Helping The South Doesn't Help Those In Power; Thai Opinion

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

Helping the South doesn't help those in power

By The Nation

In this heavily centralised country, politicians are not interested in local and regional problems because they don't bring in money or votes

It is probably nothing more than a catchy campaign ploy, but the issue of granting the restive South some sort of unique status has generated some heated debate and a cold response from the Army chief.

The Pheu Thai Party's Yingluck Shinawatra threw down the gauntlet and said the Malay-speaking region would become a special administrative zone if her party wins and forms the next government.

Like everything else, the devil is in the details. But this time around, no detail was given, probably because it wouldn't sell with the rest of the people in the country, who are more or less indifferent to the historical grievances of the Malays in the three southernmost provinces.

Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha was quick to pour cold water on the idea, saying it would undermine the power of the state. He called the proposal "risky".

In line with the Army's traditional interference in areas beyond its remit - and whose officer corps likes to drift into territory theoretically reserved for politicians and policy-makers - Prayuth's objection is worrisome. He said Thailand is a small country, and giving administrative status to a region could undermine the state's power. Well, we are not exactly a city-state. And while our aims might be noble, good intention is not necessarily good policy.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was a bit more sober and instead talked about capacity building for the existing local administrative and governance mechanism. Let's also talk about justice and development, he said. Let's not forget equality, we say.

Thailand is a heavily centralised country, indeed, and the very concept of decentralisation deserves serious debate that shouldn't be carried out in the media alone. We are not just talking about the deep South, where the ongoing separatist insurgency has claimed more than 4,600 lives since January 2004. We are talking about ways and means to empower local communities throughout the country in a meaningful way, and to come up with a proper check and balance mechanism to ensure that the system is not exploited by a handful of elites.

Abhisit talked about public participation and the role of civil society organisations in the deep South, which is a good idea. But, too often, input from the grassroots falls on deaf ears because Bangkok has a tendency to think that it knows what's best for others.

But if Abhisit or any other election candidates are serious about solving the conflict in the deep South, they will have to go beyond conventional bureaucratic means. One has to be creative about this because race relations, or in this case the relationship between the Malay Muslims of the deep South and the predominantly Buddhist state, is defined by a history of mistrust, injustice and inequality.

You can improve the capacity of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC), the Tambon Administrative Organisation (TAO) or give a voice to the grassroots organisations, but in the end there is no guarantee that the violence will stop.

First of all, very little attention is paid to how the violence has affected local communities. The wedge between the Muslims and the Buddhists is getting wider. The same can be said about the restive region and the rest of the Thai state.

We need to get to the very bottom of the issue and ask what drives young men there to take up arms against the state and why so many local Muslim residents in the region support them? Essentially this is about Thailand's statehood and the unwillingness of political leaders to address this unpopular topic and its underlying causes because they know it won't win votes outside the deep South.

And so they'd rather talk about development as if the people in the deep South have a food or monetary crisis.

Prayuth's comment shouldn't come as a surprise. His mentality is a sad reflection of the bureaucracy and the visionless policy planners who are more concerned about holding power than the well-being of local residents and the public servants in the region. Selfishness would be an understatement.

-- The Nation 2011-06-24

[Steely Dan]

We need to get to the very bottom of the issue and ask what drives young men there to take up arms against the state and why so many local Muslim residents in the region support them? Essentially this is about Thailand's statehood and the unwillingness of political leaders to address this unpopular topic and its underlying causes because they know it won't win votes outside the deep South.

You could have the same narrative wherever a large Muslim population resides in close proximity to a non-Muslim population. In scripture Islam is a supremacist religion, which means it's not consistent with peaceful equal coexistence with others. This is not to say there aren't moderate or quietly secular Muslims, but alas their voices are unlikely to be heard as doing so would put them in the firing line of the radicals.

[hellodolly]

We need to get to the very bottom of the issue and ask what drives young men there to take up arms against the state and why so many local Muslim residents in the region support them? Essentially this is about Thailand's statehood and the unwillingness of political leaders to address this unpopular topic and its underlying causes because they know it won't win votes outside the deep South.

You could have the same narrative wherever a large Muslim population resides in close proximity to a non-Muslim population. In scripture Islam is a supremacist religion, which means it's not consistent with peaceful equal coexistence with others. This is not to say there aren't moderate or quietly secular Muslims, but alas their voices are unlikely to be heard as doing so would put them in the firing line of the radicals.

Well said.

The problem will never resolve itself as long as the Muslim's hold on to there superiority complex. they will continue to set them selves above all others.

In reality they can not even get along with themselves yet they still feel they are superior and if you don't join them well there Koran says death to the infidels.

[Thongkorn]

The dispute is not about religion , They want there own autonomy , to rule themselves , they don't class themselves as Thai or Malaysian, This problem goes back 100s of years.But i agree that killing people because they have a difference of opinion is wrong.

[Steely Dan]

The dispute is not about religion , They want there own autonomy , to rule themselves , they don't class themselves as Thai or Malaysian, This problem goes back 100s of years.But i agree that killing people because they have a difference of opinion is wrong.

I beg to differ here. I see many Muslims quietly happily going about their business throughout Thailand. I've seen them in all walks of life including working for the government. Every airport has a Muslim prayer room alongside a similar facility for Buddhist monks. In other words I see no discrimination from Thai Buddhists. However where Muslims constitute a majority or large minority the situation changes dramatically as with the southern provinces. Is this down to discrimination or social depravation? Well to look at this from another angle Christians and Hindus in Malaysia and Indonesia are emphatically second class citizens in law. Their freedom of worship is severely restricted. Indeed look at an area where a sizeable non-Muslim population existed in the region, namely the Christians of East Timor. When Indonesia invaded it was responsible for one of the biggest proportion genocides ever, worse than even Pol Pot managed.

Thailand may not be without fault especially with some heavy handed army interventions, but this is in response to a level of beligerence far exceeding the dissent against Muslim majorities in Malaysia and Indonesia, indeed there is a well documented phenomenon of a brain drain in Malaysia where the relatively well educated Hindu, Buddhist and Christian minorities are leaving due to the persecution they face. I suspect, there is a similar exodus of Buddhist Thais leaving the 3 troubled regions, though I'm sure the Thai government will not publish stats, but live in denial like many other governments facing the same problem.

[hellodolly]

The dispute is not about religion , They want there own autonomy , to rule themselves , they don't class themselves as Thai or Malaysian, This problem goes back 100s of years.But i agree that killing people because they have a difference of opinion is wrong.

The dispute is not about religion but it is based in Muslim beliefs. Take there Muslim beliefs out of them and no more problem.:jap:

[vont]

.....The wedge between the Muslims and the Buddhists is getting wider. The same can be said about the restive region and the rest of the Thai state....

the editor or reporter who wrote the above really revealed that there was no personal experience involved in his/her writing and/or personal experiences involving muslin and buddist and/or christian religions, beliefs or practices....

muslim, buddist and christian beliefs have not changed fundamentally at all....

may i humbly bring all your attention to haadyai and trang, for example. there are muslim communities dispersed throughout these regions also....

why are there rarely any violent incidents in these provinces? ever ask yourself that....?

our muslim brothers and sisters living in these few areas are not at all provoked or despited in any shape or form.... to strike out at whatever or whoever....

they live peacefully just like other people in the area, alone or with family members.... almost all who live in these provinces do have permanent jobs or are proprietors themselves or are a part of the proprietorships....

if and when you have enough to feed your own family members, there really is no need to rant and rave.... or worse....

i wanna throw up everytime that a blanket statement is made by govt officials, esteemed politicians and other social experts.... in reference to the violence in southern provinces....

for heavens sake.... i still do have family members living in yala, pattanee and narratiwat provinces....

they are working together along side one another, eating those greasy foods together, living happily and peacefully amongst one another.... since 1930 or so....

so what is the secret....?

we always practise what we preach.... if you want peace, permanent peace.... you have to show everyone around you what does peaceful co-existence means among your own family members.... how is peace demonstrated in your own daily life.... and how is peace carried out in practice in your own family and in and around your sphere of influence....

most of us like to use the word peace.... but only few can see beyond the meaning of the word peace.... which encompasses.... equitability....

there can be no genuine and lasting peace.... where there is no equality nor equitability....

so if anyone wants and desires peace in the south.... the success formulae is spelled out, lived out for you.... free of charge.... for now anyway....

Edited June 24, 2011 by vont