OIC wants emergency rule lifted
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will not interfere in the internal affairs of Thailand and will not support separatism but would prefer to see the emergency rule be lifted in the three southernmost provinces. The above opinion was expressed by special envoy to OIC secretary-general Sayed Kassem El-Masry.
Mr Sayed is currently visiting Thailand on a weeklong mission from May 7-12 to find out the facts about the situation in the violence-prone deep South. He met separately with Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul and National Security Council secretary-general Pol Gen Wichien Potephosri on May 8. On May 9, he toured the deep South and met with Pol Col Thawee Sodsong, secretary-general of Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre, governors of five southern provinces and Muslim representatives.
In meeting with a group of volunteer graduates before attending a meeting staged by the SBPAC, Mr Sayed said that the unrest problem in the deep South was not related with religious differences but a normal problem for a country with minority people. He suggested that promoting mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual recognition should be the right approach to address the problem.
The OIC special envoy said he was glad that the emergency rule would be lifted in the future because the special law has been blamed for human rights violations by state officials. He condemned the use of violence by all parties, saying that killing innocent people, be them Muslims or Buddhists, is against the Koran.
Pol Col Thawee said that Mr Sayed was pleased with the government’s development efforts but complained that legal process on security-related cases was too time-consuming and slow.
Mr Nisit Rabiebtham, director-general of Region 9 public prosecution, meanwhile, said that legal process should be accelerated to ensure justice for the alleged offenders.
During the tour of the restive region, student and civil society organizations submitted an open letter to the OIC special envoy at SBPAC head office in Yala.
Mr Kriya Musor, coordinator of the organizations, said that they wanted the OIC to listen to divergent opinions from all parties concerned. They also want the OIC to set up an ad hoc committee to push for peaceful settlement.
In a meeting with a group of victims from the southern violence in Nong Chik district of Pattani, Mr Sayed noted that remedial measures to ease the hardships of the victims, although appreciated, were not the key mechanism to resolve the unrest problem.
Commenting on Mr Sayed’s fact-finding mission in Thailand, sSecurity expert Panitarn Wattanayatorn said the OIC special envoy’s visit was a clear sign that the OIC wanted to have a more active role in addressing the unrest problem.
He said that the OIC might have wanted to find out the government’s policy regarding the unrest problem because the government which has been in the office for almost a year now has not made clear its policy.
Panitarn said that there were split opinions among OIC member countries regarding the way the Thai government has been handling the situation in the deep South. Some OIC countries are supportive of the separatist movements and have applied pressure on the OIC to take actions, he added.
The former secretary-general of former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he thought the OIC would like to have a bigger role in the deep South.
He noted that the biggest problem of the government pertaining to the unrest problem was that the government paid too little attention to the problem, sending a wrong signal to the international community.
He said that the OIC paid special attention to the issue of remedies for victims of the violence to ensure justice for the victims.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caption : Mr Sayed Kassem El-Masry