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Chuan slams ‘quick fix’ in South
Former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai yesterday accused the government of adopting a quick-fix attitude towards a complex problem by taking celebrities to the restive South, where more than 800 people have been killed since January 2004.
Chuan said local residents had nothing to gain from the high-profile visits, which not only ignored the root cause of the problem in the Malay-speaking region but also took security officials away from their daily routine to work as security details for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the celebrities. The Democrat Party’s chief adviser said some people might have turned out to see the celebrities but essentially the killings continue unabated.
He also accused the government of being insensitive to the traditions of Malay Muslims, calling insulting the plan to put up 500 to 1,000 free cable-television sets in coffee and tea shops, as if tension would ease up if Muslim residents could watch English Premier League football.
“The government should at least get input from the local community,” Chuan said.
“I still think the money would be better spent on building football fields and other sports arenas for the local community,” he added.
In Pattani, Ahmed Somboon Bualuang, a member of the National Reconciliation Commission, said cultural insensitivity on the part of government officials had created resentment in the local Muslim community, which is traditionally conservative.
Ahmed said a number of Thaksin’s delegates were making unwanted advances towards Muslim women. Such behaviour only displayed a lack of sensitivity to the locals’ way of life and outright ignorance on the officials’ part, he said.
Meanwhile, Democrat Party spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon urged Thaksin to truly listen to the business community in the south, saying the premier had a tendency to downplay just about every concern.
“He likes to cut people off and say the government is already doing this and that when in fact he should listen to them and understand their concerns,” Ong-art said.
The Nation
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