JI claim disputed by Pulo chief
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont talks to Angkhana Neelaphaijit, wife of missing Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, after accepting her letter asking for his assistance in expediting Somchai’s case.
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Cracks within the Malay separatist movements emerged Wednesday, as leaders of two long-established groups disagreed over whether insurgency in southern Thailand had been infiltrated by the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) extremist network.
Kasturi Makota, foreign-affairs chief of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), dismissed suggestions that JI or al-Qaeda had any role in the ongoing attacks against Thai security forces in the Malay-speaking southernmost provinces. He said the insurgency "has nothing to do with JI or al-Qaeda. This is an issue of the Pattani-Malay people. We strongly deny such allegations." Kasturi was referring to a recent interview on Arab television-news channel Al-Jazeera in which Bersatu leader Wan Kadir Che Man claimed the JI network had been helping militants in the Muslim-majority South. Al-Jazeera reported on its website yesterday: "Wan Kadir admits that many of the activities of these younger groups are facilitated by groups such as al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, or JI, which now has a presence in the South." The website quoted Wan Kadir as saying, "I think that many of the groups are there, but maybe they are not directly involved." Wan Kadir could not be reached for comment. Kasturi also accused Wan Kadir of overstepping his role, saying the former academic resigned from Bersatu about two years ago. "I'm confused by Wan Kadir's statement, because it is our understanding he has resigned as president of Bersatu. Wan Kadir is not in a position to speak on our behalf," Kasturi said. He said the Bersatu that emerged about a decade ago to serve as an umbrella organisation for different Malay separatist movements was not functioning at the moment. However, Kasturi said Pulo would like to see Bersatu start up again and take on a similar role. "Reviving Bersatu, or something like it, is something for the future. At the moment, Bersatu as we knew it has ceased to function. Pulo is concerned with Pulo's activities," Kasturi said. In the interview with Al-Jazeera, Wan Kadir urged the Thai government to establish formal negotiations with the separatist groups in hope they could influence the generation of militants operating from villages in the South. He said this generation had not shown any interest in talks and was determined to continue the fight for complete independence from Thailand, so an Islamic state could be established.
Don Pathan The Nation PATTANI
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