PULO seeks change in Southern policy-The Nation
26-01-09
[FACT comments: PULO, a “banned” organisation in Thailand has always numbered as our favourite “terrorists”! The Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1910 sold half of the Malay Kingdom of Patani to Britain to finance the building of a national rail link. PULO, now decades old, responded to the perfect target: They gave plenty of warning, blew up the train tracks and there were never any casualties. Unlike Thailand’s South today! Thai government “banned” PULO and refused to negotiate any compromise, in effect exiling Thai Muslims from democratic process. Thousands of lives could have been saved if Thai government behaved in an honourable fashion 40 (yes, FORTY!) years ago. Even PULO's appeals to the United Nations have been blocked by Thailand so it remains to be seen if PULO will really participate.]
SOUTH CRISIS
Pulo welcomes government policy for deep South
The Nation: January 23, 2009
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/01/24/national/national_30094084.php
A long -standing Malay-Muslim separatist group said on Saturday it welcomed the Thai government’s policy for the Muslim-majority south, saying it “represents a genuine step towards reform and change in the region”.
In a statement sent to The Nation, Kasturi Mahkota, the foreign affairs chief of the Patani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo) said the policy “could lay the foundations for a political settlement of the conflict.”
Moreover, according to the statement, representatives of the Patani Malay Movement, a loose coalition of separatist leaders, have “agreed to form a special body to engage in dialogue with Thai government representatives”.
“It is our hope that after long years of struggle, which has cost the lives of many innocent people in the region that at long last there can be a sustained process of dialogue based on principles of democracy, openness and sincerity,” the statement said.
Kasturi did not go into details as to which organisations are included in the Patani Malay Movement, which he described as a “new front but still in the process”.
But sources familiar with the separatist leaders in exile said the coalition will made up of long standing separatists groups who have been holding secret dialogues with Thai officials and mediators over this past three years.
Other observers familiar with the separatist movements said they were not optimistic with the idea that a new front being formed, saying many of these groups had tried two decades to come together under the banner of Bersatu but failed to make much headway as member organisations were reluctant to make serious concession for the sake of unity.
With regard to Pulo’s future, Kasturi said the organisation is in the process of selecting a new leader to replace the late Pulo founder, Tengku Bira Kotonila, who passed away in June 2008. No date was given as to when the new leader will be selected.
Tengku Biro founded Pulo in 1968 while studying at the Aligarh Muslim University in India.
Pulo has consistently called for independence for the Malays’ historical homeland in the southernmost border region of Thailand. But over the past recent years after entering into secret dialogue with Thai representatives, the group has lowered its demand and opted for something less then full independence.
