Thai PM wants to solve insurgency peacefully
Malaysiakini
Oct  18, 2006
Ivy Sam

Thailand's new Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said today he wants to solve the insurgency in the kingdom's south by peaceful means and will reach out to Muslims in the troubled region.

Surayud, the military-backed premier installed after last month's coup, signalled he will take a different approach on the crisis to the hardline stance of the ousted government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"Let me explain my personal strategy of trying to solve the problems in the south, by peaceful means," he said after talks with Malaysian leaders.

"We will try to talk to a lot of people. Initially I told the Malaysian prime minister that I will talk to the Muslim leaders in the south, talk to kids in schools. So that is the way I'm trying to present myself, by way of talking."

His comments came after another upsurge in violence this week in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, where a two-year rebellion has left more than 1,500 dead.

Last month's coup in Bangkok sparked hopes for peace in the region after a Muslim army general led the ousting of Thaksin, who had been widely criticized for his heavy-handed response to the violence.

The Thai government has said it hopes to hold talks with two insurgent groups early next month, and rebel leaders reportedly said they would like to hold the negotiations in Malaysia.

Malaysia has said it is willing to play a bigger role in resolving the crisis, and former premier Mahathir Mohamad revealed recently he brokered talks between Thai officials and Muslim groups late last year to try to establish a ceasefire.

Return to peace

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said after meeting with Surayud, who was on a one-day visit as part of a regional tour, that both leaders wanted southern Thailand to be returned to peace.

"For Malaysia we would like to see southern Thailand as an area that is peaceful, where the Thais many of whom are Muslims... will be able to live in peace without fear," he said.

Malaysia also welcomed Thailand's announcement that it will restore a centre for mediation in its troubled Muslim provinces, reversing Thaksin's 2001 move to close it down - a decision linked with the rise in violence.

"In our meeting, the Thai PM has showed his dedication to solve the southern Thailand political issue," said Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak.

"He will restore ties with Muslim leaders in southern Thailand and take steps to start a new administration there, retaining the old administration but with new adjustments," he said, referring to the centre.

"These are positive signs that there will be a political solution there."

Thorny issue

Thai officials had said Surayud would ask Malaysia to extradite top insurgent leaders believed to be hiding across the border - an extremely sensitive issue in Muslim-majority Malaysia. However, neither leader commented on the issue.

They did address the thorny topic of 130 Thai Muslims who fled across the border more than a year ago, saying they left their country because of insecurity and fear of persecution by the Thai government.

Their flight triggered a diplomatic row between the neighbours and Malaysia continued to insist Wednesday that they will not be forced to return, particularly if their safety cannot be assured.

Residents in Thailand's southernmost provinces are mostly ethnic Malay and Muslim, sharing more culturally with their neighbors across the border than with the rest of Buddhist Thailand.

The region was an ethnic Malay sultanate until Buddhist Thailand annexed it a century ago. Separatist unrest has simmered ever since, although organized border crime is also thought to play a part in the recent violence.