Published on June 15, 2006 - Thailand should set up a special administrative authority that will take into account the unique identity of the local people if it wants to end the current conflict in the predominantly Muslim South, according to leading academics.

This is the conclusion in a report by Srisompob Jitpiromsri, political scientist at Prince of Songkhla University, Pattani campus, following the results of a survey of 1,200 residents of the region.

Srisompob's report, commissioned by the now defunct National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), was presented to a seminar at Thammasat University's Faculty of Political Science yesterday.

According to the survey conducted late last year, 41.8 per cent of people questioned said they would like a special administrative body, he said. A further 41.4 per cent said they do not want a new body but saw the need to develop a form of local administration better suited to the locals, Srisompob said.

The survey was not included in the main report of the NRC, submitted to the government on June 5, due to the fear that conservative officials would misinterpret the term "autonomous", which is among the recommendations. The word is considered taboo when used in reference to the deep South.

Since the annexation of the Pattani Sultanate into Thailand more than a century ago, Bangkok has ignored the region's local cultural identities, said Thammasat University historian Adisorn Muakpimai.

The Kingdom needs a special authority to administer such a unique region, said Nakarin Mektrairat, dean of Thammasat's Faculty of Political Science.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation