"This is a new conflict, so we need new thinking and a new concept in dealing with the situation," Lt-General Vaipot Srinual, chief of the Armed Forces Security Centre, said yesterday.

Conventional warfare and massive troop deployments were dropped for failing to contain the violence in the turbulent South over the past two years.

The "gathering to reaffirm a joint peaceful solution" is part of new plan to separate militants, believed to be a minority group, from the mass of people who want to live in peace, Vaipot told a seminar at Chulalongkorn University.

The military needs separate strategies to deal with the two camps, he said.

"Before, we had only one strategy for all sides and the operations and execution always pushed the majority to become sympathisers or supporters of the militants," he said.

The root cause of the violence in the predominantly Muslim region is not religion or identity, as is widely understood, he said. Instead, ignorance and injustice has bred distrust and scepticism among the local residents towards government officials.

Vaipot said he had persuaded some 30 former supporters and sympathisers of militants to build a network of peace. They live in the three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat as well as in neighbouring Malaysia. They agreed to surface after the military became more open-minded with them.

The new policy, instituted in April, aims to build trust with them without holding a hidden agenda to collect intelligence, as many government agencies are doing, he said.

"We contact them on their ground, letting them know that we want to hear their problems and frustrations, as we know resentment with the government's bad practices has pushed these people to stand with the militants," he said.

The association with the first 30 people has now spread to some 3,000 other militant sympathisers or supporters. The 3,000 people, who now fully trust the military, will convene on the Yala Central Mosque on September 16 to show their faith in the peace process.

Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin will preside over the event and greet them all, he said, adding that the ceremony will be the jump-start to the new approach.

Lt-General Sommai Wongmak, who is directly in touch with the group, said the proceedings would be televised live to show the force of peace and inspire a lot of other militant sympathisers and supporters to gain confidence in the authorities and follow the way of the group.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation