News and Analysis, 12 November 2006 - Surayud Visits the South

Interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont made his second trip to Southern Thailand in as many weeks signaling a major shift in how the government will deal with an insurgency that has cost between 1,500-1,800 lives since January 2004. During this trip, he made an extraordinary apology for the deaths of some 85 persons who died after being taken into custody in the aftermath of a peaceful protest in Narathiwat Province. He further stated that the Thai government may consider allowing some limited aspects of Shariah law to be practiced in Muslim majority provinces. He went on to acknowledge mistakes in the previous Thaksin led government in dealing with the South during a gathering at Thammawittaya Islamic School in Yala Province. However, violence continued to occur on a daily basis, with bombs being detonated at two karaoke clubs, wounding two policemen, and three others; a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in Tak Bai district, Yala killing two soldiers and wounding three; two teachers and their daughter were shot, and numerous schools were set on fire. (Comment: It is clear that the new government is setting improvement of the situation in the South as a top priority. Both the Prime Minister Surayud and Army Commander General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin are moving in concert to address violent unrest by backing off of the hard-line approach taken by ousted PM Thaksin. This approach, while likely to meet some success will have to be have to be coupled with a corresponding  increase in the effectiveness of Thai intelligence and security force actions to go after hard-line militants who see continuing unrest as way to isolate the Muslim majority South from the rest of the country.)  [slr]