Thaksin can learn from Indonesia

Thaksin can learn from Indonesia

Thang D. Nguyen, Jakarta

It may sound like a paradox, but there is a lesson about peace
that Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra should learn from Indonesia
and apply to the conflict in southern Thailand. On Aug. 15, two
days before Indonesia's 60th Independence Day, the Indonesian
government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a peace
agreement in Helsinki.

Materialized after five rounds of talk, the agreement allows
the Acehnese to have economic and political autonomy, to the
extent that they may form local political parties, with Jakarta
withdrawing the Indonesian military's (TNI) operation in the
province.

If implemented successfully, this peace deal could end the
three-decade long war between the Indonesian government and GAM,
who had been fighting for full independence from Jakarta, and
bring about peace in Aceh -- which was hit hardest during the
Asian tsunami last year.

To make it work, both Jakarta and GAM have to honor the
agreement that they signed in Helsinki.

This means that GAM really has to put down its weapons for
once and for all, and Jakarta has to abide by the agreed cease-
fire and allow the autonomy process to start in Aceh. Thus, if
either party violates this agreement one way or another, all the
peace-building efforts so far will be in vain. And, if this
happened, war would return.

While we hope that both Jakarta and GAM will succeed with the
Helsinki pact, it can serve as an example for Thailand, which is
facing a similar challenge with Muslim-Thai separatists in the
south.

Since last January, when assailants attacked a military camp
in southern Thailand and cleaned out its armory, about 800 Thais
have died in this conflict.

The most condemnable bloodshed, however, took place on Oct. 25
last year when 78 Muslim-Thai protesters were arrested and
suffocated to death while being transported in police trucks.

"This is typical," said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra when
asked about reports of scores dead in this massacre. "It's about
bodies made weak from fasting. Nobody hurt them."

It can only be hoped that Prime Minister Thaksin's knowledge
of postmortem forensics has improved since he made this infamous
statement. But, alas, he has not softened his violence-based
approach to dealing with the conflict in the south, which doesn't
seems to get better as time goes by.

To be fair, however, Thaksin has met with Muslim leaders from
other countries, namely Indonesia, to seek their advice on how to
solve the southern problem. He has also put together a team of
experienced and able Thais, such as former foreign minister Surin
Pitsuwan, to work on it.

Unfortunately, this team seems ineffective because -- being
the autocrat that he is -- Thaksin still calls all the shots when
it comes to the southern conflict, or everything else in Thailand
for that matter. He sees and approaches it the same way that US
President George W. Bush -- whom he admires a lot -- does
terrorism.

Obviously, Thaksin's way of dealing with such a multi-
dimensional and complex issue as the southern conflict is not
working. This is because he is trying to solve this problem with
military forces thinking that it will be corrected instead of
finding out what its root causes are and treating them with
appropriate, preventive measures.

To be sure, the Malay-Muslims in the south have been, and
still are, the minority or "underdog" group. They make up about
2.3 million people of Thailand's 63 million population, the
majority of whom are Buddhist. Over a century ago, the five
southern provinces belonged to the Muslim kingdom of Pattani,
which was "annexed" in 1902 by Siam, as Thailand was known then.

The fact is that the discontent among Muslim Thais in the
south has been fed by the poor economic opportunities in the
region; their distinct culture, history, language and religion
from the Buddhist Thai majority; and the human rights violations
they have been subject to by Thai troops and police.

This is what Prime Minister Thaksin is not accepting it as the
truth.

Now, the question remains, what to do to bring peace to the
south?

First, Prime Minister Thaksin should admit that he has been
wrong with his heavy-handed handling of the southern conflict.

Like an alcoholic who is trying to quit drinking, this first
step is most crucial because, if he keeps thinking that he has
been doing the right things all this time, he will keep
escalating the violence the south and, thereby, worsen the
situation on the ground.

Second, as the Indonesians have done with the Acehnese, Prime
Minister Thaksin should encourage talks between Bangkok and
representatives of the Pattani region that can lead to a peace
agreement.

These talks, which can take place in another country and be
mediated by a third party, will allow Bangkok and the leadership
of the Pattani region to put on the table their needs or demands
that must be mutually met, so that peace may to the south.

This part is quite challenging in the sense that, unlike GAM
in Aceh, no individual leader or organization in the south has
claimed the leadership to represent the people of the south. It
is, however, doable if Bangkok can show its willingness and
ability to hold talks with representatives from the south.

Finally, if a peace pact can ever be made between Bangkok and
the south, both the Thaksin government and the leadership of the
south -- whoever it may be -- must carry out the terms of peace
that are mutually agreed.

Peace in southern Thailand is possible. But, it won't be won
with violence. Rather, it will require the Thai government to win
the hearts and minds of the people in the south. But most
importantly, peace is only possible when it is honored.

The writer is a Jakarta-based columnist (whose writing can be
read at http://thangthecolumnist.blogspot.com). Currently, he is
editing a book on Thailand.