The fact that acts of violence such as yesterday’s bomb blast in the Narathiwat Province have become a daily occurrence in southern Thailand should be taken as a clear warning by the government, the communities involved and those who wish them well that the issue is not one that will go away if ignored or can be solved with killing power — either by the insurgents or the government. In the four predominantly Muslim provinces in the south, militants have this year mounted a growing number of attacks. They are exploiting the feeling among Thai Muslims that they are being treated as second-class citizens, discriminated against in jobs and economically disadvantaged by government policies in Bangkok. The Thai government has strenuously denied any such discrimination. Local officials originally ascribed the unrest in the Muslim areas to local gangs of unemployed youths. This may have been the case. But the way the authorities have handled the troubles has heightened tensions and fanned the embers of protest into a threatening fire.
The most outstanding miscalculation by the Thai government was the way in which police and army dealt with a protest in the town of Takbal in October. Faced with a demonstration that refused to break up, the authorities began arresting people. Eighty-five of those detained did not return to their families. A few were shot or beaten to death. The majority suffocated when they were forced to lie on top of each other in the back of a police truck. When the event got it bad publicity, the initial reaction of the Thai government was to deny the incident outright. When some Thai journalists produced film and stills showing what had been denied, the reaction was to initiate a campaign against the reporters, labeling them as unpatriotic and alleging they were in the pay of foreign powers anxious to destabilize Thailand.
It is crucial to understand that errors like this give outstanding victories to the very forces that must be defeated and undermine moderate voices in the community who argue against violent protest. Bangkok needs to review its policy toward its Muslim south. It might also usefully take a calmer line with the Malaysian government, which it has as good as accused of training militants on its side of the border. Now is not the time for name-calling. Before the violence spirals beyond control, Bangkok must address the status of Muslims within Thai society and also review its heavy-handed attempt to control terrorist violence. Certainly some senior officers must answer for October’s Takbal massacre.
Merely seeking to assert the rule of law in this increasingly troubled region will not be enough. Before the fire becomes a fully blown blaze, which could suck in Malaysia and other neighboring states, damage regional economic growth and bring misery and bloodshed to Thailand, the government in Bangkok must start to talk seriously to its Muslim minority. Only by negotiation and persuasion can the defeat of the insurgents and the return of peace be assured. By contrast, continuing to use strong-arm tactics will guarantee that the problem will worsen.
