Kamala Harris: Balancing Loyalty and Change in Her Bid for the Presidency

[Lite Beer]

EDITORIAL
Whatever its faults, the peace process must be given a chance
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The PM reportedly has doubts about the mara Patani group, but thais - and people everywhere - want an end to the crisis in the far south

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha never liked the idea of MARA Patani, a forum of about six long-standing separatist groups who claimed to be representing the Malay Muslims living in the southernmost provinces of Thailand.

Prayut told his Cabinet back in May that he disapproved of it because it was cooked up by a handful of people and that he doesn't think it represents the interests and needs of local residents in this historically contested area.

That was a legitimate and logical argument. But the real reason, some political insiders have claimed, was that his government feared that MARA Patani may evolve into an entity that will become institutionalised and acquire international standing.

A representative body that has international standing would not exactly be music to the ears of this or previous governments because they are afraid of talking about human rights abuses and the culture of immunity among the government security officials in the restive region, not to mention state policy of assimilation that comes at the expense of the Malays' cultural and religious identity.

The lack of cultural space and recognition of the fact that the Malay Muslims embrace a different historical and cultural narrative makes things worse, and until the state addresses these issues, groups like the MARA Patani and the self-proclaimed Barisan Revolusi Nasional-Coordinate of Ustaz Hasan Taib will continue to surface and present themselves as people who can solve the conflict.

In other words, talking to the "enemy" is nothing new. But doing it in the public spotlight is strange and unprecedented. But this was Thailand's call. And no one seems to understand, not even the military, why the Yingluck Shinawatra government decided to go public with the initiative when so many questions lingered over the previous administration's peace talks - like who is Hasan Taib? And does he even have any influence on combatants on the ground, or a mandate from the BRN's ruling council?

The same question is being asked of the current crop of so-called BRN representatives at the MARA Patani forum. And the answer is not very convincing.

To be fair to members of the MARA Patani, Prayut did stated back in December last year when he visited Kuala Lumpur that he would talk to the separatists only if they can come together and formulate a common platform. They would have to deliver a "period of peace" as well.

Looking tough and in control was on his mind as he didn't want to be seen as weak and on the receiving end like the YIngluck government, which was engaged in a spitting contest with Hasan and his motley crew.

So when the separatist leaders got together and formed the MARA Patani and started to "brainstorm" a common stance at the third round of confidence-building talks with the Thais, Prayut was still not happy.

He may not like the possibility, as suggested by the Thai Foreign Ministry that MARA Patani could evolve into something too big to handle. But then again, it is really their business how they want to spin their message or present themselves to the world community.

Prayut was also demanding that they give him a period of peace - a ceasefire, sort of. Then again, the Thai security apparatus knows very well that the vast majority of fighters on the ground come under the BRN's chain of command.

The Thai security and intelligence community made that mistake once - by believing that Hasan Taib was sent to the negotiating table by the BRN ruling council. It didn't take Hasan, the Thai government and the other stakeholders long to realise that their talks would not get far, especially when the then opposition was looking to Shutdown Bangkok through major street protests.

But that doesn't mean that this administration can't be serious about peace and a peace process. This is just the beginning. A bad process is better than no process at all.

The ruling junta needs to know that the world is watching and wondering what kind of concessions the Prayut government is willing to make, be it to the MARA Patani or Malay residents in the southernmost provinces.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Whatever-its-faults-the-peace-process-must-be-give-30267737.html

-- The Nation 2015-08-30

[Seastallion]

Ev'rybody's talking 'bout ministers, sinisters banisters, canisters....All we are saying, is give peace a chance.

<<<< Off topic baiting comments removed >>>>

Edited August 30, 2015 by metisdead

[baboon]

It is going to be tricky for the people who bought us Tak Bai and Kru Se finding a solution when the answer to everything is 'No', 'Crackdown' and 'Don't talk about it'.

Funny how the fanbois on here give the Southern issue as wide a berth as possible...

<<<< Off topic baiting comments removed >>>>

Edited August 30, 2015 by metisdead

[metisdead]

An off topic post has been removed and posts edited to remove off topic baiting comments.

[MZurf]

"Prayut told his Cabinet back in May that he disapproved of it because it was cooked up by a handful of people and that he doesn't think it represents the interests and needs of local residents in this historically contested area."

That's pretty rich coming from a guy that together with a handful of people cooked up a military takeover of a whole country!

[ezzra]

The problem is that when you ' make peace ' with one or two groups. a third or fourth bobs up

and voice its objection because they didn't get their pound of flesh. and so the mayhem and

the killing continue.... nothing short of a total annihilation of all groups will bring peace

to the regent, remember, you're dealing with Muslims who gets their orders from high above,

usually from countries who finance and support them......

[simple1]

The problem is that when you ' make peace ' with one or two groups. a third or fourth bobs up

and voice its objection because they didn't get their pound of flesh. and so the mayhem and

the killing continue.... nothing short of a total annihilation of all groups will bring peace

to the regent, remember, you're dealing with Muslims who gets their orders from high above,

usually from countries who finance and support them......

It would be a good idea for Thai authorities to further investigate and prosecute those within Thai security forces aiding the funding of the insurgency by collaborating with the smuggling and drug gangs.

[Bluespunk]

The problem is that when you ' make peace ' with one or two groups. a third or fourth bobs up

and voice its objection because they didn't get their pound of flesh. and so the mayhem and

the killing continue.... nothing short of a total annihilation of all groups will bring peace

to the regent, remember, you're dealing with Muslims who gets their orders from high above,

usually from countries who finance and support them......

Nonsense. You are advocating a failed approach towards this seperatist movement. It hasn't worked because it can't work and won't work.

Your comment on faith is irrelevent as this is not a religious conflict but a nationalist/seperatist one.

There is only one way to end the brutality on both sides and that is through peace talks. Might take years to bring all groups to the table but that's the nature of a conflict like this.

Peace talks are the only solution.

Violence has failed.

On all sides.

[Srikcir]

This is just a flaskback to last year's failure of the junta in moving peace talks forward.

"Gimmicks won't work in the South," The Nation 2014-12-05 said (in part):

"The Thai side has said it's willing to reduce the number of troops in the South if the insurgents stymie their violence for a sustained period. We wonder why Prayut didn't just demand that all separatist militants go jump off a cliff. If life were that simple, he might just get his wish.

It's clear that Prayut is trying to demonstrate to the Thai public that he's the one calling the shots and that he's not dealing with the separatists from a weak position. That perception tarred the Yingluck government when it was running the peace talks.

But the implication is that Prayut cares more about his image than about the root cause of the conflict. If so, he could also be indifferent to permanent and sustainable peace. Because, if he really meant what he said about peace and inclusiveness, he would have included other stakeholders in the region - the Thai-Chinese Buddhist community, ethnic Malays, civic organisations and others affected by the insurgency.

The previous wave of armed insurgency in the Malay-speaking South saw Thailand use all sorts of tactics to quell the violence. These included paying off militant commanders, blanket amnesties that came with a small plot of land, and, of course, the bullet.

But the absence of violence did not bring peace. These short-term measures do absolutely nothing to address the historical root cause of the conflict. If Prayut fails to understand this, then whatever tricks he has up his sleeve to bring peace will not work - at least not in any meaningful or sustainable way."

The military, that has no accountability to the Thai people, leading peace talks according to its own agenda seems like an insurmountable barrier for successful negotiations.