EDITORIAL
New policy needed in Muslim South
Surayud's govt must win local people's trust while eliminating the insurgency
Upon receiving the Royal command to lead the country as interim prime minister on Sunday, Surayud Chulanont said clearly that one of his top priorities was to bring peace to the strife-torn deep South. Although it will take up to one week for Surayud to form his Cabinet and longer to map out his strategy to suppress the insurgency by Islamic militants/Malay separatists and restore a sense of normalcy in the southernmost provinces, one should expect a significant change in policy from that pursued by his predecessor over the past five and half years.Offering the first glimpse of his approach to dealing with the southern question, Surayud said injustice was the root cause of the violence in the region. That should send a positive signal to all those who have an interest in solving the problems in the predominantly Muslim Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces. The Thaksin government, overthrown in a military coup last month, failed miserably at articulating a sound strategy. Without clear policy guidelines and close supervision from the central government, the security apparatus got bogged down in endless turf battles among themselves while the three provinces turned into a war zone. All this must change if the hearts and minds of the peace-loving Muslim majority are to be won. It used to be that the men and women responsible for security in the South were held up as examples of tolerance and professionalism. Under the strong leadership of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC), a multi-government agency including the Army, police and the Interior Ministry that looked after security in the region while promoting reconciliation, plenty of fine work was done. Thaksin summarily dissolved the SBPAC shortly after he came to power in 2001, claiming it had outlived its usefulness. That was Thaksin's worst mistake in his handling of the southern border provinces. Shortly after an upsurge in the insurgency erupted that continues to this day. The interim government should consider establishing a similar coordination centre, with necessary adjustments to suit the current situation, to ensure policy coherence and unity among security agencies in programmes aimed at achieving true reconciliation. Even if the government does everything right in the Muslim South, all Thais should realise that painful memories from the past - back when the central government was using various coercive means to force the Muslims to adopt narrowly defined "Thai ways and customs" - continue to linger there. It will take time for healing and reconciliation. Eventually, the interim government must draw up and implement innovative policies to foster a better understanding between the region and Thai society at large. But first Surayud's government must demonstrate that it is capable of winning the war against insurgents, who are doing everything they can to scuttle the reconciliation process.
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