Yala - For months, Samak and the Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung have been bickering as to which of them should go.
Chalerm even wondered out loud how his presence in the Malay-speaking South could help improve the situation when he could just as easily receive updates and briefings in Bangkok or anywhere else around the country.
Well, Chalerm was not wrong. But then again, what do you expect from a man who publicly boasts how many Versace shirts he has in his closet?
Keeping in line with his old self, the PM, this self-proclaimed gourmet of Thai food made stir-fried chicken with basil for about 30 Thai soldiers. The intended consumers were really the rest of the people. After all, they can`t blame him. Samak didn`t have much to show for or much to offer the restive region where more than 3,000 people have been killed since January 2004.
While making a visit to Yala, Samak asked the locals to pass the word to the insurgents, whom he referred to as "people who have been misled". He told them that everybody wants to see peace,they should put down their arms, and if they wish to surrender, they can approach the authorities to do so. If only it was that easy. Perhaps he should start by asking them about their grievances - why after more than 100 years of direct rule from Bangkok, the Muslim-dominated region still questioned the legitimacy of the Thai state?And why - after pouring billions of tax baht to quell violence in the restive provinces, and win hearts and minds, the end of violence is still nowhere in sight?
Source: nationmultimedia.com (13 Mei 2008)
