Thai Government’s Policy on the Southern Border Provinces

(30/08/2012)

The Thai government is mobilizing efforts for unified operations among all agencies concerned to improve the situation in Thailand’s southern border provinces under the Strategic Plan for Southern Border Provinces Development, 2012-2014. The strategic plan covers both security and development work, aimed at bringing about lasting peace and eliminating all negative conditions that might be used by perpetrators as a pretext to initiate acts of violence. The Government has placed the issue of the southern situation as a top national priority. In implementing the southern border provinces development policy, it has adopted His Majesty the King’s wise advice to “understand, reach out, and develop” and the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy, advocated by His Majesty as a path to well-balanced and sustainable development. The word “understanding” means to seek to understand history, the causes of violence, and the successes and failures in tackling the problems. In other words, people must understand the past, present, and future of the situation. “Reaching out” involves efforts to win the hearts of local people and learn their feelings and thoughts. Without reaching out or accessibility, it will be impossible to resolve the problems. The word “development” means the proper way of developing in order to cope with the problems with greater efficiency and effectiveness. Without understanding and reaching out, people will not be able to carry out development properly. As a result, the problems will not be solved, while violence might escalate. As for the Sufficiency Economy concept, it means having enough to live on and to live for and to lead a reasonably comfortable life without extravagance or destruction of the environment. It is well-recognized that the southern situation is not a religious conflict, but misunderstanding because of differences in culture and way of life between officials and local residents is cited as one of the root causes of southern problems. Security is not the only problem, as statistics on incidents involving other issues, such as dark influences, illegal trade, drugs, and local crime, have been found to be higher than incidents related to separatism. In addition, the civic sector will play a greater role in the justice process to contribute to the tackling of southern problems. Priority is given to ensuring the safety of local residents and creating better understanding about peaceful coexistence among the people of different faiths, based on the rule of law and principles of human rights. Various activities will also be carried out to help create better understanding among youths in the southern border provinces to prevent them from being misled by harmful influences.