If international terrorism takes root in the troubled provinces of southern Thailand, the blame must fall squarely on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's shoulders, said ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

He warned that if the situation deteriorates, southern Thai Muslims would 'soon' get involved in international terrorism.

"We should immediately blame Thaksin for it," said the ex-deputy premier in a two-hour interview with malaysiakini last week. "I would say that Thaksin promotes this by the way he acts and deals with it."

Anwar said the Thai premier must provide "political solutions" as soon as possible before such a scenario takes shape.

"The way the issue was dealt with by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin is indefensible. He was totally arrogant, and if nothing is done fast, southern Thailand would be a bastion for terrorist cells," he warned.

Meeting with Thai prince

Anwar said he received messages from southern Thai Muslims seeking his help to ease the violent situation there, which has claimed 400 lives this year.

Among others, he had met with Prince Sukhumbhand Paribatra, an opposition Thai politician and ex-deputy foreign minister who has direct link to the royal family.

Anwar also said the rising hatred against the government in recent years was not the result of the separatist movement but because of the way Muslim Thais were being treated by the authorities.

According to the ex-deputy premier, the violence is spurred by the brutal actions of the Thai security forces towards these people.

In late October, 75 southern Thai Muslims died of suffocation after being packed into security trucks following a demonstration. This drew international condemnation.

"It's due to the complete distrust towards the security personnel and the police who are corrupt and ruthless. We can only imagine the conditions of the jails and the (abusive) treatment meted out to the Muslims there."

Anwar added that the separatist movement in southern Thailand had never been very strong.

"All these years of (Thai separatist organisations) Pulo (Pattani United Liberation Organisation) and BRN (Barisan Revolusi Nasional), there have never been a popular front in southern Thailand, including among the religious scholars.

"But now the sentiment (against Thai authorities) is so strong even without a separatist movement."

Condemn all violence

Commenting on the reprisal murders of Buddhist monks, Anwar conceded that such actions would only serve to fuel the hatred towards Muslim Thais.

"The Muslims who did that, did it at the expense of other Muslims because you are making people angry against Muslims in general," he said.

He added that the tension could be eased if Muslims also condemned the atrocities committed by fellow Muslims.

"Muslims must be as forceful in condemning injustices perpetrated against Muslims by Muslims or non-Muslims, and also to other non-Muslims."

Anwar noted that Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia could also play a role in explaining Islam to the non-Muslim community in Thailand in order to clear misconceptions about the religion.

"What is worrying is that the action by Thaksin is quite popular partly because of the rhetoric against violence and terrorism, and the strong American backing.

"Probably there is a role for Malaysia and Indonesia to try and promote the religion because the prejudice against Islam is quite strong. This is partly because there is very little understanding," he said.

Be transparent

Asked how Malaysia should deal with the issue, the former deputy premier said the Malaysian government must be transparent in its ties with separatist groups in the region.

"I think we have to be more transparent in our dealings with them... I believe Thai Muslims should operate within Thailand and we cannot be seen to support any of the groups that stipulate the policy of some kind of separatist entity.

"It would a disservice if you encourage this sort of separatist movement because you allow them to get killed. So I don't believe that the Malaysian government's position officially is to entertain this sentiment. But there may be operators on the ground who feels otherwise, and they have to be disciplined," he added.

Anwar also believed that those involved in combating terrorism should not dwell exclusively on the root causes because terrorism cannot be justified no matter what the reasons are.

"If you argue that those oppressed committed terrorism because the international system itself is an oppressive system, it would be endless," he said.

As to claims that the history of Islam, in relation to violent episodes, had promoted terrorism among Muslims, he said although violent acts did occur, they were never condoned.

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