Published on July 04, 2005 - A promiment Thai-Muslim leader in exile, Wan Kadir Che Man, 60, has announced his intention of stepping down from Bersatu, an umbrella organisation that groups a number of Pattani exile groups. He spoke to The Nation’s Don Pathan in a telephone interview from Sweden.

Q. Why have you decided to stand down as leader of Bersatu? Why now, amid an ongoing spate of violence in the Muslim-Malay region?

A. I’m an old man now, and I think its time to let a younger generation of people take over. Hopefully they can do a better job. With regard to the ongoing violence in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand, I want to make it clear that Bersatu does not have anything to do with it. Bersatu is an umbrella organisation that advocates civil and political rights for Malays in southern Thailand.

Do you have any regrets?

No. I believe in what I am doing. I believe in speaking out for my people even if it means my having to live outside my country. I thank my wife and children for their support and understanding, and I apologise to them for what I have put them through.

What is the biggest misconception people have of Bersatu?

As I’ve said many times before, we struggled for the recognition of the Malay people, our past, our identity and our self-respect; that is all. But people saw us as a threat because we chose to speak out. It should be understood that our demand for respect does not mean we were against the people of Thailand or the country. In fact, we share the same goal of a peaceful Muslim region in southern Thailand, not a separate state. Bersatu is not about using force. We do not have any military capability and do not control troops on the ground.

So what do you make of the situation in Thailand’s Muslim South, and how is it affecting the country as a whole?

From what I gather, the fabric of society that once held the common people, both Muslim and non-Muslim, together has been shattered. This is extremely sad. The ongoing violence will have a long and lasting impact. The longer we wait, the harder it will be for the country to repair the damage. In previous decades, fighting was mainly between armed separatist groups and security forces. Today bombs are going off, and officials are assassinated, and nobody is claiming credit. This is very different from the past. I want to see an end to this fighting and to the loss of innocent lives, and I hope that by resigning now I will have opened the way for a new generation of leaders who can play a more active role in stopping the violence there. The idea is for Malays to use the democratic process to empower themselves, so they can work with the rest of the country to chart their own future.

What will happen to Bersatu as a result of your resignation?

Bersatu is a coalition, and so it will be up to each of the member groups to decide what happens. The job of a Bersatu leader is to provide general guidance as to how the movement should progress.

What is uniting the Malay people in southern Thailand now?

The Malays are united by their cultural identity and a long history of resentment. They don’t see their region getting a fair share of the country’s wealth and development, and they don’t see their history being taught in school or their past being recognised by the country that they are supposed to be a part of. I think that if the state makes a concerted effort to bridge this gap, perhaps the tension will subside and both sides will begin to trust each another. For this to happen, all sides have to work together. Whether we are Buddhists or Muslims, we are all equal in the eyes of God. But this is not enough: we must be equal in the eyes of each other as well.

Officials have accused Islamic schools of being breeding grounds for separatism. What is your comment on that?

Because some of the leaders of today’s separatist groups have religious education, the government made the false assumption that the institution of Islamic education was at fault. Islamic boarding schools, locally known as pondok, have been accused of being breeding grounds of separatism. Officials unfairly singled out the institution of pondok, and this has created a great deal of resentment. Militant groups can train anywhere: it doesn’t have to be religious schools.

What does the future hold for you? What will you do now?

I’m an old man now, as I said, and all I wish to do now is be allowed to live in peace with my family and retire, but I will continue to make myself available to other people, be they academics, government officials, civil society or whoever. I hope to see peace restored in my homeland and see my people live in peace within my lifetime.

Don Pathan