Govt must gain trust to restore peace in South

The latest blasts in downtown Pattani on Monday say one thing to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra: Her plan to turn battlefields into marketplaces in the restive South will be hard to achieve.

- Saritdet Marukatat

The explosions of the two timed bombs caused minor injuries to a woman and damaged some parked motorcycles. What was more worrisome was they took place right in the heart of the city. The night food market is located in the centre not far from Pattani River, which divides the city, with the government offices and school district on one side of the bank and the commercial area on the other. That the insurgents could drive motorcycles into the municipality, place the bombs there and escape shows how easily the city can be attacked.

The bombing is a reminder to Ms Paetongtarn of what should be done. When she and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met at Government House on April 17, government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said after the talks that Thailand and Malaysia agreed the two countries would transform the battlefield there into a marketplace. It would stimulate people's contacts and promote more economic activities on both sides of the border, he added.

That catchy phrase — turning battlefields into marketplaces — is not new. It's a policy initiated by advisers at Ban Phitsanulok to then prime minister Chatichai Choonhavan in 1988. Thailand at the time wanted to be the first-movers into Indochina after the end of the wars there, taking advantage of its geographical location between Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.