Lesson from the war...Think new, act new in political approach to douse the southern fire
By General Harn Leenanont
General Harn Leenanont, former commander of the South-based Fourth Army Region, contributed this article for the Isra news agency. The followings are excerpts of the article.
By the time that this article was written, it had been three weeks since the start of the new fiscal year which traditionally begins in October. He observed that violent incidents have surprisingly tapered off. It was soon found out from the military that this was attributable to the flood problem which has made it difficult from the militants to communicate with one another. Yet, he said that the military could not afford to be complacent or careless despite the seemingly calm.
General Harn urged the authorities concerned to review all the military and political operations in the deep South. “It is not too late for the army and the fourth army region to review all their military and political operations aimed to win the war in the three southernmost provinces. These should include strategies and tactics and the use of civilians, police and military forces properly.”
The retired general said that the strategy of putting emphasis on political approach before military means should remain intact, but actual military and political operations must be adjusted with changing circumstances. He recommended the followings:
• On political front, he emphasis the need of political offensive by the civilian-police-military task force to win the hearts and minds of the Muslims. For example, he said the government must strictly enforce the law to see to it that justice is delivered in the massacre of 10 Muslims at a mosque in Ban I-payae, Joh Airong district of Narathiwat on June 8 this year. The case is still fresh in the memory of the local people and warrants have reportedly been issued for the suspects which, hopefully, will lead to the solving of the problem.
General Harn believes that if justice can be ensured in this particular case and that the people, especially families of the deadvictims, are periodically informed of the progress of the case, the attitude of the local people towards the authorities should improve. “This amounts to a political offensive and a political triumph for the government if the case can be resolved,” he said, adding that many other unresolved murder cases involving religious leaders need to be resolved as well in order to bring about reconciliation between the Muslim and the Buddhist residents in the region.
General Harn said that problems in the deep South were not rooted within the Muslim populace but also within the ruling Buddhist class who do not understand the Muslims, making them feel they are not fairly and equally treated like their Buddhist countrymen. He also blamed the “hawkish” military for the massacres of many Muslims.
For the political offensive to be successful, he noted that all the atrocities perpetrated by the “hawkish” elements in the security forces against the Muslim people must stop. He also reminded that authorities concerned with political offensive must be sensitive and refrain from doing anything which will cause the Muslims to feel they are discriminated against or treated with bias.
Have we ever thought that despite the fact 75-95 percent of the population in the deep South are Muslims, but the number of Muslim officials in government bureaucracy account for just 50 percent? So When will the Muslims will play a role in governing their own people? Asked General Harn.
“This amounts to discrimination which has persisted for a long time,” said the retired general. He added that security forces were also under the influence of the “hawks” whom he blamed for the atrocicities against the Muslims.
He made the following suggestions to ease the discrimination problem in order to allow the Muslims to have greater say in the administration.
• More Muslims are to be recruited into government bureaucracy to replace the Buddhist officials until their ranks reach 50 percent of the manpower probably within 5-10 years. The same should also applied to the police and the military.
• Teaching of Islam in government schools should be increased from two hours to 12 hours a week so that parents will be encouraged to enroll their children in the schools rather than sending them to religious schools.
Also, it is about time that the government must think seriously about the administration issue in the deep South so that the people down there will feel that they have a role in self-governance among their own people and with legal support.