Century Of Forced Integration Has Failed In The South; Thai Opinion

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EDITORIAL

Century of forced integration has failed in the South

By The Nation

Vicious cycle of violence will only be broken by new policy of respect for deep South's Muslim culture and history

Conspicuously absent from much of the discussion at the national level is the ongoing insurgency in the three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, in spite of a consensus that the conflict in the South is a national problem.

Needless to say, this is unacceptable in light of the fact that more than 4,600 people have been killed since January 2004. The end is nowhere in sight and there has been little offered - much less in terms of creative action - as far as a solution is concerned.

Big words like "special region", or "autonomy" have been tossed around by various parties campaigning in the region but, as the recent general election indicated, Thais are indifferent to these vague suggestions. Perhaps a more close-to-home solution should be sought, along with discussion of issues that affect the local residents on a personal level.

Justice, equality and human dignity are often overlooked when we talk about solutions for the deep South, where about 90 per cent of the locals are Malay Muslims who embrace a different cultural and historical narrative from that of the Thai construct.

Historically, many conservative elements in Thai society have conveniently overlooked the political and artificial nature of the southern border for fear that any mention of the topic would encourage Malay Muslims to drift further from the Thai state.

To make them more "Thai", we refused to talk about the region prior to the formulation of the nation-state construct.

But if the past century, following the formal annexation of the region in 1902, tells us anything, it is that the Thai policy of integration has failed when it comes to the Malays of the deep South. More than that, it has become a source of tension, creating the conditions for generation after generation of an armed separatist movement.

Few of us have bothered to look back over the past century and ask how was it that the Malays of Patani and the Siam/Thai state coexisted or why the armed separatist movement appeared in the late 1960s, about 50 years after annexation.

If anything, the ethnic Malays' participation in social-political forums and settings, as well as general elections, is an indication that the Malay Muslims in this restive region are willing to be part of Thailand.

But it has to be on their own terms, which means that their cultural and historical identity, along with their myths, heroes, heroines, way of life and so on, would have to be respected.

For fear of being criticised as unpatriotic by the public, party after party continues to beat the drum of development, as if food security is the real problem in the region, rather than historical grievances.

They talk about strengthening the capacity of bureaucratic agencies, and come up with all sorts of strategic blueprints for the region, but have failed to make any meaningful assessment of real conditions in the region.

In short, we are only addressing half of the equation. We will never tackle the other half if we do not let our patriotic/nationalist guard down a bit before we negotiate the terms of coexistence with the Malays of Patani.

Thai citizenship means a great deal for a lot of these people, especially the first-generation immigrants. But we shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that citizenship is the be all and end all.

In other words, Thai citizenship shouldn't have to come at the expense of the Malays' cultural and historical identity, or their membership in the greater Malay world.

Sadly, it seems that we are more eager to send young men to the restive region to battle the separatists, than think for a moment about the kind of country we want to be or the country we should be. Perhaps if these young men were the sons of the Thai social and political elite, our political leaders and policymakers would be more caring.

-- The Nation 2011-07-13

[sirchai]

Thai citizenship means a great deal for a lot of these people, especially the first-generation immigrants.

It means that you have to be ignorant..........:jap:

[apetley]

Thailand could do alot worse than look at how the seemingly endless cycle of violence in Northern Ireland was finally ended.

It takes concessions from both sides of the religious divide but with the right leadership peace can be achieved.

[somchai jones]

That only three posts have been posted thus far on a topic as serious as this speaks volumes. Nearly 5000 deaths in 8 years and no closer to a solution. Glaringly obvious that far too few people are even aware that such a 'situation' even exists in Thailand's deep south.

[jombom]

The South was treated differently, in the past, and had much more local governance, as has Kelantan in Malaysia, even today.

So, if people regard themselves as being different, why would a government try to convince them, they are incorrect. Seems very strange to me.