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Published on July 31, 2007

The country's security forces have been on the offensive against Islamic militants/Malay separatists in the restive deep South since the second half of June, conducting raids and searches in areas known to have been infiltrated by insurgents. Such military actions have so far yielded considerable success, with many insurgents being forced to flee as the military and police have begun to close in on villages and communities in the war zones of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

Security forces have also seized weapons from arms caches that were hidden in schools and private homes.

More than 400 suspected rebels and their sympathisers have been taken into custody and are now being questioned. Military and police investigators have made an extra effort to ensure the prisoners are treated well and their human rights are respected. In cases where authorities have enough evidence to nail suspected insurgents for crimes they committed, they will be prosecuted under the due process of law and given a fair trial in the courts.

Aside from an isolated incident in which Army interrogators were accused of beating up some of the suspects - a case now being investigated by the Fourth Army - it is generally accepted that those in custody now are not subjected to torture or cruel treatment.

Many of those being held by authorities will eventually be released and allowed to go back to their communities, either because there is insufficient evidence to substantiate the charges against them, or because they are innocent.

Be that as it may, some military leaders seem to believe that these insurgents can be rehabilitated or persuaded to abandon their separatist ideology or belief in a perverted brand of Islam that advocates terrorism and other forms of violence, and to embrace reconciliation and peaceful coexistence with people who belong to other ethnic and religious groups in this country.

They have even designed training programmes aimed at instilling a sense of loyalty to the Thai state and civic responsibility, while at the same time providing skills training to enable them to better their livelihoods and standard of living. Obviously these are all worthy exercises that should be promoted and continually improved upon and refined to ensure effectiveness.

But such reconciliatory gestures and efforts to reintegrate known insurgents or people who are partial to their separatist ideology must be based on a complete understanding of Muslim Thais of Malay descent, who form the overwhelming majority of the population in the deep South - not on half-baked ideas or misconceptions. Even at this advanced stage of the conflict in the South, very few members of intelligence agencies or security experts speak the Yawi language, which is a Malay dialect spoken in the deep South.

It is too early to tell whether the ongoing offensive by the security forces will turn the tide against the insurgents, who have been waging an armed struggle against the Thai state and a campaign of terror against the civilian population since 2004. Let's hope that this apparent change of strategy and tactics by security forces is based on good planning and sound intelligence - and not just part of another propaganda exercise.

It is worth noting that the ongoing offensive was launched with so much publicity that most insurgents must have escaped and gone into hiding some time before security forces even arrived in the communities that were sheltering them. Unless security forces have a clear intention to flush out insurgents and remain in areas previously infiltrated for as long as it takes to make sure that those insurgents do not return, whatever gains have been made in this offensive could be reversed as soon as the security forces withdraw.

Surely they want to avoid the balloon effect, in which insurgents simply move to another area when security forces apply pressure on their current location.

The government and security forces must be reminded that the fight against the insurgency in the deep South cannot be won in a few years due to the longstanding complicated problems. It will take sustained political, economic, social and military measures, perseverance and determination and for the government to do everything right to win the war against the insurgents.