Listen to South, local leaders tell govt

Published on February 9, 2005

Economic steps not enough, say region’s scholars, religious figures

Southern religious leaders and local scholars yesterday urged the new government to listen to locals, halt its “violent approach” to the unrest and cancel martial law.

Only one Thai Rak Thai candidate won an MP seat in the South on Sunday, a move widely interpreted as an expression of dissatisfaction with the way the grinding conflict in the South has been handled from Bangkok.

Narathiwat Provincial Islamic Committee chairman Abdullahman Abdulsmud said although the previous government had helped bolster rubber prices, an improved economic situation was meaningless when the violence in the South was considered.

“The areas are wracked with violence and ruled by martial law, both of which obstruct the Muslim people’s lifestyle and had a big impact on the recent election [results],” Abdullahman said.

Waeduramae Mamingji, chairman of the Pattani Islamic Committee, said he felt better when Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra clearly stated that he would let local people participate in solving problems in the South and listen more.

Niday Waba, chairman of the Islamic School Association, said that the election results in the South showed that locals were not satisfied with the current policy of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who should reconsider his position on human rights violations and listen more carefully to local residents.

Worawit Baru, vice-president for student and community development at Prince of Songkhla University, said residents want a peaceful approach to solving the unrest. He said the locals were against the government’s decision to reactivate the 15th infantry division, which strayed further from the direction of peace.

Although the influential Wadah faction of the Thai Rak Thai Party worked hard, he said, it did not satisfy the will of the people because it was following the government’s orders. None of the candidates of the Wadah faction prevailed in the election. Anusart Suwanmongkol, chairman of the Pattani Tourism Association, urged the government to reconsider its safety measures, especially checkpoints between provinces that hindered tourism and did not curb the violence.

Abdulayi Awaesuemae, chairman of the Narathiwat Tourism Association, said he was concerned about Thai-Malay relations and urged the government to consider future comments carefully because the border provinces still depended on income from Malaysian tourists.

Meanwhile, a police source said TRT was defeated in the South because Thaksin insisted on using Najmudin Uma as an MP candidate for Narathiwat’s Constituency 3 even though he was accused of involvement in violent acts.

A source at Government House said Thaksin told the Cabinet yesterday that TRT was defeated because a rumour was spread that religious leaders would be abducted if residents chose TRT candidates.

The party also did badly because Southern voters hated TRT after the Democrats screened footage of the Tak Bai incidents, he was quoted as saying. Agriculture Minister Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, leader of the Wadah faction, appeared stressed after the Cabinet meeting and hid away in his office after the faction’s poor showing in the South, an office staffer said.

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