The trial balloon that wouldn't fly

It was not a moment too soon that the government rejected suggestions for a special security law for southern provinces wracked by violence this year. It was a bad idea. There is one law for all, and everyone is obliged to obey it. Indeed, southern extremists would have exploited any special law to claim that the government treats southern citizens differently and worse from the rest. Laws must apply to all, and there are no special laws for certain regions or groups.

This is not to say that the current situation in the South is normal. Since the start of the year, violence has killed an estimated 500 Thais in the three provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani. Extremists have stolen arms, tried to organise revolt, and murdered in order to further their attempts to fan both racial and religious hatred. Clearly, special actions and a unique response are required. But the country already has laws designed to combat both violence and rebellion. As Deputy Prime Minister Visanu Krue-ngarm said, at least five security laws are available to identify, hunt and neutralise the anti-social elements behind the southern violence.

The proposal to bring special measures to bear on the South, either by a hasty law or an even more hurried special regulation, was not well considered. Police officers apparently were behind the idea, and hoped to get expanded powers to wiretap telephone lines, and to arrest and detain suspects in secret. There is a certain irony. Extremists claim that security forces in the South already use such tactics, and thus justify their own murders and attacks on policemen and soldiers. There is reason to believe some such stories of 3am knocks on the door.

But the answer to such problems is not to legalise what may already be law enforcement abuses. On the contrary, when respect for the law is at stake, it is vital that the state authorities obey it to the letter. The point of Mr Visanu and other law-and-order proponents is that police and the army already have measures that help to identify those involved in southern violence. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra spent most of last week considering his options, and agreed. It would have been a big step back if the government had started enforcing emergency laws passed only for the South.

This newspaper has consistently called on state authorities to obey the law scrupulously when dealing with the southern problems. Mr Thaksin's decision to reject new laws should not only be respected by the security forces. The use of violence by the extremists needs a response that is careful and quick, and using only as much force as is necessary to apprehend those responsible. Commanders of police and army units should instruct their men and women carefully that they are as accountable under the law as ordinary citizens.

This leads directly to the independent commission investigating the Tak Bai incident. One hopes this committee will report soon, because all Thais and foreign governments are waiting on its decision. Mr Thaksin has been able to stave off criticism by saying the committee is at work. Pichet Soonthornpipit, a former parliamentary ombudsman, and his staff have been to the South and have taken testimony from many people who were present at the Tak Bai protests, or who have special knowledge about the violence during and afterward.

Australian terrorism expert Sidney Jones said last week she reckons one more incident like Tak Bai will make Thailand the next battleground for Indonesia-based terrorists. The military may have mishandled helpless, shackled prisoners in their care so badly that nearly 80 died. Many foreign governments are openly troubled the victims were Muslims. There is no room for a whitewash, and the government must rush the full report by the Pichet committee to the public without delay. Old boys' networks and the close connections of military training school have no place in the post-report actions. If the committee feels anyone is responsible for the Tak Bai deaths, the government must act or share complicity.