YALA, Thailand (AFP) - Thailand's southern Muslims, who widely despised ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, say they hope the Muslim general who overthrew him will follow through on his offer to hold peace talks with Islamic separatists.
 

"I hope that (General Sonthi Boonyaratglin) will be able to solve the problem in the south as he himself is Muslim and can reach out to villagers," said Kordiya Mapae, 45, a Muslim worker in Yala province.

The three Muslim-majority provinces bordering Malaysia have been plagued by separatist violence and other unrest since January 2004, and Thaksin's decision to impose emergency rule there in 2005 was widely criticized.

"Thaksin was pretty much loathed among many in the south, as was evident in the dismal showing of his allies at the last general elections," said Joseph Liow, an assistant professor at Singapore's Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.

Sonthi, the first Muslim to head the Thai army, was previously tasked with resolving the bloody conflict that has claimed over 1,400 lives, and there is optimism that his conciliatory approach may now produce results.

"Sonthi has himself intimated that dialogue with the insurgents is necessary," said Liow. "This was not a view that Thaksin and others in his security establishment shared."

There is confusion among analysts over the exact cause of violence in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces, with Malay separatism, religious extremism, and border-related organized crime all playing a part.

But most agree that the decision by Thaksin to impose emergency rule only increased tensions between Bangkok and its sizable southern Muslim community.

The measure gave security forces broad immunity from prosecution, which human rights groups say lead to extra-judicial killings and other abuses.

In May the National Reconciliation Committee (NRC) submitted a report to the government calling for the establishment of a regional body to mediate, but Thaksin's government ignored the recommendations.

The situation continued to deteriorate, culminating in an unprecedented attack by insurgents on tourist targets in Hat Yai province last week. Four people including a Canadian tourist were killed and dozens were injured.

Earlier this month Sonthi broke with the official line and called for talks with those behind the ongoing violence, but the Thaksin government immediately distanced themselves from his approach.

"Sonthi in particular mentioned that he has not been able to solve the southern problem because of interference from the political leader," said Panitan Wattanayagorn of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

"Now he doesn't have that, so now it is up to him to solve the problem," he said.

On the streets of Narathiwat, people were hopeful that Sonthi could bring peace to the region, which was an ethnic Malay sultanate until Buddhist Thailand annexed it a century ago.

"I am glad there was a coup and the coup leader is also Muslim. I hope he will help solve the problem in Thailand's three (southern) provinces soon because he knows us well," said Raira Manee, 30, a market trader.

"Thaksin does not understand us," he added.

But this optimism was not shared by all.

S. P. Harish, associate research fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, told AFP that the legitimacy of any policy changes made by a military or caretaker government would be questionable.

"It would be prudent to hold off anything major in the south until the turmoil in Bangkok is settled," he said.

He also believes that Sonthi's religion will have only minimal impact on attitudes towards him.

"I maintain that the insurgency in the south is a very ethnic Malay-Thai conflict rather than a Muslim-Buddhist conflict," he said.

"While the fact that he is a Muslim might help a bit, I don't think it will help resolve the insurgency."

Other analysts agree that Sonthi alone cannot resolve the conflict, but they are optimistic that he has the political will to try.

"If he can bring a more unified approach to the south... I think he will be able to at least bring back stability and stop the daily killing," said Panitan.

 
Thailand's Muslim coup leader could soothe Islamic unrest - Yahoo! News
 
 

Maranatha!
Deborah
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