'Business As Usual' Not An Option In The Deep South: Thai Opinion

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

'Business as usual' not an option in the deep South

By The Nation

Only one path open to Yingluck govt if it wants to end violence - give a voice to southern Malays' separate identity

Despite the fact that the Pheu Thai Party failed to win any of the 11 parliamentary seats in the three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat - where their candidates campaigned on a pledge to turn the region into a special administrative zone - incoming prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra will face high pressure from certain quarters in the region to deliver on her promises.

Yingluck will likely face an uphill battle not only because a majority of southern voters shunned her party, but because the Army chief, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, has made it clear that he is dead against the idea of special administrative zone or autonomy for this restive region where more than 4,600 people have been killed since January 2004.

Prayuth has said that it would complicate administrative and security matters for the authorities, who have been unable to curb the ongoing violence in spite of the vast amount of resources and budget spent on the region by successive governments. Unfortunately, most of the government projects have failed to improve security conditions, much less won the hearts and minds of local Malay Muslims whose ties with the Thai state are shaped by historical mistrust and conflict.

One factor in the Democrat Party's success in the deep South is the fact that local Chinese and Thai Buddhist voters never abandoned the Democrats. The Malay vote, on the other hand, was split among various parties, just about all of whom were campaigning on pledges to grant the region autonomy or some sort of special status. Perhaps the Malay voters wanted something more tangible, like justice and equality, rather then this vaguely defined notion of autonomy or a special administrative zone.

The Democrats have said that they are open to ideas and that proposals shouldn't be confined to administrative or political reform, but extended to cultural or economic spheres.

But with the Democrats out of power, Pheu Thai will be hard-pressed to come up with something concrete and quantifiable.

Yingluck could back away from the earlier promises by saying the region didn't vote for Pheu Thai and therefore it doesn't want special status. But then again, the question as to what Pheu Thai will do to address the ongoing conflict would remain unanswered.

At this juncture, "business as usual" would amount to an admission of defeat. Pheu Thai should approach this as an endpoint where there are no options left on the table.

At the heart of this conflict is the question of the legitimacy of the Thai State in the Malay homeland.

It has been consistently argued that the conflict in the deep South is rooted in Thailand's nation-state construct that leaves virtually no room for the Malays in the deep South, where Muslims embrace an entirely different historical and cultural narrative and identity from the rest of the Thai state. Essentially, this conflict is about the legitimacy of the Thai state in a Malay historical homeland.

Does Yingluck have the courage to admit these contentious points and tell the rest of the country that the citizens in the deep South have their own historical, cultural and political narrative that is entirely different from the rest of Thailand? It won't be a popular thing to do, but such an admission would be a good starting point in terms of addressing the root cause of the problem.

The fact that the Malays in the deep South turned out in high numbers to exercise their right to vote is an indication that they are willing to be part of this state-constructed entity that we call Thailand. In other words, they are willing to be part of Thailand - but this membership, or citizenship, has to be on their terms, not those of a Buddhist-majority state.

The way the Malays see it, they didn't migrate from elsewhere to make Thailand their home. They have always been where they are currently living, long before Yingluck's grandfather got his Thai citizenship.

-- The Nation 2011-07-21

[djlest]

The way the Malays see it, they didn't migrate from elsewhere to make Thailand their home. They have always been where they are currently living, long before Yingluck's grandfather got his Thai citizenship.

I guess its a fair argument from the Malays side... And somewhat similar to the UK/N Ireland political past times...

Its just a shame really that this has got very little to do with Land disputes - and more a play on Religious rights, the unacceptance of others, and the use of violence, hate, bombs and terrorism to get what they want.

Which in affect is a Muslim state that does not tolerate Buddhism - As opposed to a Buddhist state that does tolerate Muslims...

[Tanaka]

The way the Malays see it, they didn't migrate from elsewhere to make Thailand their home. They have always been where they are currently living, long before Yingluck's grandfather got his Thai citizenship.

I guess its a fair argument from the Malays side... And somewhat similar to the UK/N Ireland political past times...

Its just a shame really that this has got very little to do with Land disputes - and more a play on Religious rights, the unacceptance of others, and the use of violence, hate, bombs and terrorism to get what they want.

Which in affect is a Muslim state that does not tolerate Buddhism - As opposed to a Buddhist state that does tolerate Muslims...

A muslim state does not tolerate other religious beliefs. But they expect other states with different religions to tolerate muslims living there. Talk about single minded twits.

[hellodolly]

There will never be a answer to the problems in the south as long as Thailand pretends it is not a religious issue.

I have not followed it very much but it seems to me that they do not want to tie up with Malaysia which they have a lot in common with. So much for the cultural issue.

Imagine if every different tribe in Thailand was to take the stand on government like the one Muslims take. (my way or the high way) How about all the Chinese living in villages in northern Thailand the Karong the long neck people. The list goes on. It would seem that only the Muslims are so stuck on them selves that they do not want to be a part of any thing they want to be the all.

What other religion makes war on itself. We don't like the Buddhist so we will set car bombs to kill Muslims. Send them all to Antartic whee they can do as they wish with out any interference.

[erobando]

There will never be a answer to the problems in the south as long as Thailand pretends it is not a religious issue.

I have not followed it very much but it seems to me that they do not want to tie up with Malaysia which they have a lot in common with. So much for the cultural issue.

Imagine if every different tribe in Thailand was to take the stand on government like the one Muslims take. (my way or the high way) How about all the Chinese living in villages in northern Thailand the Karong the long neck people. The list goes on. It would seem that only the Muslims are so stuck on them selves that they do not want to be a part of any thing they want to be the all.

What other religion makes war on itself. We don't like the Buddhist so we will set car bombs to kill Muslims. Send them all to Antartic whee they can do as they wish with out any interference.

You don't follow the issue enough, yet your able to lump all Muslims together regarding this problem?

It isn't a strictly religious issue. The southernmost areas were an independent sultanate before being given to Thailand during colonial territorial trading. I might not think that independence is realistic for those provinces but there are always problems when a group of people feel they are being colonized. Certainly not all Muslims in the far south feel this, but enough do to make it a real problem.

What does the making war on itself even mean? Are you claiming that there's never been a case of Buddhist person killing another Buddhist, or a Christian killing another Christian and so on? Dividing lines aren't that simple.