Historian Dr Thanet :BRN’s demands are nothing new and Malaysia can be helpful
The five demands put forward to the government by the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) separatist group are just "old wine in a new bottle" as they are the same demands raised by Haji Sulong, the spiritual leader of southern Malay Muslims with the government of Luang Thamrong more than six decades ago.
The above statement was made by Professor Emeritus Dr Thanet Arpornsuwan, a wellknown Thai historian and scholar at Pridi Bhanomyong International College, Thammasat University, during a special talk with the Nation satellite TV station on September 24.
Dr Thanet said those who are familiar with the Thai political history were not caught by surprise by the BRN’s demands and are not worried with the prospect of the far South separating from the rest of Thailand as feared by most people because the concept of separatism is already outdated and unnecessary.
On historical and religious aspects, the Patani kingdom was in this territory hundreds of years ago, said Dr Thanet, adding "they (Malay Muslims) have been on this land; they did not migrate from somewhere else and so why the need to separate from Thailand?"
The wellknown historian said that the word "separatism" was used after the arrest and prosecution of Haji Sulong on treason charge although he was not charged with separatism. The charge of separatism was used and lodged against certain Isarn MPs who helped the Laotian freedom fighters fight for the liberation of Laos from foreign colonialists.
Dr Thanet said that if the southern separatists really aspired for a separate in their peace talks with the government, they could not hide it because this issue had to be agreed upon by the parties in the conflict and it must be legally recognized.
He insisted that, to his understanding, the BRN did not demand a separate homeland but just wanted to have their own administration for the far South. Their demand for a special administrative zone should not be viewed with deep mistrust that it could lead to separatism, he said.
Dr Thanet said he understood why the BRN had to make tough demands because they viewed themselves as the oppressed party vis-à-vis the government which they viewed as the oppressor.
Historically, the Patani kingdom was annexed by Siam during the reign of King Rama I. It was then divided into seven smaller towns and became part of Thailand.
To better understand the southern unrest or regional conflicts, Dr Thanet recommended Thai people to read the history of the other countries and to reduce what he described as Thai ethnocentricism.
He noted that Thais often viewed the history of Thailand’s neighbouring countries from Thai perspective. "That piece of land belong to Thais or used to belong to Thais. Those people used to oppress us but we never look at ourselves, about what our ancestors did to the other people or took away from them. We must open up our mind, our perspective otherwise we will not be able to solve our conflicts", he said.
As for Malaysia’s role in the southern conflict, he said, personally,he did not harbour any suspicion against Kuala Lumpur. Since both Malaysians and the southern Muslims share the same religious faith and race, he said that it was impossible to prevent them from being close together.
Instead of mistrusting Malaysia, he said it could be of great benefit for the development of the far South.
He disagreed with an idea of staging a referendum to allow the people to decide whether they agreed with the idea of a special administrative zone for the far South or not unless it can be guaranteed that the result of the referendum must be respected by all sides.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caption : Professor Emeritus Dr Thanet Arpornsuwan