government could solve the problem compared to the previous one," he said, refering to Surayud's softer approach and the government's apology to the southern people for several incidents during Thaksin's reign, including the Tak Bai and Krue Se mosque incidents that further agrravated anti-Bangkok sentiments.
Bangkok has deployed some 20,000 soldiers to curb unrest in the south but is facing difficulties due to the guerilla tactics used by militants apart from communication and cultural barriers in dealing with the mostly Malay speaking population.
The three provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala used to be an autonomous Malay sultanate before Thailand annexed it in 1902.
Srisompop said a political solution was the best way to end the conflict compared to the military approach and that more focus should be given to reform within the government administration besides socio-economic development for the people in the southern provinces.
Asked if the new government to be formed after the recent election would be able to end the deadlock, Srisompop said he had mixed feelings about it, especially if the People's Power Party (PPP) came to power as it is linked to Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party, which was dissolved by the courts in May last year.
"I am not sure they can solve it or have better understanding of the problem," he said, citing Thaksin's heavy-handed measures during his reign that were blamed for exacerbating the violence.
On the effectiveness of the revived Southern Border Province Administrative Centre (Sbpac), Srisompop said it would not be able to function properly if it continued to be under the command of the military.
"This is a useful organisation in the long run but has its limitations now. Without civilians in the line of command, it will be difficult to solve problems and carry out activities towards restoring peace," he said.
Source : Bangkokpost, Saturday,January 12.2008
No comments:
Post a Comment