Bangkok - An umbrella body of about 200 Muslim organisations in Thailand today urged the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to host a six-year peace restoration programme and mediate with insurgents to end the conflict in southern Thailand.
The Council of Muslim Organisations in Thailand (CMOT) said that OIC could mediate between the Thai Government and suspected separatist groups to resolve the conflict through peaceful means and enable insurgents to return to live in society and legally engage in politics.
Its president Niti Hassan said the establishment of an autonomous administration for the area was considered as one of the practical and sustainable solutions to the problem.
He said a similar peace programme implemented in Mindanao, Philippines, could be adopted in the southern Thai provinces by the Thai Government with assistance from OIC.
CMOT made an eight-point suggestion to the OIC delegation led by secretary-general Prof Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu who met with Muslim leaders at the Foundation of Islamic Centre of Thailand here today.
Ihsanoglu, who arrived here yesterday, is on a three-day visit to Thailand, with the insurgency in south Thailand top on the agenda. Thailand, with eight million Muslims of the 64 million population, has been accorded an observer status in the 57-member OIC.
More than 2,100 have died in daily violence in the Muslim-majority southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat where militants are seeking independence.
Niti said the Muslim community highly appreciated the reconciliatory approach taken by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont but there must be quick action to alleviate the plight of the southerners and administer justice in preparations for dialogues with insurgent groups.
He said measures must be taken to prevent any attempts to provoke the use of force, stir up hatred, racial discrimination and religious conflict which could eventually lead to a civil war.
Niti said the CMOT also want culprits responsible for the kidnapping and disappearance of Muslim lawyer Somchai Nilaphaichit, the massacre of Krue Se mosque and the daily killings of both Muslim and Buddhist civilians must be brought to justice quickly.
"Facts and truths behind these crimes must be revealed to the public," he said.
Niti said the OIC should also persuade the Thai Government to accept the different aspects of the Thai Muslims of the Malay origin in southern provinces by increasing the ratio of the Muslim and non-Muslim government officials from the current 20:80 to 60:40 per cent.
Furthermore, the council want the government to recognise and accept the Malay language as the language used by the local people.
"Nevertheless, the Buddhist minority in southern Thailand deserves equal rights and freedom as enjoyed by the Muslim majority," he said.
The CMOT also want martial law to be imposed selectively and as necessary, not the entire area since it would only aggravate the violent situation while the basic rights and human rights of suspects under custody must be truly observed.
It also wants the OIC and the Thai Government to be vigilant against the on-going attempts in the international arena to stir up Islamophobia and the association of Islamic faith with international terrorism while the plight of Muslims in many parts of the world being neglected.
Source: www.bernama.com (14 Mei 2007)
