PM fails to placate South over religion

MANY STILL FEAR CHARTER CLAUSE FAVOURS BUDDHISM

Efforts by Prime Minister Prayut Chano-cha to limit the damage caused by the clause on religion in the new constitution have drawn only mild support in the South where fears have been raised of Buddhism being given higher status than Islam.

Despite his order on Monday under Section 44 to protect all religions, many in the South believe the negative feelings about the clause will be exploited by insurgents and result in more bomb attacks.

Gen Prayut issued his special order to ban actions that would threaten any religion after an outcry in the southern provinces over the clause.

The order stressed that the government will support and protect all religions in the country including Islam, Christianity, Hindu, Brahmanism and Sikhism.

The outcry concerns Section 67 of the constitution which stipulates that the state must support and protect Buddhism and other religions as well as encourage education and dissemination of “correct” Theravada Buddhism doctrines. Measures to prevent acts that damage Buddhism must also be devised.

The clause has been interpreted to mean that the government will not support other religions.

Fatoni University rector Ismail Lutfi Chapakiya told the Bangkok Post Sunday he thought the prime minister had done his best to clarify the controversial clause.

“I’ve had quite a heavy heart over certain religious extremists exploiting the situation and misinterpreting the constitution,” he said. “Any religion can have radicalism, but they are not the majority. Yet sometimes they cause concerns and misunderstanding.”

The Pattani-based scholar said he was considering talking to the leaders of four other faiths represented on the Religions for Peace, Inter-Religion Council of Thailand over supporting the government’s efforts for an equal footing for all faiths.

Mr Lutfi said the committee will seek a meeting with the prime minister to explain their stance and concerns on the issue so that there can be no misunderstanding that Islam would be belittled, he said.

Wanhamad Tokadem, vice-chair of Yala Islamic Provincial Committee, said he wasn’t aware of the additional announcement regarding the constitution and he did not want to comment on the controversy.

Security sources said the constitution was meant to create order with Buddhist practice but the drafters were not attuned to the special conditions in the far south.

“The government is trying to fix religious misinterpretation that has caused the strong rejection of the constitution in this region,” a source said.

“But [Monday’s] announcement hasn’t specified or recognised this area explicitly so that the locals can continue to enjoy their religious expression.”

Therefore the mood of the locals remain the same.

“If the government’s statement had affected them positively or negatively, there would have already been a reaction. But this time it’s just belated damage control,” the source said.