Title Thailands Deep South Update: Language as Peacemaker?

Time: Wednesday, 4th November 2015 at 9.00 11.30 a.m.

Location: Room 111, Maha Chulalongkorn Building, Chulalongkorn University

Organisers: ISIS Thailand, The Embassy of Canada to Bangkok, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

Opening Remarks

Mr. Michael Winzer

Resident Representative to Thailand,

Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

H.E. Mr. Philip Calvert

The Ambassador of Canada to Thailand

Speakers:

Assist. Prof. Dr. Srisompob Jitpiromsri Director of Deep South Watch (DSW)

Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, Thailand

Member of Thai Negotiating Team in the Peace Talks

Mr. Matthew Z. Wheeler

South East Asia Analyst

The International Crisis Group (ICG)

Prof. Dr. Victor V. Ramraj

Professor and Chair

Centre of Asia-Pacific Initiatives (CAPI)

Faculty of Law

University of Victoria, Canada

Prof. Dr. Chaiwat Satha-Anand

Professor of Political Science

Founder and Director of the Peace Information Centre

Thammasat University

Prof. Dr. Suwilai Premsrirat

Emeritus Professor of Linguistics

Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia

Mahidol University

Moderator:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thitinan Pongsudhirak

Director of ISIS Thailand

Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Mr. Michael Winzer

Language is extremely important for the identity of a person and of a state. This was important in the 19th Century when the national states in Europe emerged. There were many criteria for the national state, such as a common culture, common history, and commonly shared values, but also the language that was spoken. Language is not only a tool of communication, but is also the visualisation of thought. Thoughts and language distinguish us as human beings. Therefore, language can be a major peacemaker in this conflict.

H.E. Mr. Philip Calvert

Languages have a defining role in how we express our views, beliefs and culture. It can also have an impact on how we express our identity or conversely, as a way to silence groups that society wishes to marginalise.

Canada has a long history of language being used as a facet of identity, something which has both strengthened our national identity and at times threatened to undermine it. Hopefully Canadas experience can be insightful.

Canada is an officially bilingual country as both English and French are enshrined as official languages, reflecting the countrys history as first a French then British colony. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms contains several clauses which outline language rights, the preservation of language rights and the right to receive services from the Canadian government in the official language of ones choice.

This reflects what has been learned from history in different nation building challenges that have been experienced. While the majority of French speaking Canadians live in the province of Quebec, there are also large numbers in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba and other parts of Canada. So the official languages policy was meant to address a number of identity based grievances on the part of Canadas French-speaking minority. In the past, these grievances had been a source of tension in the country, a source of political instability, and had at times been as part of a larger issues which in the past led to incidences of violence. At that time, French Canadians had been underrepresented in the public service and they were treated inequitably by the federal administration. At the time the official bilingualism became a policy, 9% of the jobs in the Canadian public service were held by Francophones, even though they made up 25% of the Canadian population.

Ultimately, the protection of French and English speaking rights became not only entrenched in our Constitution, but also became a tool to support and maintain a respectful society. In this way, language becomes a demonstration of how a country, its central government and its citizens wish to respect and protect those with diverse identities, and encourage them to feel invested in a universal concept of the country.

In thinking about the question of language and identity in Canada, many tend to focus on the issue of English and French. But the story goes beyond that. Language can be used as a tool of peace, but there are perils when the value language is not fully respected over the course of history. This is evident in the situation with Canadas First Nations peoples.

There are First Nations communities all across Canada, but unlike French, the languages and cultures of indigenous peoples did not enjoy the same historic and legal protection and promotion. In fact, in the last century, Canada planted policies of forced assimilation which did tremendous damage to these communities. Canada is still feeling the ramifications of this damage today.

As a result, there is a significant gap between First Nations peoples and other Canadians in terms of cultural identity, however there are now programmes available to try to reverse this gap. This continues to be a major challenge in Canadas governance, and its new government is determined to address it with its coming mandate.

Every country has these challenges, and no country has perfected language and identity. The road to language and peace is neither direct nor easy, but these roads are intricately intertwined. Only through respect for language and identity can one truly begin to build an inclusive, and ultimately peaceful, society.

The most recent Canadian census in 2011 showed that there are about 6.6 million citizens (20%) whose first language is not English or French, but Mandarin, Ukrainian, Punjabi or others. This number is at the heart of Canadas policy towards multiculturalism. In a country where 1 in 5 people first learn to speak a language which is neither English nor French, there is clear emphasis on the role of language as a representation of identity. Hence, in recognising the link between language, identity and in individuals sense of belonging, Canada has found that understanding and protecting this link can lead to respect and ultimately peace.

The conflict in the Deep South will not be solved overnight, but language and respect for the identities linked to those languages can be an important, if not essential, first step. We can look to language not as a source of division, but as a characteristic which must be fostered and respected to create an inclusive society for all populations.

Moderator: If you go down to the Deep South, the first thing to notice is that the first language of the people down there is not Central Thai, but their own language.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Srisompob Jitpiromsri

There have been over 16,000 incidences of violence from 2004 to 2015, but overall the trend of the violence has steadily stabilised over the years, due to different approaches towards government policy and movements on the ground. Month by month, however, the rate of violence is still extremely unpredictable, particularly since 2013.

One factor for this recent variance is the movement towards Peace Talks and Dialogues, which has led to a stabilisation of violence in some communities. But at the same time, competing forces in the peace process, especially from the underground movements, have exacerbated the variance of the violence.

In October 2015, there were 111 incidents of violence. For this year, only October and March were the months that the levels of violence increased. This variance is a consequence of the political approach to solve the problem.

On the other hand, the level of casualties over the years has stabilised. That means in spite of the fact that we have variance in incidents of violence, the deaths and injuries of people has stabilised. We are still in critical situation with unpredictable violent attacks on the one hand, but on the other the casualties have been limited to a certain level. Although much work is still needed, in general, we are on the right track. In 2013 there has been a greater prevalence of attacks on hard targets, such as military or government assets, than civilians. Since 2014, civilians were more frequently targeted again.

One positive amid the violence is the proliferation of civil society organisations on the ground in the Deep South which try to bring about the peace process. There is protracted violence, but positive elements are emerging.

Concerning the issue of language, approximately 30% of people in the Deep South use Malay, 26% use Thai (mostly Thai Buddhists in the region), but approximately 34% use both. This is a consequence of the assimilation policies of governments over the past 100 years. But understandable, people living together have adjusted themselves to using and understanding the various languages in the region.

Mr. Matthew Z. Wheeler

The conflict in the Deep South doesnt seem to change very much. There is a grinding routine of violence which has been going on for more than a decade, but in fact things have changed. The dialogue process is one part. More recently, weve seen the public face of BRN which has been a long time coming.

It was a year ago, on the 5th of November 2014, that the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said, We will attempt to solve the problem in the Deep South in one year. Prime Minister Prayuth also promised to solve the problem by the end of 2015 in preparation for the ASEAN Economic Community. Their timelines are not looking good.

The Deep South area is about the size of Lebanon,