Airdrop of Paper Birds Intended to Promote Peace Fails to Halt Violence in Thailand

BANGKOK:-- A massive airdrop of paper birds intended to promote peace failed to halt violence in Thailand's restive south, with a spate of new attacks Monday that targeted soldiers and local officials.

The bombings, shootings and arson attacks came hours after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Sunday's airdrop of nearly 100 million Japanese-style origami cranes over the predominantly Muslim region had achieved an "enormous, positive psychological effect" toward peace.

On Monday morning a bomb was detonated at a rest stop for patrolling soldiers. Four troops were wounded, one seriously, in Narathiwat province's Ra-ngae district.

Another bomb exploded nearby hours later, seriously injuring an assistant district chief as he parked his car. The official, Pricha Nuannuay, 38, had gone to the area to instruct security forces to carry out thorough searches for explosive devices, police said.

A third bomb found later in a garbage bin was defused by police.

More than 540 people have died this year in the southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala the only Muslim-majority regions in Buddhist-dominated Thailand in violence blamed on Islamic separatists.

Bangkok's heavy-handed response has not helped the situation.

The government came under strong criticism after 85 Muslim demonstrators died on Oct. 25, including 78 who suffocated or were crushed when soldiers bound and stacked them on top of each other in military trucks.

Encouraged by the government, Thais across the country Cabinet ministers, office workers, schoolchildren and even convicts folded more than 130 million birds to promote peace in the south. Approximately 30 million will be delivered by land.

While meant as a morale-boosting measure for victims of violence, Sunday's origami airdrop resembled a festive treasure hunt with prizes offered for some specially marked birds. People who collected large quantities could trade them in for items ranging from cartons of milk to bicycles.

Especially coveted was one bird folded and signed by Thaksin, which offered a scholarship if found by a child or a job for an adult.

Thaksin said Sunday the paper bird airdrop showed residents of the three southern provinces that they are part of Thai society, and that their countrymen care for them.

Hours after Thaksin spoke, the owner of a tea shop in Pattani was slain by gunmen, grenades were thrown at the homes of two policemen in the same province and arsonists set fire to a state school in Yala and a teacher's house in Narathiwat.

--AP 2004-12-06

Another bomb exploded nearby hours later, seriously injuring an assistant district chief as he parked his car. The official, Pricha Nuannuay, 38, had gone to the area to instruct security forces to carry out thorough searches for explosive devices, police said.

Security Forces are better off learning from someone else anyway.

What, you mean dropping a load of bits of paper didn't settle 100 years of unrest...???

Don't figure!

Try MOABs

maybe they should drop peaces of taksin on the south, that would put some rest there..

Iron birds dropping something more substantial than paper may have an effect, but the truth is that death is the only way to stop the islamic killers. They embrace it as a way of entering paradise so give them something to hug.

Talk about "let them eat cake" this cat dosen't give a ###### about anyone in the south. He is just throwing bread to the masses. These Muslims really are quite unnerving, so it blows my mind that Toxin is treating these cazy people as children with giving them paper gifts. It's like shaking your bare backside in front of a hungry croc! He either needs to take talking peace with these people seriously or bomb and shoot the holy ###### out of them until they are broken and then broker his own peace deal. No more pulled punches and paper fowls!

maybe they should drop peaces of taksin on the south, that would put some rest there..

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Is there enough to go around?

The whole thing was just a big propaganda exercise.

The group have noting to do with PULO in Pattani, this is a new movement group mostly from foreign country and well financial support .It's hard to trace them just like thier boss still hidding until today. All this are noting to do with Thai Muslim, mostly are from Malaysia. Thais are still very united in thier heart and souls.

All this are noting to do with Thai Muslim, mostly are from Malaysia. Thais are still very united in thier heart and souls.

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WHAT...???

All in all, it was worth a try.... paper birds for peace. The same way most foreigners are pacified by purple ink stamps in exchange for 4,000 Baht a year. Something in exchange for nothing.

^Heng, that was a particularly sad bit of stretching there.

I'd like to hope that the Muslim minority in the South and the reg'lar folks up here at least recognize that the real problem is with the extremists- and maybe these birds can act as a goodwill message that they both know it. Far too often terrorists use ethnicity as a weapon to incite the weak-minded to attack each other and do their dirty work for them. Not that I think anyone on this thread is fooled into thinking that Muslims are the problem.

"Steven"

The Muslims in other parts of the country do not seem to be overly concerned

with the situation down there. It is a land situation....... they want their land

back... and they are using Islam to make their "statement."

They are treated like trash on their own land and they are pissed about it.

I do not agree with their tactics, but I do nto blame them for fighting for

what they believe to be rightfully theirs.

If all of the other minorities in Thailand: Isan; Lanna, Hmong; Lao; Yaw, etc.

and all of the poor would stand up for themselves, the people who run the

country would do a lot less stealing.

We have been fortunate that the Southerners have not turned the temperature

up in Bangkok, but I do nto think they will, as they want their land, not Bangkok.

######, who would want Bangkok over the beaches in the south.

My apologies for using the "word" opposite of "heaven" in the above post.

Just a tad patronising !

The group have noting to do with PULO in Pattani, this is a new movement group mostly from foreign country and well financial support .It's hard to trace them just like thier boss still hidding until today. All this are noting to do with Thai Muslim, mostly are from Malaysia. Thais are still very united in thier heart and souls.

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Are you serious, or just smoking those funny cigarettes again? Utter clap trap!

For another slant on this story go Here

Check out the "Comments" too!

Go figure.......

But in a sign of the growing divide between the Buddhist north and Muslim south, some birds carried messages of hate: one said simply, "I want to kill militants".

Airdrop of Paper Birds Intended to Promote Peace Fails to Halt Violence in Thailand

BANGKOK:-- A massive airdrop of paper birds intended to promote peace failed to halt violence in Thailand's restive south, with a spate of new attacks Monday that targeted soldiers and local officials.

The bombings, shootings and arson attacks came hours after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Sunday's airdrop of nearly 100 million Japanese-style origami cranes over the predominantly Muslim region had achieved an "enormous, positive psychological effect" toward peace.

On Monday morning a bomb was detonated at a rest stop for patrolling soldiers. Four troops were wounded, one seriously, in Narathiwat province's Ra-ngae district.

Another bomb exploded nearby hours later, seriously injuring an assistant district chief as he parked his car. The official, Pricha Nuannuay, 38, had gone to the area to instruct security forces to carry out thorough searches for explosive devices, police said.

A third bomb found later in a garbage bin was defused by police.

More than 540 people have died this year in the southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala the only Muslim-majority regions in Buddhist-dominated Thailand in violence blamed on Islamic separatists.

Bangkok's heavy-handed response has not helped the situation.

The government came under strong criticism after 85 Muslim demonstrators died on Oct. 25, including 78 who suffocated or were crushed when soldiers bound and stacked them on top of each other in military trucks.

Encouraged by the government, Thais across the country Cabinet ministers, office workers, schoolchildren and even convicts folded more than 130 million birds to promote peace in the south. Approximately 30 million will be delivered by land.

While meant as a morale-boosting measure for victims of violence, Sunday's origami airdrop resembled a festive treasure hunt with prizes offered for some specially marked birds. People who collected large quantities could trade them in for items ranging from cartons of milk to bicycles.

Especially coveted was one bird folded and signed by Thaksin, which offered a scholarship if found by a child or a job for an adult.

Thaksin said Sunday the paper bird airdrop showed residents of the three southern provinces that they are part of Thai society, and that their countrymen care for them.

Hours after Thaksin spoke, the owner of a tea shop in Pattani was slain by gunmen, grenades were thrown at the homes of two policemen in the same province and arsonists set fire to a state school in Yala and a teacher's house in Narathiwat.

--AP 2004-12-06

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what can i say, sad but true.....everything they try fails.......never do any studies or surveys, they always seem to shoot from the hip without thoughts.........