Govt action in the South must speak louder than words

[Lite Beer]

EDITORIAL
Govt action in the South must speak louder than words
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Learning from peace initiatives in other countries to deal with conflicts is one step in the right direction

Maj-General Nakrob Bunbuathong, deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command's operation centre 5, has shed some light on what Prime Minister-elect General Prayuth Chan-ocha has in mind to deal with the conflict in the southernmost provinces. But the verdict is still out as to what this all means in real terms.

Nakrob told a recent seminar at the Prince of Songkla University in Pattani that peace talks are in the process of being revamped and for the time being the Thai side is brainstorming various models, lessons learned from abroad, as well as past practices. It will incorporate all these ideas into one single package before going to the table for talks with the separatist leaders.

He pointed to conflicts in Mindanao, Aceh and Northern Ireland as possible examples from which lessons could be drawn, but did not go into details about which aspects of those conflicts would serve as lessons.

Given the relative success of the peace process in these other countries, it is somewhat refreshing to hear that some of the positive aspects of these peace initiatives could be taken up.

Nakrob said the plan would take up the Malaysia-facilitated peace process that was launched on February 28, 2013. Nakrob criticised the initiative, saying it was carried out without a defined roadmap, and thus spurring the "spitting contest" through YouTube and other social media outlets.

The peace initiative will be renamed "Talk for santhisuk", instead of "Talk for santhipap". The latter, he said, implied that a third party, particularly a foreign country, would be involved in the process.

The term stated in the memorandum of understanding signed on February 28, 2013 would be reviewed but the general premises would remain, he said.

Sounds like a minor task? Not really, according to various sources in the Thai military who said the hardest part may be how to tell Malaysia that their role as "facilitator" will not be as prominent as before.

The problem with the peace talks launched on February 28, 2013 was that it was hastily pushed through without proper endorsement by other stakeholders, namely the military, who covertly tried to discredit the process, and the insurgents on the ground, whose campaign of violence continued unabated.

And so it was easy for the Army to criticise it. But this time, being in the driver's seat, the Army is finding out that it is impossible to please all the people all the time.

Learning from others is a good start. But haven't we heard this before from previous administrations?

Nakrob's statement suggests the current government will put the South on the national agenda. But those are words. Only actions will count. Considering the fact

that more than 6,000 people have been killed from this ongoing insurgency, the idea of making the conflict a national priority should have been done a long time ago.

But it's never too late to do something. Because the more the delay, the more people who will get killed.

Nakrob also took a jab at local politicians, asking what they had been doing and if anyone of them had even condemned the violence in their respective region.

One glaring fact that Nakrob overlooked is the fact that much of the violence was inflicted by the security personnel themselves. The culture of impunity among these security officials is a problem and continues to be an obstacle to peace and the peace process.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Govt-action-in-the-South-must-speak-louder-than-wo-30241621.html

-- The Nation 2014-08-24

[chainarong]

So far, over the years , all that has been done is talk , the farce with Malaysia was a disgrace, Malaysia never intended to go to any great lengths and indeed might be termed an unreliable ally, Thailand needs to view the assistance from the UN as an alternative option , at least the International community will recognise that Thailand is now trying to at least control the problem, the UN despite all of it's faults has got the resources and vast knowledge on the ground, it is time for Thailand to mature and make the hard decisions that General Prayuth is so fondly pointing out.

[FangFerang]

"The problem with the peace talks launched on February 28, 2013 was that it was hastily pushed through without proper endorsement by other stakeholders, namely the military, who covertly tried to discredit the process,"

So now the military, who covertly tried to discredit peace, is now going to lead peace negotiations? The Thai South and Philippine isle of Mindanao are identical -- muslim majorities who, miraculously, always elect leaders from a religion different than their own. Despite a Muslim majority in Mindanao, somehow -- it's a miracle -- the Catholics get elected (every time, except one or two to make it look like the election might not have been rigged). Despite a Muslim majority in the Thai Deep South, somehow -- it's a miracle -- the Buddhist Bangkok Democrats get elected (every time, except one or two to make it look like the election might not have been rigged).

I, for one, am not being fooled by this at all.......the huge number of Thai troops in the South has failed altogether. I think now they want to send more troops.

Edited August 24, 2014 by FangFerang

[Don Aleman]

Ya mean " doncha wury, we'll getum soon" is no longer enough ?

[tomross46]

These problems in the South are similar to the problem, Malaysia had in the 50's and 60's. They created a well trained group code name VAT 69. They pacified the civilization. Today that would be much more difficult, there are large amount of foreign funding and cadre coming from the Middle East. There is no problem with Islam, the problem is with organizations like the ISIS, which are radicals.

[rickirs]

Gen. Nakrob "pointed to conflicts in Mindanao, Aceh and Northern Ireland as possible examples from which lessons could be drawn."

How about the first lesson drawn is that in each case peace was achieved through democratically elected governments?

[Alwyn]

Siam annexed the region in 1909 so like Israel there are two choices. Give the land back, although this is difficult in the case of Israel and the southern provinces, or be prepared to fight for it. In fact even if you give the land back to the Malay Sultan who doesn't exist anymore, still be prepared to fight - Muslims only enjoy fighting and terrorising, you have only to look at the news to see this.