With the situation in Southern Thailand continuing to deteriorate, made especially clear through the recent killings of nine people when their van was en route to Yala Province yesterday, the media bears the responsibility to maintain a culture of understanding, not the culture of hatred and vengeance.
Upon presenting these issues in the media, words or phases such as the "Muslim separatists" or "Malay Insurgents" are used carelessly without realizing that these terms can lead to hatred and stigmatization of Malay-Muslim populations.
There was also a misunderstanding view of the role of human rights organizations that have been assisting the victims and those affected by the ongoing conflict in the region, regarding the slow response toward this atrocity. Questions were raised as to why human rights advocates did not raised their voices promptly on this particular incident.
Human rights theory is based on the principle that violence committed to civilians, no matter of their races or ethnicities must be condemned. But in this case, the identities of the perpetrators remain unknown. Without knowing the identity of the actors behind the atrocities, we should not act as though one group is behind the violence. It is unprofessional for the media and press to assume that the "Muslim separatists" or "Malay insurgents" are behind the killings since no clear evidence justifies this claim.
Furthermore, media should maintain the impartial role of feeding information to the audience. Therefore, journalists and reporters shouldn't support violent tactics or policies that could lead to the reduction of people's rights. Many newspapers and excerpts from television and radio have expressed acceptance of deploying paramilitary rangers to Southern Thailand and to impose curfews during the night time. These policies will not result in positive developments as the presence of military personnel in the region for more than three years has not guaranteed any safety to the people at all and curfews under martial law will not guarantee any improvement either.
What civil society actors and people in the region has been praising for years is for the establishment of the credible and concrete rule of law, where people's participation in the process is emphasized. With the recently commemorated three year anniversary of the abduction of lawyer Somchai Neeraphaijit, proposals from civil society organizations still have not been implemented. Continual cases of police brutality, torture, disappearances, and extra-judicial killings will give the pretext for the alleged insurgents to justify their actions against civilians.
The means to end the ongoing conflict is not to eliminate the insurgents, but to secure the space of understandings and end the culture of impunity that exists today. If the government guarantees safety to the families of the suspects, by giving them their right to access lawyers and for families to visit those in prison, and give assurances to their families that their husbands or sons would not be tortured or killed in police custody, the villagers will not resort to protest for the release of the suspects, become sympathized with the militants, or to the extreme end, become motivated to join the insurgency movement.
If the government can bring police reform, especially putting an end to unfavorable actions mentioned and make the issue of Somchai Neelaphaijit's disappearance on the national agenda and bring the perpetrators to justice, this will surely secure a better relationship between the government and the people and lessen the militants' justification of their use of violence.
It is up to the media to present unbiased, informed reporting that includes a rule-of-law, peace-building approach that is to be heard by both government and the public, so that concrete peace developments can truly come to Southern Thailand.
(First appears in ThaiNGO.org, 16 March 2007)
Source: http://www.thaingo.org/writer/view.php?id=333
Upon presenting these issues in the media, words or phases such as the "Muslim separatists" or "Malay Insurgents" are used carelessly without realizing that these terms can lead to hatred and stigmatization of Malay-Muslim populations.
There was also a misunderstanding view of the role of human rights organizations that have been assisting the victims and those affected by the ongoing conflict in the region, regarding the slow response toward this atrocity. Questions were raised as to why human rights advocates did not raised their voices promptly on this particular incident.
Human rights theory is based on the principle that violence committed to civilians, no matter of their races or ethnicities must be condemned. But in this case, the identities of the perpetrators remain unknown. Without knowing the identity of the actors behind the atrocities, we should not act as though one group is behind the violence. It is unprofessional for the media and press to assume that the "Muslim separatists" or "Malay insurgents" are behind the killings since no clear evidence justifies this claim.
Furthermore, media should maintain the impartial role of feeding information to the audience. Therefore, journalists and reporters shouldn't support violent tactics or policies that could lead to the reduction of people's rights. Many newspapers and excerpts from television and radio have expressed acceptance of deploying paramilitary rangers to Southern Thailand and to impose curfews during the night time. These policies will not result in positive developments as the presence of military personnel in the region for more than three years has not guaranteed any safety to the people at all and curfews under martial law will not guarantee any improvement either.
What civil society actors and people in the region has been praising for years is for the establishment of the credible and concrete rule of law, where people's participation in the process is emphasized. With the recently commemorated three year anniversary of the abduction of lawyer Somchai Neeraphaijit, proposals from civil society organizations still have not been implemented. Continual cases of police brutality, torture, disappearances, and extra-judicial killings will give the pretext for the alleged insurgents to justify their actions against civilians.
The means to end the ongoing conflict is not to eliminate the insurgents, but to secure the space of understandings and end the culture of impunity that exists today. If the government guarantees safety to the families of the suspects, by giving them their right to access lawyers and for families to visit those in prison, and give assurances to their families that their husbands or sons would not be tortured or killed in police custody, the villagers will not resort to protest for the release of the suspects, become sympathized with the militants, or to the extreme end, become motivated to join the insurgency movement.
If the government can bring police reform, especially putting an end to unfavorable actions mentioned and make the issue of Somchai Neelaphaijit's disappearance on the national agenda and bring the perpetrators to justice, this will surely secure a better relationship between the government and the people and lessen the militants' justification of their use of violence.
It is up to the media to present unbiased, informed reporting that includes a rule-of-law, peace-building approach that is to be heard by both government and the public, so that concrete peace developments can truly come to Southern Thailand.
(First appears in ThaiNGO.org, 16 March 2007)
Source: http://www.thaingo.org/writer/view.php?id=333
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