Lawatan OIC Ke Selatan Thailand: 'Youth Student Network and Civil Society For Peace in Patani' Menyampaikan Surat Rasmi Kepada Sekretaris OIC

Di Selatan Thailand, Penasihat Sekretaris Sekjen Organisasi Conferensi Islam (OIC) H.E. Mr. Sayed Kassem El- Masry mengunjungi provinsi-provinsi perbatasan selatan Thailand yang bergolak pada tanggal 8 sampai dengan 11 Mei.

OIC, dengan 57 negara anggota, bertujuan melindungi kepentingan dan memastikan kemajuan dan kesejahteraan umat Islam, demikian menurut Kantor Berita Islam Internasional. Thailand bukan anggota, tetapi telah menjadi negara pengamat sejak tahun 1998.

Seperti dikutip The Bangkok Post, Yutthasak mengatakan bahwa ia tidak tahu dengan siapa delegasi OIC berencana untuk berbicara atau apakah mereka akan melakukan perjalanan ke sejumlah wilayah yang lebih bergolak di Ujung Selatan. 

Dia juga menyatakan kekhawatiran bahwa para Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani di wilayah tersebut akan menggunakan lebih banyak aksi gerakan geriliya selama kunjungan yang telah direncanakan tersebut untuk menarik perhatian tim OIC. Ia mengatakan bahwa pasukan keamanan telah disiagakan untuk kemungkinan ini.

Kunjungan Penasihat Sekretaris Sekjen Organisasi Conferensi Islam (OIC) H.E. Mr. Sayed Kassem El- Masry di provinsi Selatan Thailand kali ini, disambut 30 Mahasiswa dari 'Youth Student Network and Civil Society For Peace in Patani . Dengan pendekatan kali ini terdapat jaringan 'Youth Student Network and Civil Society For Peace in Patani ' menawarkan 2 tuntutan pada pihak OIC:

        1. OIC harus membentuk 'komite ad hoc' untuk mendorong perdamaian di Selatan Thailand.

        2. OIC harus terbuka untuk mendengarkan fakta-fakta berbagai pihak. Terutama terbuka pada pihak organisasi-organisasi dari pemuda, Organisasi mahasiswa dan organisasi masyarakat sipil di daerah tersebut yang telah disajikan dalam pertukaran formal yang rasmi di berbagai pihak ini.

Dalam kenyataan surat yang disampaikan pada OIC:

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

Open Letter

The Network of Student, Youth and Civil Society for Patani Peace Process

(Translation)

8 May 2012

Subject: Peace Process Proposal from Grassroots Citizen

His Excellency the Delegation of OIC

Encls: Human Rights Abused to the Patani Youth Fact-finding Paper

The conflict in southern Thailand is driven by a deep well of discontent among the Patani-Muslim population and alienation from the Thai state. While the conflict is a product of several factors, it is clear that the long term grievances felt by the Thai-Malay population have created an environment that is ripe for armed insurgent sympathy, recruitment, and community support. The origins of their grievances with the Thai state go back to the process of state penetration and extension of central control into the traditional Patani-Muslim homeland beginning around 1900. Some of the commonly cited grievances by local leaders and academics include: a) the perceived threat to local Pattani-Muslim identity and culture, primarily through extension of the Thai education system, government regulations that restrict the use of local dialects, and official efforts to encourage assimilation of ethnic minorities; b) impunity and abuses by Thai security forces and officials sent to the southern provinces; and c) imposition of central authority in local governance, and the exclusion of local leaders from local positions of authority.

These grievances have been a major factor in sustaining the ongoing armed insurgency. Since the mid-1960s, there have been numerous armed insurgent movements operating in the south. While these militant groups have attracted the sympathies of large segments of the local population by appealing to their sense of injustice, they have not yet presented a set of political demands to the Thai Government

The Network believes this is an opportune time to re-visit the question of Patani-Muslim political demands through a credible, grassroots process. Since the re-emergence of the conflict in 2004, there have been several well-meaning attempts to consult with the Thai-Malay population in southern Thailand, in order to articulate their concerns and grievances. For example, in 2005 and 2006 the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) conducted a series of public consultations and met with dozens of prominent Thai-Malay leaders in the conflict-affected provinces of southern Thailand. The NRC’s report, which was issued by the commission before it disbanded in June 2006, included an extensive list of recommendations to address the grievances of the affected population and promote reconciliation. The NRC’s process was generally seen as a positive attempt to improve understanding of Patani-Muslim grievances. However, some perceived it as a top-down process, mostly driven by Thai-Buddhist elites. As a result, some of the more sensitive topics were omitted from the series of dialogues and the NRC’s final recommendations. Furthermore, while the NRC and other groups visited scores of communities throughout the south to gather grassroots opinions, their method for eliciting information did not take into account fundamental characteristics of traditional community interpersonal interaction that normally preclude engaged participation by the average citizen.

For visiting the Southern Most Provinces of Thailand by OIC Delegation, the Network would like to urge to review the following issues and recommendations;  

1. OIC should set up the specialist committee to push out Peace Process for Patani.

2. OIC should give the opportunity for the civil societies, youth groups and student networks to propose their recommendations for peace process.  

The Network believes in Muslim brotherhood that will understand the situation of the Patani-Muslim people and we do hope that OIC will stand beside the Truth and civilian.

           

The Network of Student, Youth and Civil Society for Patani Peace Process

                                                                    

Coordinator Contact :

MR. KARIYA MUSOR  

Tel. 08-72854086  

Email:aliahmad.sfst@gmail.com

Selama konflik bersenjata, lebih dari 5.100 orang telah tewas, baik dari kalangan entis Melayu dan warga Buddha. Sejak kerusuhan meningkat pada Januari 2004, konflik di Thailand Selatan sebagian besar terjadi di wilayah Pattani, Yala dan Narathiwat.

Duta Besar Sayed Kassem El-Masry, Konflik Identity, Etnis, dan Tradisi 

Duta Besar Sayed Kassem El-Masry mengatakan bahwa konflik di Selatan Thailand ada kaitannya dengan perbedaan identity, etnis dan tradisi, bukan hanya konflik agama. Tapi mencakupi semua aspek.

Seorang utusan Organisasi Conferensi Islam (OIC) mengatakan disana, Rabu (9 Mei), bahwa kekerasan di provinsi selatan Thailand disebabkan oleh konflik identity, etnis dan tradisi.

Duta Besar Sayed Kassem El-Masry, dalam kunjungan tiga hari ke Ujung Selatan, mendapatkan penjelasan, Rabu, tentang penanganan konflik yang dilakukan oleh pemerintah Thailand pada pertemuan di Pusat Pemerintahan Provinsi Perbatasan Selatan (SBPAC) di Yala,menurut laporan media Thailand.

Sesudahnya, El-Masry mengatakan bahwa kekerasan dilakukan oleh kelompok-kelompok tertentu sangat mungkin hal itu ada kaitannya dengan perbedaan identity, etnis dan tradisi, tetapi bukan hanya  perbedaan agama, kata MCOT Online.

Dia mendesak pemerintah Thailand untuk menyelesaikan akar masalahnya, dan untuk mempertimbangkan apakah kesenjangan sosial atau ketidakadilan merupakan salah satu faktornya. Dia mengatakan pendidikan dan pendekatan damai yang membangun pengertian dan rasa hormat merupakan jalan menuju perdamaian sejati.

El-Masry mengatakan dia menentang segala bentuk kekerasan. OICmengutuk semua serangan terhadap masyarakat yang tidak bersalah, yang bertentangan dengan prinsip-prinsip Islam, katanya.

Delegasi OIC tiba di Hat Yai di tengah pengamanan ketat, Selasa, dan bertemu dengan Asis Phithakkhumphol, sang Chularatchamontri atau pemimpin spiritual umat Islam di Thailand.