Eight Years After Tak Bai, We Are No Nearer To Peace: Editorial

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EDITORIAL

Eight years after Tak Bai, we are no nearer to peace

The Nation

Apologies and compensation can't mask the fact that Bangkok has done nothing to bridge divisions in the South

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapha and Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha visited the deep South on Wednesday, a day before the eighth anniversary of the Tak Bai incident. The visit was partly to ensure that the troops were on high alert, amid reports of possible attacks to mark the anniversary.

Pol Colonel Tawee Sodsong, secretary-general of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC), insisted that the government had taken good care of those affected in the aftermath of the incident, in which at least 85 men suffocated to death after being beaten, bound and stacked in Army lorries.

The anniversary also marks high time that the government reviewed its strategy in the deep South, by addressing the root cause of the problem and showing sympathy to its victims.

In 2007, then-prime minister Surayud Chulanont issued a heartfelt apology for the incident, as well as for other atrocities committed by the state against the Malays of Patani. The apology was long overdue, but was nevertheless well received by local residents.

It was also an opportunity for the rest of the country to turn the page and open up a new chapter in Thai-Patani relations. Thai society had the chance to refocus on the plight and the historical grievances of the Malays down south.

In most societies, such an apology would have been followed by an acknowledgement of past mistakes and then initiatives and programmes to help bridge a rift opened by centuries of mistrust. Instead, the public and bureaucrats turned their backs on the opportunity made possible by Surayud and let it pass, as if an apology were enough to bring an end to the conflict.

This is not to say that such apologies and defensive statements such as Tawee's are unwelcome. It is rather that they take place in the broader context of Bangkok's short-sighted and misguided policy on the deep South.

Mistakes have been made. And for the Malays and the Thais to move forward as a nation, the state must acknowledge these mistakes. A nation cannot heal its internal scars unless it makes efforts to acknowledge that there is a wound in the first place.

Tawee needs to know that all the money in the world will not heal this wound. Money might dissuade bereaved families from pursuing justice through the courts. But while families of the Tak Bai victims may have been silenced, the authorities shouldn't fool themselves into thinking that this has ended the deeper mistrust between the two sides.

To do that, our political and security agencies must come to an agreement on how to push forward a peace process and stop merely paying lip service to the idea of peace.

Secret initiatives have been launched, but their overall aim is to bring the violence to an end once and for all. It doesn't work that way, unfortunately.

The insurgency draws its strength from the longstanding mistrust between the Malays of Patani and the Siamese/Thai state.

Our policymakers seem blind to the fact that, if they gave the Malays more space for their culture and for incorporating their historical narrative into the Thai story of nationhood, the end result would be greater legitimacy for the Thai state in the Malays' historical homeland that we call Patani.

There is a tendency to blame much of the violence in the deep South on criminal activities such as the illegal-drugs trade. While there is some truth to the argument that criminal gangs have taken advantage of the insurgents' presence, crime is not the core issue. Criminals merely take advantage of the underlying, deep-rooted insurgency. At issue here is not just finding ways to combat criminality, but addressing the historical grievances that are at the heart of the troubles in the deep South.

-- The Nation 2012-10-27

[asiawatcher]

There is no solution by negotiating with insurgents, but it makes sense to perhaps annex this area and let it become state with its own governance as Bangkok has no real ideas and tales of 'secret' negotiations brings nothing tangible to ease the peoples doubts.

[OZEMADE]

Looks like thing may heat up if theThai military get their way. The US Gov have offered the Thai Military a heap of second hand gear at a reduced price, they include Humvees, Attack Helicopters, Jets and Ships. Going on the Ammount of Humvees offered, I would guess that a hell of a lot would be going down south, to at least help with the IED on the roads and a lot better protection for the troops when ambushed. Read this in another news paper.

[hellodolly]

The only way any thing will ever change is if the government proves it wants peace and tries to develop better relationships with the citizens. In a Islamic land there will always be violence. The trick is to get the citizens themselves to work against it.

I still think Yingluck made a good start when she went down there and visited them. She should have continued visit's thereby showing the people that she was aware of them and there needs.

Does any one think she will have one of her floating cabinet meetings down there?

I just had a idea grant Thaksin amnesty as long as he stays in the three southern provinces.

[whybother]

I just had a idea grant Thaksin amnesty as long as he stays in the three southern provinces.

Well, a majority of Thais DO support the death penalty.

[jerrysteve]

Albert Einstein definition of Insanity is doing the same things over and over again HOPING things will change.

Perhaps they might try some avenues that the Philippine governement tried..They "AIN'T GOT NOTHING WHEN THEY

GOT NOTHING TO LOSE..

Saving lives is a dam site better than saving face...

Or let them have those provinces let them kill each one another; rather than killing innocent people.

Edited October 27, 2012 by jerrysteve

[lemonjelly]

There is no solution by negotiating with insurgents, but it makes sense to perhaps annex this area and let it become state with its own governance as Bangkok has no real ideas and tales of 'secret' negotiations brings nothing tangible to ease the peoples doubts.

I know what you mean, but 'annexe' might be the wrong word.

[FarangTalk]

There is no solution by negotiating with insurgents, but it makes sense to perhaps annex this area and let it become state with its own governance as Bangkok has no real ideas and tales of 'secret' negotiations brings nothing tangible to ease the peoples doubts.

During Thaksin's tenure, the investigative panel headed by ex-PM Anand had lots of good ideas, however they were rejected out of hand by many of the old guard, including Prem, who said that there should be no recognition of the local languages.

[ttelise]

Why doesn't anyone acknowledge or accept there was nit peace before Tak Bai and that Tak Bai was in response to the same type if terrorism leading to approximately 600 deaths if innocents in the months leading up to Tak Bai. Oh I know, because certain people want to just place blame on some certain someone. No wonder there is no resolution.

[swift760]

USrael using Thailand (and Thais) to invent hatred and disharmony. Usrael need to enter the proposed Muslim super state from their only "ally", Thailand. False flag operations classic CIA/Mossad.