Foreign minister predicts five years until conflict ends in restive south

Dubai: Violence in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, which has killed more than 2,000 people, will go on for at least five more years, its military-appointed foreign minister has predicted.

The military seized power in a bloodless coup last September, overthrowing the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, which had been plagued by corruption scandals and abuse of power allegations.

Since then, it has been trying hard to distance itself from the previous administration and sought to repair the damage by cooperating more with Malaysia and other Muslim countries, including the UAE, and offering amnesty to the militants.

Damage

Thai foreign minister Nitya Pibulsonggram who was in Dubai this week, told Gulf News it would take "a little time" before the present administration could repair the damage wrought by Shinawatra's hardline tactics.

"This kind of violence began about two years ago, not with us, but with the previous government, where they actually had some real trouble in the way they approached the problem," he said.

"Five [years], many [years], who knows? It's entirely possible. All of this is going to take a little time to reverse, like any old ship. At least we are trying things that should bear fruit, and I am giving a little bit of a timeframe," he added.

However, he said the conflict would not take as long as 50 years to resolve.

"[I'm sticking] my neck out because I think there is a possibility, that there is closure in the end," he added.

The Southern Thai insurgency was fuelled by one particular episode where around 80 Muslims were smothered to death after being arrested and packed into the back of a truck for protesting the detention of six local men in Tak Bai in 2004.

Accusation

Shinawatra also strained relations across the border, accusing neighbouring Malaysia of harbouring militants.

Pibulsonggram said the initiatives included skills training, largely provided by Malaysia, to help "confidence-building, civic responsibility and fairness of the rule of law to bring about peace and justice".

However, one aspect remains; the junta as with the previous government is unlikely to allow the use of Malay language as the administrative language in the region, which is primarily inhabited by ethnic Malays.