Published on June 14, 2007 - Failure to announce new initiatives rendered two-day visit meaningless

There were high hopes that Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's two-day visit to the deep South would generate something more meaningful than his other trips.

But, in the end, it was similar to the pep rallies of the previous government. Before leaving Bangkok Suryaud had rejected the idea of autonomy for the Malay-speaking region. While that was understood, it was not clear what kind of platform his government would come up with for the area.

And, instead of taking the opportunity to announce a more meaningful platform - something he would like to see, as opposed to something he did not - Surayud acted like ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He spent a night in Bannang Sata district, one of the most violence-prone regions in the Muslim-majority provinces.

Unlike his visit last November during which he brought tears to eyes of locals when he made a public apology for the heavy-handed policies of the past, and particularly for the deaths of 85 demonstrators at Tak Bai two years before that.

While no one expected him to top his November plea, the visit was billed as an opportunity missed because of the absence of a meaningful platform. Not only was it an opportunity spurned for his government, it was also an opportunity let pass for the next administration, too.

Surayud's refusal to push his administration towards a more substantial and meaningful direction suggested the next government - which is likely to be much weaker and full of potential political landmines - will have a more difficult time designing something more meaningful.

Instead, he stayed on safe ground and, like others before him, reiterated the need for all sides to let go of differences and work towards a common goal. Though the statement was important, it was not as loud as it could have been given the fact that just about every public figure who has visited the South has said more or less the same thing.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of his trip was the location. Surayud called for reconciliation at Yala's Kuern Banglang, where on April 9 a group of government-backed Village Defence Volunteers fired on a crowd of Muslim funeral-goers, killing four young men and injuring at least five others.

The incident illustrated the pitiful state of the government's security arrangements and how it relates to the Malay-speaking community that the state tries desperately to win over.

For local Malays, Kuern Banglang reinforced the popular belief everything is stacked against them - from the local Buddhist villager militias to the state agencies.

What was even more upsetting to the Malay community was the fact that the army was quick to justify the shooting. Army spokesman Colonel Acra Thiproch said the funeral-goers were coming at militias with sticks and stones and, therefore, their action was justifiable.

Like other incidents, Kuern Banglang could have been avoided if the militia had a better understanding of the rules of engagement instead of letting their emotions get the better of them.

They could have retreated to the nearby Border Patrol Police outpost as they had done just hours earlier during the first encounter when heated words were exchanged. It was pretty clear the funeral-goers would be returning through the same checkpoint and a second confrontation was highly likely.

Surayud's overnight rest in the violence-plagued district was meant to lift the sagging morale of the security forces. But he was stuck between the devil and the deep sea. He knows his reconciliatory approach is running out of steam. But he is stuck with the acknowledgement there is no quick fix to the problem in the South.

Mistrust between the state and the Malays is at an all-time high. But any concessions deemed too appeasing to the local Muslims could be political suicide for any government in Bangkok.

Don Pathan
The Nation