January 25, 2005

Democrats woo voters with party's own bible

WASSANA NANUAM

The Democrat party is wooing voters in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala

with pledges to ``reclaim'' peace, abolish CEO governors and reinstate

the forces it said were instrumental in curbing separatist violence in

the past.

The party has published a blue book containing its ``Pattani

Declaration'' outlining methods of stamping out the region's security

woes once and for all.

Chuan Leekpai, the Democrat's chief adviser and former prime minister,

said the party's candidates would address the problems during their

campaigns.

The party would bring back the Southern Border Provinces Administration

Centre and the Civilian-Police-Military Command 43, he said. These two

key organisations were credited with controlling separatist militancy

for 21 years but were disbanded by the Thaksin government in March

2002.

The Democrats would campaign in the deep South under the theme

``Reclaiming Peace for the Southern Border''.

Copies of the blue book, written in Thai and the Yawi dialect, are

being handed out to voters. The book blames the government's policy

miscalculations for the unprecedented violence in the region.

The Democrat candidate in Pattani's constituency 1, Anwar Sa-lae, said

unrest in the South had been far less intense under previous

governments.

``The Thai Rak Thai party's mishandling of the situation has provoked

bloody scenes perpetuated by the daily killings. The government seems

powerless to tackle the problem,'' he said.

``Every wrong step Thai Rak Thai had taken would be righted by his

party, first by re-establishing the SBPAC and Command 43 and doing away

with the CEO governors,'' he said. The Democrats would separate the

insurgents and their sympathisers from the communities.

``This government has failed in that effort,'' he

said. Local administration organisations and community residents must also be

offered a role in dealing with the insurgency if it was to be completely

eradicated.  The authorities must also stop arresting scapegoats.

Mr Anwar is competing against TRT's Wairoj Pipitpakdee who defected to

Thai Rak Thai from the Democrats.

Mr Anwar said he was confident the Democrats still had an edge over

Thai Rak Thai whose inability to solve the region's violence-related

problems had eaten into its popularity. Mr Anwar and Mr Chuan are scheduled to

make a campaign stop in Pattani today.