Grievances of rebels must be addressed

Bunn Negara, The Star, Asia News Network, Selangor, Malaysia

The escalation of violence in southern Thailand is a time-bomb that has exploded, and yet we may not have seen the last of such explosions.

Some 112 were killed yesterday alone, most of them young militants, after months of a simmering insurgency in Narathiwat, Pattani, Songkhla and Yala provinces. But this latest round of fighting was unprecedented in its scale and co-ordination.

The crisis in Thailand's "South" has led to Bangkok declaring martial law in the area. Army chief Gen. Chaisit Shinawatra dismissed Wednesday's uprising as "the last struggle" of the rebels, saying that the authorities were closing in on their leaders.

But although the insurgents were poorly equipped, they lacked nothing in frustration, determination and motivation. That signifies only the beginning of the problem, which is yet to be resolved satisfactorily by the Thai authorities.

As long as rebel sentiments remain unaddressed and continue to be shared by their communities, bloody clashes will continue. And next time, they might just succeed in seizing automatic firearms and heavy weapons, turning the tables on the authorities.

These sentiments are known to emanate from the grassroots, with the support of some local opportunist politicians and aggravated by police abuse of power. Bangkok is by now aware of the nature of the problems, if not before, so the rest has to be deft-handling by the Thai Cabinet.

The problem of armed insurgencies in southern Thailand is not new, so the government cannot plead ignorance. Although todays rebels are unlike their communist counterparts of decades past, their deep discontent with central government shares much with the decades-old Pattani rebellion.

Among the worries of a festering wound in the South is the spread and enlargement of the problem, both geographically and inter-generationally.

Malaysia has tightened border security to help keep out the fighting, but the younger generation of alienated Thai youths in the southern provinces are already in the thick of it.

Malaysia clearly does not want a spillover effect of any kind. The Thai leadership had already spilt over some blame recently in alleging how some rebels sought cover in Malaysian territory.

Rebels are rebels and must be thwarted, particularly those who resort to armed struggle. Thai and Malaysian security forces have a history of co-operating on these operations, and this co- operation will continue where necessary.

Meanwhile, the Thai government has a mammoth task in tackling the problem effectively on several fronts simultaneously. It must be responsive and seen to be so, poised to heed all warning signs early.

The authorities -- police, military, local officials -- must also be clear about the rights and responsibilities of the people and themselves, consistently observing the application and the limits of the law. They should strive to remove the roots of discontent without nourishing them through imprudent action.

The security forces should beware of complacency, as the insurgents may learn more and faster from their failures than the police or military from their successes. Thai policymakers should also be conscious of the limits of ruling by remote control from Bangkok.

And it usually helps to avoid jumping to conclusions, particularly when this can be seen to be insensitive. Stereotyping or stigmatizing certain groups based on their ethnicity, culture or other affiliation is also unhelpful.

So far, Thai officials have wisely avoided labeling the insurgents as belonging exclusively to any particular race or religion, saying only that they are Thai nationals. The problem revolves around the relationship between local rural communities and the power center in Bangkok, transcending petty affiliations along the way.

There is no doubt that southern Thailand will return to normalcy, one day. But the sooner that happens the better, although it is now uncertain whether that will come sooner or later.

In the meantime, it is important to avoid heavy-handedness that can only aggravate the wounds and sores that have burst open so dramatically.

Nothing is more important than wise policymaking that wins hearts and minds.