Violation of humanitarian principles in South conflict must be dealt with

[Lite Beer]

EDITORIAL
Violation of humanitarian principles in South conflict must be dealt with
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- NHRC's appeal to end violence against women and children needs to be promptly implemented

Once in a blue moon a state agency comes up with a proposal that hits the right note.

The recent one came from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), calling for an end to violence against women and children in Thailand's southern border provinces.

Ideally, the two armed forces - the militants and the state security - should come face to face and discuss a way out of this bloody conflict. But that would be a bit of wishful thinking.

But the NHRC proposal is a good starting point. And good things start with small steps.

Essentially, respecting women and children in conflict zones by combatants is about the rules of engagement.

The Geneva Convention touches on this very issue and it is the responsibility of all stakeholders, state agencies such as the NHRC, and non-state actors, as well as civil society organisations and the armed militants, to strive to live up to the ideas and ideals stated in this convention.

Civic organisations, think tanks and research institutions have been set up to take up the cause and called on states and non-state actors to abide by these important rules that basically centred on humanitarian principles.

Such organisations include the International Committee of the Red Cross, Small Arms Survey, Child Soldiers International, and so many more.

Insurgency violence in Thailand's southernmost provinces resurfaced a decade ago and the end is nowhere in sight. About 6,000 have died from the violence this past decade.

In spite of the absence of meaningful breakthrough in negotiations, the two opposing forces have virtually nothing to show in terms of respecting international norms and practices.

In fact, both sides have violated these humanitarian principles. Locals and human rights organisations continue to speak of torture, target killings, abduction and a culture of impunity among security officials assigned to the restive region.

The insurgents also are guilty of violations.

As a result, hundreds of women have become widows and their children orphans. And if these widows and orphans are deemed to be family members of the anti-government forces, they are often neglected by the state service providers.

In line with international norms and best practices, the Thai authorities are obligated to help its citizens, regardless of whether they are siblings or the wives of insurgents.

If these children are neglected at this point in time, then the state should stop talking about rehabilitation and national reconciliation. All sides have scars and healing is for everyone, not just those who do not question the state's legitimacy.

Essentially, the authorities will have to decide what kind of country they want Thailand to be. How we deal with the people, as well as their family members who challenged the state's legitimacy says a great deal about us as a nation and as a society.

The NHRC's statement marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which fell on November 25.

Among other things, the NHRC called on the government to issue clear policies and prescribe measures needed to protect women and girls from all forms of violence, and provide physical and emotional rehabilitation to female victims.

The NHRC was correct to say that the government must heed the recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture.

It's a way of saying the culture of impunity among security officials and the use of torture to get information from suspected insurgents remained a problem.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Violation-of-humanitarian-principles-in-South-conf-30248856.html

-- The Nation 2014-11-30

[chainarong]

There is no easy answer to the terrorist question , no matter what the security forces do will not matter 1Iota to the people who oppose them, this may very well include violation of human rights in endeavoring to obtain confessions, what do you want , handing out 18 yellow roses, the terrorists don't give a damn about destroying Children , Teachers ,Military personnel , ordinary everyday people going about their business, who are blown to pieces , shot or burned to death, whilst there is no happy medium here and no common ground , being kind to terrorists is like kissing a Cobra, the kiss of death.

[BSJ]

The army and police have to kill all those militants/terrorists that have no respect for human rights. You can't negotiate with militants/terrorists.

[Commerce]

The UN is not our uncle; thus, who gives a toss?

[tomross46]

It is time for the NHRC to talk to the radical Islamist in the south, and tell them they need to stop the killings. Thailand needs to enact the steps of the Malaysian government, which send in Hunter Killer Teams to eradicate the terrorist. OH! how dumb of me that would be against the human rights of the terrorist.

[Petchou]

Here you goes falangs, the experts of anything and everything are showing their expertize. Just please shut up, you have no understanding or whatever of south Thailand history and conflict. Better go read instead of vomiting insanities here full of pure imported ignorance.

[impulse]

The army and police have to kill all those militants/terrorists that have no respect for human rights. You can't negotiate with militants/terrorists.

Another graduate of the Dick Cheney/ Halliburton school of Diplomacy.

Of course you can negotiate with terrorists. 20th century history is full of examples of yesterday's terrorists participating in today's governments as constructive, positive influences.

The problem is that entrenched powers may have to actually make some concessions instead of just sending soldiers down there to wipe out a few more, and kill some collateral innocents and make some more enemies. Concessions like, we won't be sending any more death squads, and perhaps, we'll give back some of the land our elites have stolen using tainted deeds, and we'll protect you from the bad guys smuggling drugs, petrol and human beings who have no qualms about spraying bullets at anyone who gets in their way.

And, of course, if there's peace, the armament industry doesn't get to sell all that expensive kit, generals don't get their helicopters and blimps, and shaky governments don't look quite as necessary to protect us from the boogey men, the commies.

Oops, I mean terrorists. Commies were last year's boogey man.

Edited November 30, 2014 by impulse

[bapoboy]

Muslims call Islam a peaceful religion, then I wonder why there is so much bombing and problems in the south, I know at least in the north to Laos there is very little problems. forbid Islam, banning the Koran.

[Ozziepat]

Misdefine a problem and you will solve the true problem only by accident, and rarely. Has anyone seen a complete, concise, accurate statement of the problem(s) in the south and a feasible Thai (not Malaysian or terrorist or separatist or Islamic or UN or blah-blah) solution that is clearly in the best long term interests of the entire country? ...

Thought not.

[Bluespunk]

Muslims call Islam a peaceful religion, then I wonder why there is so much bombing and problems in the south, I know at least in the north to Laos there is very little problems. forbid Islam, banning the Koran.

Nonsense.

The solutions you offer are the reason there are problems in the South in the first place.

I have no time for terrorist scum but the intolerance and bigotry your approach implies is no better.

For pity's sake, ban a faith!! Everyone has the right to follow the faith or non faith of their choice. Anyone denying this right are as responsible for religious violence as the scum who kill in the name of god.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Bluespunk

[bapoboy]

Muslims call Islam a peaceful religion, then I wonder why there is so much bombing and problems in the south, I know at least in the north to Laos there is very little problems. forbid Islam, banning the Koran.

Nonsense.

The solutions you offer are the reason there are problems in the South in the first place.

I have no time for terrorist scum but the intolerance and bigotry your approach implies is no better.

For pity's sake, ban a faith!! Everyone has the right to follow the faith or non faith of their choice. Anyone denying this right are as responsible for religious violence as the scum who kill in the name of god.

why is there so much unrest in the south and not north? tell me

it is certainly not Buddhism that is the cause, but the damn Islam is all about torture and oppress women to dress them in the sheets

[Bluespunk]

Muslims call Islam a peaceful religion, then I wonder why there is so much bombing and problems in the south, I know at least in the north to Laos there is very little problems. forbid Islam, banning the Koran.

Nonsense.

The solutions you offer are the reason there are problems in the South in the first place.

I have no time for terrorist scum but the intolerance and bigotry your approach implies is no better.

For pity's sake, ban a faith!! Everyone has the right to follow the faith or non faith of their choice. Anyone denying this right are as responsible for religious violence as the scum who kill in the name of god.

why is there so much unrest in the south and not north? tell me

it is certainly not Buddhism that is the cause, but the damn Islam is all about torture and oppress women to dress them in the sheets

What utter nonsense. You clearly have done no research on the root causes of the conflict and are just allowing your prejudices and fears do the talking.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Bluespunk

[Travelman868]

The army and police have to kill all those militants/terrorists that have no respect for human rights. You can't negotiate with militants/terrorists.

Most insurrections end in talks BUT the terrorists in the south are Islamist's and CANNOT be negotiated with. In fact trying to talk to these

non- humans is seen as a sign of weakness.

Any group who advocate sawing off the heads of pre-teen children cannot and should not be protected by any laws.

While I understand that some of you may think my views are some way to the right of the UK Tories, ask yourselves why virtually

all Muslim countries are or were ruled by dictators like Saddam or Gadaffi.

I could also agree that the British have done some bad things in the past, however Islam far from being the peaceful entity that

Muslims would have you believe was and is continuing to be built with the blood of innocents.

[impulse]

The army and police have to kill all those militants/terrorists that have no respect for human rights. You can't negotiate with militants/terrorists.

Most insurrections end in talks BUT the terrorists in the south are Islamist's and CANNOT be negotiated with. In fact trying to talk to these

non- humans is seen as a sign of weakness.

Yet there are several news items of late indicating that a lot of the "terrorism" in the south is simply criminal activities like petrol smuggling, land grabs, drug smuggling, slave trade and illegal fishing.

You can't even begin to solve a "Muslim terrorist problem", until you can figure out how much of your problem is just plain vanilla criminal activity.

[connda]

Like setting IEDs and shooting school teachers? Right!

[rickirs]

Not to worry. Gen. Prayuth promised peace in the South by the end of 2014 2015.

[Robby nz]

The insurgents also are guilty of violations.

Surely they are not 'also guilty' but are the main perpetrators.

I haven't noticed the army or police shooting school teachers or nurses or going up behind school kids on their bikes and shooting them, planting bombs where they will cause as many deaths and injuries as possible.

If there were no so called insurgents, terrorists would be a better word, there would be no need for the army or police to be hunting them.

Let the human rights lot go down there and ask the 'insurgents' nicely to stop killing woman, children, teachers, nurses and civilians in general then come back and tell us how they got on, if they could get back alive that is.

[connda]

Here you goes falangs, the experts of anything and everything are showing their expertize. Just please shut up, you have no understanding or whatever of south Thailand history and conflict. Better go read instead of vomiting insanities here full of pure imported ignorance.

Pelchou, about your premise that farangs don't understand Thai history? Many don't. Many don't care. However, many of us who have settled here, have families, and support the Thai economy - well, we do know. We make it our business to understand Thai current events and Thai history. How's your 'world-view' there Pelchou? Do you understand what is happening outside the borders of prateet Thai chai mai? Middle-East? North Africa? Israel/Palestine? The Balkans? Southern Philippines? EU-British tensions on immigration policy? EU-Russia-US tensions over Ukraine?

Now Pelchou: go look up the definition of xenophobia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia (Also, the 'L' you put in falang really translates to an 'R' because it's Rɔɔ Rʉa and not Lɔɔ Ling. Just a 'ignorant' farang's observation - you should work on your English to at least get to the proficiency of the average Chinese tourist and ASEAN community members). So before you choose to have a battle of wits, try sharpening your blade of knowledge.

Edited November 30, 2014 by connda

[Bluespunk]

The army and police have to kill all those militants/terrorists that have no respect for human rights. You can't negotiate with militants/terrorists.

Most insurrections end in talks BUT the terrorists in the south are Islamist's and CANNOT be negotiated with. In fact trying to talk to these

non- humans is seen as a sign of weakness.

Any group who advocate sawing off the heads of pre-teen children cannot and should not be protected by any laws.

While I understand that some of you may think my views are some way to the right of the UK Tories, ask yourselves why virtually

all Muslim countries are or were ruled by dictators like Saddam or Gadaffi.

I could also agree that the British have done some bad things in the past, however Islam far from being the peaceful entity that

Muslims would have you believe was and is continuing to be built with the blood of innocents.

For a start calling anyone a non human is a reflection of warped thinking. Once you start to see people as being sub human or lesser then nothing good lies ahead. Those terrorist scum killing people get no sympathy from me nor do I care what happens to them, but they are humans.

The insurgency in the south is not monolithic, there are a variety of different groups which makes peace talks difficult, however there are those who can be negotiated with and peace talks with them must happen if this conflict is to end.

Those that refuse to talk or have a warped view of their faith that makes them prefer a fight to death rather than compromise, then let them have what they seek. No problems here.

As for the amount of dictators in muslim countries, that's nonsense. Dictators were and are a phenomenon in developing countries for reasons that have less to do with religion and more to do with geopolitics, money, the cold war, greed, corruption, the post colonial legacy of the European empires that created states that were not there before there rapacious occupations/land grabs and left only one unified force in place when they left: the military.

As for the British doing bad things in the past, lets put the transatlantic slave trade, the opium wars, the occupation and looting of countries across the world, the massacres that took place in Ireland and other places when the locals were gauche enough to try to get their country back, the divisions they started and fostered amongst tribes/sections of society to create a divide and rule policy that allowed them to take control, to one side. Let's focus on the fact that conflict has raged across their former colonies since they left, including both countries you used as examples. That is a terrible legacy.

It is said that god gave the british an empire where the sun never set because he couldn't trust them in the dark.

I have no particular grievance against the British, in fact I grew up in Britain and the vast majority of my friends are British but to say islam is worse and is built upon the blood of innocents is BS of the highest order. All faiths, all nations have their dark pasts and blood on their hands. None are any more innocent or guilty than the rest.

[lil fluffy clouds]

There is no easy answer to the terrorist question , no matter what the security forces do will not matter 1Iota to the people who oppose them, this may very well include violation of human rights in endeavoring to obtain confessions, what do you want , handing out 18 yellow roses, the terrorists don't give a damn about destroying Children , Teachers ,Military personnel , ordinary everyday people going about their business, who are blown to pieces , shot or burned to death, whilst there is no happy medium here and no common ground , being kind to terrorists is like kissing a Cobra, the kiss of death.

"Terrorist" is now a well coined term for anyone in opposition....

[Robby nz]

There is no easy answer to the terrorist question , no matter what the security forces do will not matter 1Iota to the people who oppose them, this may very well include violation of human rights in endeavoring to obtain confessions, what do you want , handing out 18 yellow roses, the terrorists don't give a damn about destroying Children , Teachers ,Military personnel , ordinary everyday people going about their business, who are blown to pieces , shot or burned to death, whilst there is no happy medium here and no common ground , being kind to terrorists is like kissing a Cobra, the kiss of death.

"Terrorist" is now a well coined term for anyone in opposition....

Would fit quite nicely to those who would :

According to official statistics, insurgents burned 199 schools in the deep South since the renewed violence began in the region in early 2004.

A total of 178 teachers and school staff and 53 students died, while 372 persons, including 208 students, were wounded or otherwise injured. (MCOT online news)

Taken from todays news, Narathiwat conducts ‘Tung Yang Daeng Model’ drill

[mikemac]

The army and police have to kill all those militants/terrorists that have no respect for human rights. You can't negotiate with militants/terrorists.

Most insurrections end in talks BUT the terrorists in the south are Islamist's and CANNOT be negotiated with. In fact trying to talk to these

non- humans is seen as a sign of weakness.

Yet there are several news items of late indicating that a lot of the "terrorism" in the south is simply criminal activities like petrol smuggling, land grabs, drug smuggling, slave trade and illegal fishing.

You can't even begin to solve a "Muslim terrorist problem", until you can figure out how much of your problem is just plain vanilla criminal activity.

Petrol and drug smugglers have no need nor desire to murder innocent school teachers in cold blood.

[impulse]

The army and police have to kill all those militants/terrorists that have no respect for human rights. You can't negotiate with militants/terrorists.

Most insurrections end in talks BUT the terrorists in the south are Islamist's and CANNOT be negotiated with. In fact trying to talk to these

non- humans is seen as a sign of weakness.

Yet there are several news items of late indicating that a lot of the "terrorism" in the south is simply criminal activities like petrol smuggling, land grabs, drug smuggling, slave trade and illegal fishing.

You can't even begin to solve a "Muslim terrorist problem", until you can figure out how much of your problem is just plain vanilla criminal activity.

Petrol and drug smugglers have no need nor desire to murder innocent school teachers in cold blood.

And drug cartels have no need to massacre 43 students on their way to a protest rally. None of them Muslims, BTW. On either side.

Just criminals and corrupt politicians.

Edited December 1, 2014 by impulse