Stopping The Violence In The Southern Provinces:

[Jai Dee]

Gen Sonthi outlines his strategy to halt violence

Army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratakalin with Democrat MP and former foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan at their meeting yesterday.

Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratakalin yesterday set out his plans for quelling the insurgency in the deep South but insisted he was open to suggestions to help stop the bloodshed.

Gen Sonthi, who last month was given full control of counterinsurgency operations in the region, said he agreed with most of the recommendations of the National Reconciliation Commission and was open to advice from all parties. “I have a similar opinions to the NRC about this problem,” he said. “But I am willing to hear opinions from everyone so we can improve our operation.”

Gen Sonthi, the army’s first Muslim chief, met yesterday with defense ministry chiefs and the heads of the armed forces to outline his plans for bringing the violence under control. He said he would seek to improve the relationship between state officials and village chiefs and extend the posting period of military personnel to at least a year to help gain the trust of the people.

Gen Sonthi’s appointment has been well received by the people of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani provinces, where 80 percent of the population are ethnic Malay Muslims.

The government says it is hoping Gen Sonthi will bridge the gap between the authorities and the local people, many of whom harbor feelings of mistrust towards the Thai state, which they say discriminates against them.

The army chief also met 10 southern MPs from the Democrat party and promised to include them more in the decision-making process.

Former foreign minister and MP for Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Surin Pitsuwan, voiced his support for Gen Sonthi and said he was “relieved” he had been given the top job in the South.

“I feel very relieved and confident that the army chief will be able to solve this problem,” said Surin, a southern Muslim who has been a staunch critic of the government’s security policies.

“General Sonthi has a lot of knowledge and understanding of the situation.” Surin recommended that Gen Sonthi gives district and village leaders a bigger role in efforts to find peace. “In the past these people had better participation and key roles,” he said, “but this was all abolished.”

Two weeks ago, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra appointed Gen Sonthi chairman of the Implementation, Policy and Strategy Committee in the region – a move which was met with skepticism by analysts and former military commanders.

They say policy implementation should be in the hands of the Fourth Army commander and warn that Gen Sonthi may be being lined up as a future scapegoat for the government’s failure to tackle the problem.

Meanwhile, the body of a Muslim villager shot dead by suspected insurgents was found in Rangae district, Narathiwat early yesterday, police said.In Yala, a military patrol was ambushed yesterday evening by insurgents, the military said. A bomb was detonated as their vehicle travelled along a road in Than To district. Insurgents emerged from the jungle and a gunfight ensued, but no one was hurt.

Source: ThaiDay - 6 July 2006

[Jai Dee]

Army-civilian affinity enhanced in Thai South amid tightened security

Thailand's southernmost province of Narathiwat, located in a narrow peninsula between the Indian and Pacific Oceans while bordering Malaysia in the south, has remained in a new wave of violence since 30 months ago.

"Since I came here two years ago, I never had a good dream," Kachonsad Bongana, a military security officer based in Narathiwat 's Su-ngai Padi district, told Xinhua on Wednesday. "But don't misapprehend me. I've never been afraid of the violence. What just racks my brains is one question -- how can we win the heart of local people?"

The Thai military has tightened the security level in the South by increasing village-patrol and road-checking. However, Kachonsad said the military means "could only prevent the attacks on skin, but it couldn't root up the terror motive inside."

Since a group of southern insurgents forayed a military magazine in January 2004, a string of violence -- including ambush, shooting and bombing -- has been experienced in three southernmost provinces of Thailand, with some 1,300 people having been killed in the unrest.

Just last month, a total of 50 bombs exploded simultaneously in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, causing dozens of casualties. Military sources said that more than 100 bombs have been smuggled into Narathiwat through the border, sending signals that the insurgents are planning more such attacks.

Last week, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin as the top decision maker in the country's three troubled southernmost provinces, thus assigning the military a more arduous task.

"Just as the commander said, we the military has to rely on political tactics, rather than military actions, in implementing state strategies to quell the spate of attacks in all the three provinces," local security-defender soldier Santi Kanphensri said, while sitting in a pick-up patrolling along the main road in Narathiwat on Wednesday afternoon.

At about 4:00 p.m. local time Wednesday, Santi suddenly tightened up his A-1 submachine gun and called his colleagues to a bridge near Doodin district as soon as he found a suspicious black box near the handrail. Although it was proved to be a false alarm later, Santi told Xinhua that many roadside bombs were camouflaged as trashes.

To get more information from local people, Santi said, the military is now moving closer to the residents, despite the fact that many soldiers are Buddhists while locals are Muslims. "We have to build the affinity between the army and the civilians," he said, "in order to implement strategic and operational policies in the deep South with fairness and justice."

In a bid to win back the local people's hearts, the army has set up community radio broadcast, visited local tea houses regularly, helped villagers build fishing ponds and showed them how to avoid attacks when working on rubber farms.

"In Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, we cannot win by force-for- force, but by winning local people's hearts and minds," said Kachonsad.

Rubber farmer Mohammad Sai Daisa in Doodin district, while watching his fish farm with a satisfied look, said, "When the soldiers came, they brought us the pisciculture and an additional income of more than 20,000 baht (about 500 U.S. dollars) a year from selling fish. They are not only our defenders, but also friends and relatives of our village."

Source: Xinhua Peoples Daily- 6 July 2006

[Jai Dee]

Senior Democrat Party executive and former foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan, left, meets with army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin at the Army HQ yesterday when, according to Surin, they exchanged views about the South.

Source: The Nation - 6 July 2006

[Jai Dee]

Sixty-five people from Narathiwat join a peace- rebuilding programme for the deep south

Sixty-five more people in “the risk group” in Narathiwat reported to local security units yesterday to show their innocence.

Narathiwat governor Pracha Terat (ประชา เตรัตน์) said these people risk being persuaded by movements staging violence in the deep south to work with them. They will receive training at Peace Building schools in Ratchaburi, Chanthaburi and Chachoengsao until July 20, Mr. Pracha said.

He said Narathiwat has so far sent 421 people in “the risk group” to Peace Building schools to adjust their attitudes and behaviour and also toe undergo occupational training.

Mr. Pracha said these people are considered innocent and have no involvement in violent incidents in the region. He said he is looking forward for them to help bring peace back to the far south.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 6 July 2006

[Plus]

Gen Sonthi, who last month was given full control of counterinsurgency operations in the region, said he agreed with most of the recommendations of the National Reconciliation Commission and was open to advice from all parties. “I have a similar opinions to the NRC about this problem,” he said. “But I am willing to hear opinions from everyone so we can improve our operation.”

Isn't it a polite way to tell them their work is worth nothing?

Despite upbeat tone and photo-ops with Surin he's just another guy ready assigned to bite the dust as was mentioned in the first article. This job is a payback from Thaksin for Sonthi's quiet support for PAD earlier this year.