Why the Safety Zone concept has failed to secure peace in South

But since neither side has nothing to show after talking to one another for nearly three years, the pilot project all of a sudden became important.
For the current junta, the Safety Zone would be their legacy, a shaky foundation for the next government to continue its work to resolve the conflict and insurgency in the Muslim-majority, Malay-speaking South.
The two sides – MARA Patani and the Dialogue Panel – spent a great deal of time polishing and fine-tuning the Safety Zone idea, but forgot the big picture – one that talked about how the Malays of Patani can reconcile their differences with the  predominantly Buddhist Thai state.
Political leaders were so eager to reduce or end insurgency violence in this historically contested region, they thought it best to focus their energy on reducing the attacks. So far, the number of violent incidents has gone down dramatically. Naturally, the military has no qualms in taking credit for that.
Instead of examining the historical grievances of the Malays of Patani, Thai policymakers focus their energy on getting the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) to join MARA Patani at the negotiating table.
Many are pinning their hopes on Malaysia, the designated facilitator, to obtain BRN endorsement. But there is no indication that the BRN – the long-standing separatist movement that surfaced in the 1960s – like the members of MARA Patani. Today, BRN controls virtually all of the militants on the ground.
Members said the leadership is not in a hurry to come to the negotiating table. They will only do so if their negotiators are properly trained and that the process is mediated by members of the international community, preferably countries with a strong record in conflict resolution.
Thailand and MARA Patani, meanwhile, are still bogged down with their own creation, Safety Zone, a pilot project where a ceasefire is supposed to be observed in a designated district.
Since MARA Patani doesn’t control the insurgents, the facilitator, Malaysia, had to ask BRN to observe the situation as well. But it would be up to Thailand and MARA Patani which district in the far South would be designated.
After several rounds of discussions, technical officials on the two sides agreed on Joh I Rong district in Narathiwat.
MARA Patani was expecting to see a formal launch and signing ceremony of the “agreement” designating the zone. But the Thai technical officials said there was no need to ink anything because the process was still a “confidence-building measure”.

Work together
In a public statement dated May 23, MARA Patani’s spokesman insisted that signing the agreement was necessary because “it involves certain sensitive issues like legal , security and safety protection for its members who will participate in the SZ exercise”.
“Without signing the document there is no guarantee for them,” said Abu Hafez Al-Hakim.  
There was also the transfer of three prisoners to a holding centre in the vicinity of the Safe House, a co-working space where representatives from both sides can work together to observe the pilot project.
The refusal to ink the negotiated text was not the only reason that irked MARA Patani. Members of the umbrella organisation felt humiliated when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan stole their thunder when they stated casually, without any fanfare, what was supposed to be a breakthrough in the dialogue process. It was not exactly what MARA Patani had in mind.
MARA Patani was hoping for a more formal announcement to reflect the importance of what it considered a breakthrough of sorts.
Already furious at the treatment from the Thai prime minister and his security tsar, MARA Patani came to the April 25 meeting determined to salvage its dignity by demanding that the Thai side sign the agreement. And when the Thai delegation refused, everything came to a halt.
“In my opinion, the much-awaited implementation of the Safety Zones will have to wait, at least for two reasons: First, until both parties can agree on the dispute over the document-signing issue, the implementation of the SZ will be put on hold. Secondly, the facilitator, Mr Zamzamin, was exclusively appointed by Najib Razak on a contract basis that expires in February 2019,” Abu Hafez said.

DON PATHAN is a freelance consultant and a founding member of Patani Forum, a civil society organisation dedicated to critical discussion on the conflict in Thailand’s far South. Part two of this article will be published tomorrow.