Thai Embassy clarifies

Thai Embassy clarifies

I refer to the article of Thang D. Nguyen titled Thaksin can
learn from Indonesia that appeared in the Aug. 25 edition of The
Jakarta Post, making an analogy between problems in the southern
provinces of Thailand and Aceh.

It is to my deep regret that the said article is not well
balanced in presenting the facts and is based on emotional rather
than logical analysis.

Therefore I feel obliged to clarify the points that may lead
to public misperception in Indonesia about the situation in the
southern provinces of Thailand and how the Thai government is
addressing it.

We, Thai people, always believe that violence begets more
violence. Therefore, the need for a peaceful solution to conflict
is well embedded in the hearts and minds of Thai people to the
extent that it has become their way of life.

The new round of violence in the southern provinces, which
started in January 2004, is a result of a complicated mixture of
factors. It is no secret that the area has been subject to a
threat by separatists for quite some time, especially during the
1970s and 1980s.

To assume that the root cause of the problem in southern
Thailand is a demand for independence is awfully wrong. The 70
percent turnout in the last general election in February 2005 in
the five southernmost provinces clearly showed what the majority
of people want.

The Thai government is fully committed to finding a peaceful
solution and addressing the problem at its root cause, which lies
in the lack of proper education, social injustice and uneven
development.

With the aforementioned reasons, the analogy between Aceh and
the southern provinces of Thailand is way off the mark and not
based on complete facts. The supposedly analytical supposition
that since "no individual or organization has claimed the
leadership to represent the people of the south, unlike the Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) in Aceh, it is doable that Bangkok can show
willingness and ability to hold talks with representatives from
the south" is so superficial to say the least.

It simply ignores at least two important facts that there is
nothing like the south vs. Bangkok as suggested in the article
and people in the south of Thailand, like other parts of the
country, have their rightful representatives in parliament who
work on their behalf.

JESDA KATAVETIN
Minister Counsellor
(Political Affairs)
Royal Thai Embassy
Jakarta