People should not rush to reject the proposal for a special administrative zone covering the three southernmost border provinces, as it could be a solution to the insurgency problem, the chairman of the National Commission on Legal Justice said on Friday.
All sides should look closely at the details of the proposal before making a decision, as the people who proposed it had the best of intentions for the country, said Ukrit Mongkolnavin.
The proposal was made by a Pheu Thai draft legislation panel chaired by Prasop Bussarakham, a former MP for Udon Thani. It suggests establishing a special administrative zone, Pattani Maha Nakhon, for Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, plus four districts of Songkhla, as a means to end the southern insurgency.
Mr Ukrit said he believed the proposal offered an alternative way to deal with the long-running southern unrest. It was similar to the establishment of Bangkok as a special administration, which decentralises power to the people.
Military power had failed to solve the problem over the years and the authorities should now try other methods, he said. The rule of law must be upheld to ensure justice in the lower South, and state power must not be overused.
National army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha last week voiced staunch opposition to the proposal, saying that the country had already decentralised administrative power through elections of tambon and provincial administrative organisations.
The Prasop bill is currently being studied by the military and security agencies.
Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa said he would coordinate efforts with relevant ministries to jointly develop the three southernmost provinces.
The deputy premier for security affairs said people in the far South could oversee their own affairs but did not want the soldiers to move out. They also wanted assistance on education, career development and other areas.
"The military forces in the far South are now sufficient to perform duties maintaining peace and order, but the local people want the ministries of education, agriculture and commerce to help them," said Gen Yutthasak.
The former defence minister said he had recently visited the southernmost province of Yala and learned that in Yarang district, local people had set up village defence units to protect themselves.
He said he would coordinate with these ministries to provide assistance and development as requested by the local people in the deep South.
Gen Yutthasak said unrest was continuing because the southern separatist movements wanted to maintain their status and to show their potential.
Paramilitary rangers have lately become targets of attacks by the militants, including a fatal shooting yesterday in Narathiwat's Muang district.
Police said Rorsalee Rormasa, 25, a ranger in a security unit stationed at an outpost at Ban Joyueke in Narathiwat's Saiburi district, was on leave to visit his home in Yingor district of Narathiwat.
He was driving his motorcycle back home on a local road in tambon Lamphu of Muang district when a gunman hiding in a rubber plantation ran out toward him and fired twice with a 9mm handgun.
Rorsalee took two bullets, in his neck and head, and died at the spot.
The attacker then fled on the victim’s motorcycle.
Police blamed separatist militants.
More than 5,000 people have been killed and over 8,400 hurt in the three southern border provinces and the four districts of Songkhla since the violence erupted afresh in January 2004, according to Deep South Watch, an agency that monitors the conflict.