Published on December 18, 2005
help from the UN and a referendum on their future.
Just over a year ago, the former prime minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, urged the Thai government to grant autonomy to Thailand’s three southernmost provinces, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani, that are inhabited mostly by Yawi-speaking Malay Muslims. The region has sought independence from Thailand for many years. In the past two years, some 2,000 people in the region have been killed. Most of the deaths can be linked to local resentment of the Thai administration of the region.
Last May former prime minister Anand Panyarachun, who is also chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), told the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand that he favoured autonomy for the region. Two months ago Anand declared that he had changed his mind and that he no longer wanted autonomy. He said he preferred, instead, “regional power-sharing” and setting up a “special administrative zone” in the region. Last month the Thai government hosted Mahathir, rolled out the red carpet and wined and feted him. Then Anand and the current Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, told Mahathir that in the Thai language “autonomy” actually meant “independence”, which the Thai government does not want for the region, and that he should not use the word. So, at the insistence of Anand and Thaksin, Mahathir withdrew his recommendation of autonomy. It is possible, of course, that Mahathir will change his mind again. Perhaps there will be another big tragic incident in the troubled region soon, compelling Mahathir to urge autonomy again. Still more recently an academic, Prawase Wasi, who is the NRC deputy chairman, declared that he does not believe in “regional power-sharing” or a “special administrative zone”. Prawase said that local Buddhists, who are a minority, feared that a special administrative zone would lead to their oppression by majority Muslims. Prawase suggested that there be, instead, a “social contract” between the state, Muslims and Buddhists. All well and good, but that seems to be light years away. Recalling the communist insurrection in northern Thailand two decades ago, Prawase suggested an amnesty for insurgents who surrender their arms and join in “national development”. Some have called for a referendum in the region, so that the local people can make known their preferences (independence, federation with Malaysia or autonomy within Thailand) or write in their own particular choice of form of state and government. The Thai government, however, will never agree to a referendum in the region. Thus it remains for the United Nations to demand and monitor a referendum. Tad Masters Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Not easy for foreigners to be considered for a loan I am a foreign resident established in Thailand for a long time at a reputable educational institution in Bangkok with a long-term contract and a good salary. A reputable Thai bank has just informed me that a foreigner cannot qualify for a personal loan. They didn’t even check my situation. I was told it was against the rules of the Bank of Thailand for non-Thais to apply for a loan from a local bank. Is this true? If banks will accept foreign clients’ money for a range of investments, allow foreigners to apply for credit cards and mortgages, is there any justification for not allowing a foreigner to borrow money in the form of a personal loan if they qualify? Why do banks offer such services in English on their websites if they are not actually available to all? This is not a complaint; I would just like to know the facts. With major overseas banks requiring vast amounts of money only to open an account, what other options are there for foreigners who just want to have normal banking services? Baffled In Bangkok Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sending refugees back to Laos is not the right answer Re: “29 Hmong secretly deported to Laos”, News, December 14. The deportation of 29 Hmong young teenagers and women to communist Laos by Thai authorities was wrong. These people have not committed any crimes that would justify deportation. The Thai government must stop this unnecessary deportation immediately and find better alternatives for how they treat these people. Sending them back to communist Laos is not the answer. Yang Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Treatment of Hmong doesn’t reflect our highest ideals Re: “29 Hmong secretly deported to Laos”, News, December 14. If what is said is true, then the Thai government has violated its truest democratic ideals and its commitment to freedom. These Hmong kids are truly innocent. They were only looking for work to support themselves and their families. I also have friends from Thailand saying that their living conditions are very poor and unfit for humans. Please have some mercy on them. Kao US ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Raising cassava prices looks like pandering to farmers Re: “Govt to shore up coffee, tapioca prices”, News, December 8. If the demand for tapioca outstrips supply as the report suggests, why does the government need to give price supports? My company buys more than 500 tonnes of cassava pellets every month. The cost of the cassava pellets I bought for my factory in November was Bt4.70/kilogram, compared with Bt4.45/kg in May and Bt3.70/kg in January. The price of cassava started to rise last year with the implementation of the FTA with China, since a large Thai agribusiness firm wanted cassava in the FTA so it could supply its Chinese feed mills. Then this year rising fuel costs and the introduction of gasohol with ethanol derived from cassava drove the prices even higher. There is no need for price intervention. This looks like a scam to prop up the government’s declining popularity by promising farmers more goodies. Cassava Buyer Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Society can no longer tolerate such flagrant corruption When will we as a nation get enough of all the corruption in our government and demand justice? It’s wrong when leaders further their family fortunes with deals made in China or India or amass fortunes from sweetheart deals with the regime in Burma importing teakwood into Thailand. The time has come for us as Thais to wake up and see the destruction Thai Rak Thai is dumping on our country and our citizens. Do not believe that money is the answer to all our problems. We must follow the instructions of His Majesty King Bhumibol and end corruption before our country is finished. The next time we go to vote we must all think if we are better off than we were before Thai Rak Thai took control of our country. Somai Sneelaphaijat Singapore ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Democracy in the Arab world is a stranger in a strange land Re: “Iraq soon to pay dearly for Bush’s dastardly folly”, Letters, December 10. A Warner’s comments concerning the Bush-inspired conflict with the previous Iraq dictator reminded me of a famous quote by that great English writer Henry Fielding (1707-54). “Now, in reality, the world have paid too great a compliment to critics, and have imagined them to be men of much greater profundity then they really are.” It is clear that the impending potential disaster of US troop withdrawal will result in civil war amongst the various factions. Democracy anywhere in the Arab world is a stranger in a strange land, and to imagine that America did not consider this is rather naive. Saddam’s lust for power, combined with his horrific methodology regarding the attainment and sustainability of his government, created a false impression of regional stability. The fact that he ran the country under a “secular” model also made him more viable to blinkered Western governments. Of course oil is a factor: to suggest otherwise would be to misunderstand the importance of this black gold on the world economies. Recent rises in the oil price have been as much driven by regional instability as confidence regarding below-surface supplies. However, we are past navel-gazing about the Iraq war. What we need now is constructive dialogue about exactly how the Arab world is going to move away from the Islamic non-democratic government model. A Voter Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons yet, it soon will There were no nukes in Iraq. If there had been a nuke somewhere in Iraq, you can bet that an Israeli jet bomber would have knocked it out. The Israelis wouldn’t wait for the US army to come in. But there are nukes in Iran, or there will be soon. Perhaps US President George W Bush and his pals figure that if the Iranians have a nuke, the Israelis will send a bomber over to knock it out. The problem is, the Israelis and the Iranians are old friends. And Israelis don’t think nukes in Iran would be a threat to them. So the US will have to go in there and get them. Investigators should check to see how much the Iranians are paying Bush and his pals to look the other way. Frankilin Yarborough Sukhothai
Post your comment to this story here