Attacks in South 'not linked' to return of NSC chief Thawil

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SOUTH CRISIS
Attacks in South 'not linked' to return of NSC chief Thawil
Pakorn Puengnetr
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Fresh violence, which flared up in nine deep South districts on Sunday night, was not a direct response to the return of National Security Council (NSC) chief Thawil Pliensri or the work of criminal groups, as many people suspected, but was the result of insurgents wanting to maintain the violence, analysts said.

There were multiple simultaneous insurgency attacks at several locations in Yala and Narathiwat on Sunday night. One person was killed and nine others injured.

Insurgency groups, which earlier had rejected peace talks, wanted to exploit the political chaos in the capital and the weak authority to keep the momentum of violence going to achieve their goal, analysts said.

An intelligence report indicated that the group met two weeks ago and instructed its cells to attack many sites whenever authorities in Bangkok were busy with the political struggle.

Thawil was not the factor in fuelling the violence, said an official familiar with the security situation in the troubled region.

He did not oppose the peace talks initiated by Yingluck Shinawatra's government as many observers had said but agreed with the peace plan, although he believed it needed to be adjusted to fit the situation, the official said.

NSC secretary-general Thawil, who returned to the position after the Administrative Court ruled that Yingluck had abused her power by removing him, said that he was not the factor behind the violence.

"I have checked with all concerned agencies and learnt that the attempts to create trouble in the deep South still exist," he said. "There is nothing abnormal … but it does not mean that I will do nothing to solve the problem."

But it was unrealistic to expect that he could solve the chronic problems alone, he said.

An intelligence source said the main problem was that many urban areas were vulnerable to attack, with areas in the deep South strategically divided into three zones.

Urban zones were taken care of by security volunteers, police were in charge of areas that connected between urban and rural areas while the military took care of jungle and mountainous areas.

The Fourth Army Region Commander Walit Rojanapakdi was aware of the security loophole and was seeking ways to fix it, the source said.

However, operational officials on the ground disagreed, saying the main problem was disunity among responsible agencies.

Government agencies always had problems with line of command, budgets and coordination issues, they said.


-- The Nation 2014-05-13

[noitom]

Thai analysts said the violence is not "linked." So it must be so. The Thai analysts have said so. It is not linked, this is the final word.

[WoopyDoo]

What has NOT helped is that YL's and the cabinet's nepotism actually removed the key man (thawil) from the picture who actually was the only person in Thailand who had built up a bit of a rapport with leading figures on both sides... which took years to build up.

All because Thaksin wanted to have as much control over the Thai police as possible, so he could engineer whatever he wants without no opposition from the law in Thailand.. As we can see, he has been very successful and he own'#s the police in Thailand and will continue to do so until all the top police puppets have been rounded up and fired.

I await that day..... which WILL come.

[Suriya4]

It is link. That is my opinion.

[Acharn]

Why do I have the feeling the "the analysts" this reporter refers to is some guy who bought him a drink at the bar last night? I normally try to give reporters a little slack, because the legal restraints they work under are very severe -- defamation is a criminal offense here. This, though, is just like the New York Times or the Washington Post. "Authoritive sources ...", "a high ranking government official who requested not to be named ...", a spokesman said ..." Never named, never identified. No idea what he's really selling. And overall The Nation is ultra-nationalist Yellow.

[rickirs]

NSC secretary-general Thawil, "I have checked with all concerned agencies and learnt that the attempts to create trouble in the deep South still exist." How enduring is his poll.

Not one agency that HE CHECKED WITH found that he was the cause for renewed hostilities. Hey, anyone that finds Thawil culpable will find himself before the Constitutional Court. While he allegedly has had developed years of credibility with the insurgents unlike anyone else in the Government that makes him such a valuable resource, HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING. It is a fact that under the Thaksin regime there was far more peace with insurgents and that evaporated under the military coup-sponsored Democrat regime.

The underlying problem with the insurgency is that the authority of the NSC. While it is organizationally under the Minsiter of Defence, it essentially operates as an independent paramilitary agency; witness Thawail's immediate statement when reinstated by the Constitutional Court that he does not any longer report to the PM. The NSC was originally composed of the 2006 coup leadership and I maintain remains a paramilitary organization that follows the military chain of command. So while the Government may have a roadmap for a diplomatic resolution with the insurgents, under NSC the roadmap will always be a military solution.