Thai Army chiefs forever handcuffed in the South

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

Army chiefs forever handcuffed in the South
By The Nation

 

Lt-General Piyawat finds fresh ways to offend as he tries to ‘do his best’ under such restricted circumstances

 

Every general assigned to command the Fourth Army jurisdiction tries while overseeing day-to-day operations to make the best of the keen media attention directed that way, knowing his time in the contested southern region will last only until he’s promoted to the inner circle in Bangkok, as has proved inevitable in modern times. Bangkok is the prize and any regional command is a temporary posting, a stepping stone to the ultimate goal. Those handed the far South, as troublesome as it can be for the officials in charge, are under little pressure to find a way to end the conflict. The past 13 years suggest that such an accomplishment is an impossible dream anyway.

 

Instead, each new commander makes a grand show of introducing a fresh strategy that will achieve the impossible. It is human nature, after all, to wish to seem better than one’s predecessor. Nevertheless, in the final analysis, the commanders merely pass along the exact same objective to their successors – to remove as many ethnic Malay insurgents from the field as possible, through kills, capture or coercion. Only the means to complete this mission vary.

 

Lieutenant General Piyawat Nakwanich, the man in charge since late last year, is no different from his predecessors despite earnest efforts to seem so. His personal touch has been demonstrating the utmost accessibility – when visiting conflict areas, he likes to shout out his phone number and invite any insurgents who might be listening to call him and discuss the terms of their surrender. He guarantees them fair treatment under the law and offers to helicopter into their jungle hideouts to ferry them out. Does it work? A few weeks ago, Piyawat rode a chopper into the middle of field to pick up a young man apparently ready to surrender. But the event was so obviously staged that security officials in Bangkok were shaking their heads in embarrassment.

 

Another ploy the commander has tried is called “Bring People Back Home”, a campaign that encourages parents (especially dear old mums) to persuade their renegade sons to quit the movement and surrender in exchange for fair treatment. Doing so ensures them that their name will be expunged from a government “black list”, but the local people are all too aware that, once on any of the several varieties of black lists, there’s no getting off.

 

When one media outlet reported recently that the insurgents are aiming to recruit a million new combatants over the next 15 years, General Piyawat demonstrated arrogance in lieu of professionalism and appalling shallowness in his understanding of the insurrection. He told reporters not to worry, since the deep South 15 years hence will be fully developed, with good roads and high-speed train service. There will no longer be a reason for anyone to take up arms against the state, he said.

 

Ignoring the insurgents’ fundamental grievance – that the Thai state denies the southern Malay-Muslim majority the basic dignities it is due – Piywat seeks to lecture them and other members of their community that they should swallow their pride, stop biting the hand that feeds them and behave like good citizens. He evidently does not understand why so many young people took up arms in the first place.

 

To be fair, none of the military men placed in charge of the region has been given a mandate to guide policy based on his own observations, much less set policy. The bloodshed in the South will continue as long as its political, administrative and military management remains centralised. If the situation is ever to improve, the government and Army must give the regional commander far greater authority.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/opinion/today_editorial/30311336

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-04-05

[yellowboat]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

But the event was so obviously staged that security officials in Bangkok were shaking their heads in embarrassment.

Hard to believe anyone could be less capable of fooling people than the junta. 

[Bluespunk]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Instead, each new commander makes a grand show of introducing a fresh strategy that will achieve the impossible.

Any of them tried meaningful, fully inclusive of all groups, peace talks?

[Bluespunk]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

General Piyawat demonstrated arrogance in lieu of professionalism and appalling shallowness in his understanding of the insurrection.

He's not alone in that.

[elgordo38]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

A few weeks ago, Piyawat rode a chopper into the middle of field to pick up a young man apparently ready to surrender. But the event was so obviously staged that security officials in Bangkok were shaking their heads in embarrassment.

Way to go general you can kiss any chance of being promoted to Bangkok goodbye. Any more bright ideas. 

[Krataiboy]

Don't blame the army brass, with all its faults, for the failure to end the violence in the southern states. This bloody cries out for a political, rather than military, solution. Until Government House comes up with one, the commanders at the sharp end will remain as much victims of the tardiness of their political masters as is the local population.

Edited April 5, 2017 by Krataiboy
error

[spidermike007]

Well, it would be alot easier to deal with the five restive provinces, if they were sincere about addressing their grievances. Instead, they continue to demonstrate brute force, instead of taking the local concerns into account. They continue to treat those provinces as unwanted children. No wonder they are unhappy. Deal with it. Man up. Come up with some solutions. Those provinces belonged to the Sultanate of Malay way back when, and Thailand took away those provinces in a war, and never gave them back. Take that into account. Use common sense, reason, and intelligence. 

[billd766]

2 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Any of them tried meaningful, fully inclusive of all groups, peace talks?

 

That would only work if ALL the groups tuned up and wanted to talk peace. Sadly not all of them want peace on agreed terms but only on their terms.

[Bluespunk]

9 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

That would only work if ALL the groups tuned up and wanted to talk peace. Sadly not all of them want peace on agreed terms but only on their terms.

I agree.

 

Bringing about peace is always harder than starting the violence.

 

That's why a leader committed to peace is required.

 

They may not be able to bring all sides to the table, but if they bring enough to start a meaningful peace process the hold outs can either join or be isolated.

 

However to do this, there does need to be leader who understands violence has failed and is never going to succeed.

 

That has yet to happen.

[billd766]

9 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Well, it would be alot easier to deal with the five restive provinces, if they were sincere about addressing their grievances. Instead, they continue to demonstrate brute force, instead of taking the local concerns into account. They continue to treat those provinces as unwanted children. No wonder they are unhappy. Deal with it. Man up. Come up with some solutions. Those provinces belonged to the Sultanate of Malay way back when, and Thailand took away those provinces in a war, and never gave them back. Take that into account. Use common sense, reason, and intelligence. 

 

The provinces as you say went way back under Thai control even as far back as the 13th to the 16th centuries.

 

Try reading some of the history over the last 4 or 500 years and also that of the Bangkok treaty of 1909 with the British and take that into account also and you will find that it is not that simple at all.

 

For example who does Ayutthya belong to? The Burmese or the Thais?

 

Does Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia still belong to the French who conquered it? Or does China still belong to the Mongol nation who actually invaded Europe as far west as Germany. They also conquered parts of India and many of the 'stan countries. How about the USA gives up all its claims to the country in favour of the indigenous population or perhaps to the Vikings who also landed there?

[mtls2005]

The junta's "Safety Zone" initiative seems to have been less than successful.

 

It seems like April is an active month for the southern insurgency; quite a lot of activity over the past few days,

[Enoon]

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

The provinces as you say went way back under Thai control even as far back as the 13th to the 16th centuries.

 

Try reading some of the history over the last 4 or 500 years and also that of the Bangkok treaty of 1909 with the British and take that into account also and you will find that it is not that simple at all.

 

For example who does Ayutthya belong to? The Burmese or the Thais?

 

Does Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia still belong to the French who conquered it? Or does China still belong to the Mongol nation who actually invaded Europe as far west as Germany. They also conquered parts of India and many of the 'stan countries. How about the USA gives up all its claims to the country in favour of the indigenous population or perhaps to the Vikings who also landed there?

 

Don't expect to hear "Well that's OK then" anytime soon from the Malay people concerned.

 

Anymore than you would have expected to hear it from the people of the Netherlands or the Republic of Ireland, who, as ethnic groups, both threw off the oppressive foreign rule of, respectively, the Spanish and British Empires. 

 

Thailand is the shaky remnant of a crumbled empire and history refuses to stand still.

 

There is no statute of limitations on self-determination for anyone who has the means and most importantly........the will to achieve it.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2017 by Enoon

[Chris Lawrence]

Ever tried racing a Thai off at the lights. They don't like it and come after you. Or having a BBQ down south with ham steaks on the grill. It just doesn't work, but the Bangkok elite sent to govern the area get better mileage antagonising a people that have complete different values. Why? Because it takes the focus off them when people try and get back at them, a delinquent lot that don't appreciate the elites time to come down and straighten out the problems. There are local issues that need to be dealt by the local people. But then again is that seen as giving in and handing power over to the Muslims? The people down south are a most welcoming people, the same as most farming areas in Thailand; however they seem to be persecuted more for their beliefs and cultural differences than the rest of the country.

[tomta]

4 hours ago, elgordo38 said:

Way to go general you can kiss any chance of being promoted to Bangkok goodbye. Any more bright ideas. 

Stupid ideas don't seem to have prevented promotions in the past

[elgordo38]

1 minute ago, tomta said:

Stupid ideas don't seem to have prevented promotions in the past

I really hate asking questions like this of others but do you have any proof of this??

[Eric Loh]

IMHO the government has been too occupied with the Muslim militancy and thinking that a military solution is the answer. They are ignoring the role of other forces and interest groups, or the sensitivities of the Muslim population at large. 

 

I also think that their top down development policies are not in touch with the character and life style of the Muslim population. Muslims are rather lay back and the idea of the top down push to develop the provinces without their inputs will not go down well. Respect their ethnic identity, religion and language. The banning of ponohs and forcing them to learn Thai have not been received well. 

[Srikcir]

On 4/5/2017 at 4:34 AM, webfact said:

Piywat seeks to lecture them and other members of their community that they should swallow their pride, stop biting the hand that feeds them and behave like good citizens.

In other words, behave like good Buddhist Thais.

 

[Srikcir]

On 4/5/2017 at 1:43 PM, billd766 said:

Sadly not all of them want peace on agreed terms but only on their terms.

Unfortunately, the military's pre-condition for peace talks has always been unconditional surrender to be followed by an unspecified period of nonviolence decided by the military before meaningful peace negotiations can occur. And as a coup de gras to peace talks the military has been firm that there will be no discussions involving any succession of the Southern Provinces from the Sovereignty of the Kingdom of Thailand, ie., semi-autonomous governance such as was done in Crimea (pre-Russian invasion) and in The Philippines (southern Mindanao region). 

 

The insurgent umbrella organization Mara Patanni has made several unconditional terms for negotiations such as international mediation, international press coverage and acceptance of peace talks as part of the national agenda regardless of Thai regime change. The military flatly refuses and has gone so far to even ridicule the name of the umbrella organization, insist that the insurgency is not an insurgency but just a bunch of law-breaking thugs, and cheer the death of an Islamic insurgent religious leader who actually moderated insurgency violence. So if the insurgents resist peace talks, it's by no means without a persistent wall of resistance from the military.