The latest blasts in downtown Pattani on Monday say one thing to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra: Her plan to turn battlefields into marketplaces in the restive South will be hard to achieve.
The explosions of the two timed bombs caused minor injuries to a woman and damaged some parked motorcycles. What was more worrisome was they took place right in the heart of the city. The night food market is located in the centre not far from Pattani River, which divides the city, with the government offices and school district on one side of the bank and the commercial area on the other. That the insurgents could drive motorcycles into the municipality, place the bombs there and escape shows how easily the city can be attacked.
The bombing is a reminder to Ms Paetongtarn of what should be done. When she and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met at Government House on April 17, government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said after the talks that Thailand and Malaysia agreed the two countries would transform the battlefield there into a marketplace. It would stimulate people's contacts and promote more economic activities on both sides of the border, he added.
That catchy phrase -- turning battlefields into marketplaces -- is not new. It's a policy initiated by advisers at Ban Phitsanulok to then prime minister Chatichai Choonhavan in 1988. Thailand at the time wanted to be the first-movers into Indochina after the end of the wars there, taking advantage of its geographical location between Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
The initiative opened the way for investors and traders from Thailand to go there to tap the economic benefits. Thailand had dominated their markets until giants like South Koreans and the Japanese went there with more capital and better long-term business strategies.
Some advisers at Ban Phitsanulok who came up with that idea almost four decades ago were recalled to work today to aid Ms Paetongtarn. But trying to replicate the notable successes of the initiative used during the Chatichai era back then to another frontier in the country's southernmost region now is the wrong move.
The government is struggling with the way it is handling escalating violence in the far South. And it should not put the blame on any group of insurgents by accusing them of showing no sincerity to go to the negotiating table. Separatists should be condemned for targeting innocent people, including monks. But the real problem of this and past governments so far is they and security personnel have been unable to build trust with Muslim people.
Trust can come after the government and security authorities show them justice. They really missed a big chance to show that in the recent Tak Bai case.
The lawsuit ended last October with all the fat cat authorities directly responsible for the massacre that led to the deaths of 85 people in 2024 walking free due to the end of the 20-year statute of limitations. The government and authorities never bothered to bring justice to the families who lost their loved ones.
Gen Pisal Wattanawongkiri, who was indicted in the court case as he was the southern army chief at the time, was in the Pheu Thai Party as a party-list member after his retirement. He was in parliament until he resigned and left abroad to avoid the trial.
The massacre in Tak Bai district in Narathiwat province happened when Thaksin Shinawatra was the prime minister. He returned to the province in February only to offer an apology and hoped for forgiveness. "Muslims are taught to love peace and forgive, so I would like to apologise for the mistake," he said.
That was wrong. And the region has seen signs signalling worsening situations since then. One was the attack in downtown Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat in March. It was a movie-like operation, as a number of insurgents riding a pickup truck to the town set fire to the district office and sprayed bullets at authorities before leaving the scene. A series of violent incidents have followed since then, including the one in downtown Pattani.
There seems to be no way the government and security authorities can end the current spate of attacks by insurgents. There is one simple question that they need to ask themselves: Why some Muslims in the far South are risking their lives to whisper to their respected Buddhists what road or place they should avoid at a specific time for their safety, but why are they not extending the same help to the authorities? It is because the government and authorities have not won their hearts and minds. And that will not be possible until they show them that justice can be installed in the troubled region.
Saritdet Marukatat is a 'Bangkok Post' columnist and former Digital Media News Editor at the paper.