Govt will do well to heed Kadir's words on South problem

[Lite Beer]

EDITORIAL
Govt will do well to heed Kadir's words
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Former Bersatu leader offers revealing perspectives on the peace talks and situation in the South

The former leader of the Bersatu, a now-defunct umbrella group for a number of long-standing Patani Malay separatist movements, was in Bangkok recently to give a talk on the ongoing conflict in the deep South.

Wan Kadir, who was educated in the US and Australia where he competed his PhD on comparisons between the separatist insurgency in Mindanao and Thailand's deep South, spoke candidly about what needs to be done to achieve peace.

He didn't mince words when he said the ongoing peace talks did not include people who could influence the course of action on the ground. In other words, the so-called representatives from the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, or BRN, are not in command or in control of insurgents on the ground.

More than nine months since the peace process was launched, it is difficult to disagree with what he is saying. This has raised the question as to why the Thai government rushed into the talks, before getting solid evidence of the bona fides of the people coming to the negotiating table.

The insurgents have demonstrated - as they did on January 2004 - that they can hit just about any place and at any time. Unfortunately, instead of coming clean about the difficulties the government is facing, the authorities continue to claim that they are moving in the right direction.

Too many lives have been lost to this conflict for our officers to be playing public-relations games and stunts.

In spite of his criticism, Wan Kadir's remarks should be welcomed because they shed light on this long-standing conflict that has cost the country too many lives and resources.

Wan Kadir should have been permitted to return to Thailand long ago. Back in 2004, after the Krue Se stand-off on April 28, 2004, Wan Kadir made a public statement about wanting to return to Thailand to work with authorities to counter the new wave of insurgency surfacing in the country.

Wan Kadir is from a previous generation of insurgents that emerged in the mid-1960s and went under in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The then government of Thaksin Shinwatra thought it was too much trouble to have him back in the country of his birth and Wan Kadir was given the cold shoulder.

This time around, it seems that he is wanted here to show the exiled community and leaders that Thailand is open-minded enough to have such people back. The fact that he believes the Thai negotiating team has been barking up the wrong tree, should not be held against him. If anything, we should thank him for what can only be described as a constructive observation and go forward from there.

Wan Kadir was head of Bersatu, which has since been dissolved, but it does not mean that he is completely out of touch about what is going on within the circles of the exiled leaders.

Thailand should also thank Malaysia for permitting him to travel to Thailand to speak to the local media. In fact, he should come to Thailand more often. There is much to learn from a man with vast academic experience. He should be free to meet with anybody he wants, whether they are fellow academics or foreign diplomats based in Thailand.

The fact that his thinking challenges our notion of the nation-state construct, should not be held against him. If we are serious about moving forward with the peace process, we should be open-minded enough to listen to views of those that differ with our own administration

-- The Nation 2013-12-01

[noitom]

Why is he the "former" leader of the group that represented "all" the factions and why was it dissolved? The editorial doesn't seek to answer that critical question. The editorial runs on about how Thailand should be grateful to Malaysia for letting him come to speak, but doesn't seek answers to critical questions.

[chainarong]

This is all old stuff , a new generation of idiots now run the show , they have much more resources , have better communications and would not be interested in listening to old men talking , they live in la la land if they think this will work.

[hellodolly]

I liked the article it was an honest assessment of Thailand phony efforts to end the difficulties in the south.

In my opinion he should be given free reign in Thailand to speak to any one he wishes. The current crop of

terrorists insurgents or what ever you care to call them would be more open to talk with him than they would any one else.

Yes I believe that he does want an end to the senseless killings going on.

Guns and bombs on both sides are not the answer. What is needed is the government to some how assure the citizens that their rights will be protected just as much as the rites of citizens here in Chiang Mai.

Yingluck had a chance to do that but she was to busy traveling around the world to take care of business at home. Rite now she has her hands full with other problems but she or who ever the prime minister is will have to show the every day citizen that they have just as many rites as any one else in this country . That their religion is up to them as long as it does not try to become the government also.

At the moment Kadir is the best chance Thailand has. Which of course is not saying much but it is a doorway. Thailand do not slam it. The man is far more in touch with the reality in the south than the government is. He would also be able to show the government there good points.

[bigbamboo]

I think we all know why the government rushed into that very over elaborate document signing deal without doing their prep first.

The important thing is to get the right people involved who can work behind the scenes without any fanfare.