EDITORIAL
The troubled South must be supported
All sectors of society must stand by southerners in their struggle against terrorism and insurgency
Saturday night's coordinated bombings in Hat Yai, a major commercial centre in the South and a popular tourist destination, have rekindled fears that the terrorist attacks might spread to other parts of the country. Until recently, most people comforted themselves with the assumption that the violence would somehow be confined to the strife-torn regions of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Such complacency has now been shattered. The attacks on Hat Yai not only have serious implications for Thailand's national security, but also have dramatic consequences for the country's political stability and the performance of its economy. It has become clear that Islamic militants, separatist insurgents, terrorists or whoever was responsible for these atrocious acts against innocent civilians have raised the stakes in their armed struggle against the Thai state.More wisdom and energy should be devoted to restoring an enduring peace in the region, before even more areas of the South or even other parts of Thailand are turned into a war zone. We do not yet know the real motives behind the bombings, nor the identities of the perpetrators of these despicable crimes. Security agencies must redouble their efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators and masterminds of such terrorist acts, restore law and order and address the root causes of the long-standing grievances fuelling the ongoing violence in the deep South. At the same time, those in the business sector and small merchants in Hat Yai are picking up the pieces following the bombings, which have scared away tourists and brought business there to a grinding halt. A preliminary estimate by southern businessmen pegs the damage from the Saturday-night bombings at more than Bt10 billion over the next several months in the southernmost region. Moreover, they estimate it will take more than a year before everything returns to normal, assuming there are no additional bomb attacks. The violence has immensely hurt confidence in the South. Hat Yai is facing hotel cancellations. Tourism is the bread and butter of Songkhla province, of which Hat Yai is the largest district. Songkhla earned about Bt3.25 billion in tourist revenues last year, compared with Bt26.68 billion for Phuket. Songkhla province accounts for about 1 per cent of the Kingdom's total tourism revenues, the South for 13 per cent. Smaller shops - such as mom-and-pop retailers - traditional-massage parlours, karaoke businesses, restaurants and the locals themselves are bracing for the expected impact of the bombings. They are in dire need of help. While the government has responded quite clumsily to the violence, the business sector has acted in a timelier manner. Yesterday, representatives of the Board of Trade of Thailand and the Southern Economic Development Committee held a meeting at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, to identify measures to ease the economic crisis in the South. First, they would like the government and the private sector to work more closely in providing security in local communities. Second, more video-surveillance systems should be installed. The entire southern region would need about 6,000 surveillance cameras to cover vulnerable public places and business areas. Hat Yai alone would need about 600. Third, a news centre should be set up to provide up-to-date information to the media. This would help ensure that the media received accurate information from reliable authorities or locals at the scene. Fourth, there should be more security checkpoints in the South, working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And fifth, the business sector should help arrange activities to help restore investor confidence in the South. In fact, these measures have been discussed before and proposed to the government for acknowledgement or approval. The Cabinet has yet to endorse or modify them; however, these measures are a good start. Southerners want a sustainable solution - not just a patchwork of inconsequential short-term measures. All sectors of society must now start debating what the South needs to restore peace and rebuild its damaged economy. People in the tortured region must not be left to suffer alone.
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