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"I come here today to reach
out to everyone and say: 'It's my fault. I am sorry,'' Surayud
said. (Reuters)
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CAIRO — A Thai Muslim has been named the
first-ever governor of the southern province of Yala, once part of an
independent Muslim sultanate, while Muslims received on Thursday,
November 2, a long-awaited official apology for decades of
marginalization and discriminations.
Teera Mintrasak, the 54-year-old former
vice-governor of Pattani, will assume his new post as of Friday,
November 3, reported Malaysia's The Star.
None of the three southern provinces of Pattani,
Yala and Narathiwat has ever had a Muslim governor.
The border provinces, an independent Muslim
sultanate until annexed officially a century ago, are home to 1.8
millions or 80 percent of the populace.
"This goes to show that the Thai government is
sincere and committed to bringing peace to south Thailand,"
Honorary Thai Consul Shazryl Eskay Abdullah told the Malaysian daily.
He expected the appointment to boost the spirits of
the Muslims in the southern provinces.
Thai Muslims, who make up more than five percent of
the predominantly Buddhist kingdom's population, have long complained
of discrimination in jobs and education.
In a practical step to address the root cause of
south, Thailand on November 1, reopened the Southern Border Provinces
Administration Centre (SBPAC), four years after it was shut down by
ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The center had been credited with easing the unrest
in the 1970s by providing a forum where local political and military
leaders could iron out their differences with residents.
The military coup led by Thailand's first ever
Muslim chief-of-staff Sonthi Boonyaratglin has brought hopes of peace
for the people of the south who have long complained of the
heavy-handed policies of Thaksin.
Apology
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Nearly two months after the
hope-bringing coup, Thai Muslims are starting to gain back their
rights. (Reuters)
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Marking a departure from the hardline stance of his
ousted predecessor, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont expressly
apologized to Muslims for years of abuse and ignorance.
"I'm here today to apologize for what past and
present governments have done," Surayud told 1,000 Muslim leaders
in Pattani Thursday.
Admitting that as a former army chief he had failed
to oppose the iron-fist policies of deposed Thaksin, Surayud pledged
to reach out to Muslims and to root out corrupt and abusive officials
in the three southernmost provinces.
"I come here today to reach out to everyone
and say: 'It's my fault. I am sorry.'"
The Muslim-majority provinces have been plagued by
unrest since January 2004 and Thaksin's decision to impose emergency
rule there in 2005 was widely criticized, especially among the sizable
Muslim community.
The measure gave security forces broad immunity
from prosecution, which human rights groups say led to extra-judicial
killings and other abuses.
Nearly 1,500 people have been killed since the
unrest erupted.
Surayud asserted that those days were over.
"The legal apparatus, from police to
prosecutors, has to be revamped."
He also vowed to investigate the disappearance of
Muslims
"Cases of missing people, we don't know how
many people have gone missing in the entire country, have to be
resolved quickly," he told the meeting.
In January, Amnesty International pressed for a
climate in which people may report on all alleged violations of human
rights by state officials and seek redress without fear of reprisal,
including "disappearance."
The newly-appointed prime minister called for a
dialogue to solve the conflict peacefully.
"We don't want to have ceasefire talks because
our situation hasn't gone that far, but I would like to have a
dialogue with them to seek mutual solutions," he said.
His sincere words earned immediate applause from
Muslim religious leaders in the region.
"His apology is a key to restoring peace in
the future, which will take time, but it has already defused hostility
and resentment in many Muslim minds," said Waedueramae Maminchi,
head of the Islamic Council of Pattani.
Surayud vowed after taking the oath on October 2 to
end unrest in the south and heal the nation's political divisions
within one year.
