Chalerm does not deserve role in South
Violent attacks in the Muslim-majority South have continued unabated despite an ongoing "peace process" between the Thai authorities and the separatist group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (National Revolutionary Front) being brokered by Malaysia.
Although the attacks have focused less on "soft targets" – such as civilians – the perpetrators appear to have shifted their attention to high-ranking state officials, with Yala’s deputy governor Issara Thongthawat being killed in a bomb attack targeting his motorcade last week. Another senior provincial official was also killed in the bombing.
It appears that some insurgents are unhappy with the ongoing peace process and want it to collapse. It is also likely that some separatist groups that have been excluded from the talks want to get involved in the process and are simply "flexing their muscles" to increase their bargaining power.
Some officials estimate that about 20 per cent of the insurgents do not want the peace talks to succeed. But other officials have denied any connection between the rise in attacks and talks with the BRN.
The government should not ignore any assumption or possibility in this matter, in order to ensure that the talks will be able to restore peace in the deep South, as expected.
Also, the government should summon all the help it can from the Cabinet members involved. PM Yingluck Shinawatra has often said that integration is needed.
However, judging from the way Cabinet members involved are performing, it appears that the government lacks integration in tackling the problems of the far South.
Deputy PM Chalerm Yoobamrung, who is assigned to oversee the matter, has not been very keen on dealing with the issue. He has left the burden to permanent officials, while he uses his rhetoric to evade criticism.
The government has had no Cabinet member dealing with this issue since General Yuthasak Sasiprapha, former defence minister and deputy PM for security affairs, was removed in a Cabinet reshuffle last year.
None of the remaining deputy prime ministers have a background in security affairs, and Yingluck has not appointed any expert in the area to oversee the matter.
Chalerm got the assignment, even though he had admitted publicly that he was "not adept" and didn’t want to be responsible for the job. However, since has been officially appointed, Chalerm should take the job seriously, and his lack of skills or interest in this area should not justify his not doing the job. Judging from his obvious lack of interest in dealing with the insurgent problem, however, it is clear Chalerm’s claim was serious.
Calls have grown for Chalerm to tackle the insurgent problem and critics say he should start with visiting the restive border region to get first-hand information.
Chalerm appears to have avoided going to the deep South. Even when Yingluck went to the border province of Yala this past weekend, Chalerm was absent. According to some reports, he was overseas at the time. When asked about Chalerm, the prime minister said she had instructed him to visit the deep South and expected him to go there soon.
The deputy PM often comes up with excuses for putting off visits though. In the run-up to the Bangkok governor’s election in early March, he said he had to help with the campaigning of Pheu Thai Party candidate Pongsapat Pongcharoen. After the election, he said he had to attend the parliamentary debate on the government’s plan to borrow Bt2 trillion for infrastructure projects.
On Tuesday, before attending the weekly Cabinet meeting, Chalerm pretended not to hear a reporter’s question about when he intended going to the deep South. He repeated, "What’s that?" a few times before saying, "I won’t tell you."
It is now clear that Chalerm is really not interested in dealing with the insurgent problem although he has been assigned to do so by the prime minister herself. If Yingluck is serious about tackling this problem, then she should not place this responsibility on someone who does not care about it.
As the government chief, she should dismiss Chalerm from the job and appoint someone who is more interested in doing the job. He has repeatedly disappointed the prime minister by ignoring her instruction to him to go to the South.
Keeping him in the job will not only prevent the progress of efforts to tackle the insurgency problem, but also tarnish the prime minister’s credibility.