Media Reports On Insurgency One-Sided: Thai Filmmaker

[webfact]

THE AGENT OF CHANGE

Media reports on insurgency one-sided: filmmaker

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation

Nualnoi//photo : civicwomen.com

BANGKOK: -- While the mainstream media's coverage of violence in the deep South is not sparse, most reports are presented from a Bangkok angle, Naulnoi Thammasathien, the producer of a new documentary on the conflict, said yesterday.

Issues like rights of residents, normalcy and positive aspects of life in parts of the region are often overlooked, the filmmaker said. Her 40-minute documentary, titled "The Agent of Change", screened in Bangkok on Monday.

Nualnoi said her film was different because it was made in collaboration with local Thai-Malay Muslims in the South. "People in the three southernmost provinces want others to see them in a positive light," she explained.

She also called on the media to not just focus on people being arrested or accused of separatism, but also report if they are acquitted or they could be branded as separatist for good. The separatist strife has taken more than 5,000 lives over the past eight years and injured 10,000 others.

Nualnoi said the situation in the deep South was complex because there were supporters of violence as well as people who wanted peace. So, she said the mainstream media should dig beyond the sensational coverage of violence. The rest of Thai society still lacked adequate understanding of the South, while people in the region were given little say or a chance to participate in how conflicts are resolved.

"We do not have any readymade answers," she said, adding that she remained optimistic because local people were learning how to negotiate with the rest of the society in a better manner.

Separately, speaking as part of a panel on the plight of minorities, held by a group of media activists called Media Inside Out, Abdul Kalam, president of Rohingya National Organisation in Thailand, called for support for the 9,000 or so Rohingya people who fled oppression in Burma.

He said they should all be given the right to attain Thai citizenship, especially those born in Thailand. Kalam explained that Rohingya children born in Thailand were not granted citizenship and so had no access to basic education or health services.

"We should ask ourselves who are the Rohingya? Thailand will not take us and Burma won't accept us," he said, adding that despite the difficulties in Thailand, life in Burma was worse due to the state of emergency, curfews and restriction of movement.

"But we can't answer when our children ask what nationality we are," he lamented.

-- The Nation 2012-09-12

[manarak]

Why can't the "insurgents" just do their religion in their mosque and leave the rest of the world be instead of having to insist to control and change everything around them and to submit everybody to their religion?

About the Rohingya, it's easy, nobody wants them because they are muslims. They are 800.000 in Burma and 100.000 in Thailand and I can completely understand why neither Burma nor Thailand wants to grant them citizenship so they can reinforce the ranks of the separatists.

The million dollar question in my eyes is why they don't go to Indonesia or Malaysia instead?

Edited September 11, 2012 by manarak

[asiawatcher]

Why can't the "insurgents" just do their religion in their mosque and leave the rest of the world be instead of having to insist to control and change everything around them and to submit everybody to their religion?

About the Rohingya, it's easy, nobody wants them because they are muslims. They are 800.000 in Burma and 100.000 in Thailand and I can completely understand why neither Burma nor Thailand wants to grant them citizenship so they can reinforce the ranks of the separatists.

The million dollar question in my eyes is why they don't go to Indonesia or Malaysia instead?

Agree - go to where the Muslims practice and preach where you can choose the path to follow. Being born in Thailand of non Thai parents or non registered Thai citizens puts them in the category of Farang - same as us, and does not make a Thai citizen.

[simple1]

As the Rohingya are not issued with identity documents by the Myanmar authorities (stateless) just how are they supposed to legally enter Indonesia, Malaysia & Bangladesh. As an example Malaysia is not a signatory of the 1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees, so asylum seekers are treated like illegal migrants and are vulnerable to detention. In Bangladesh they are held in refugee camps for years on end and so on.

As Myanmar is their country of origin, don't you think it's about time the government ceases active discrimination and refusal on their basic human rights? By the way when are you guys going to get up in arms about the Myanmar authorities ongoing repression of the ethnic Chin Christians in Myanmar. FYI refer to:

http://www.news24.co...onvert-20120905

Edited September 12, 2012 by simple1

[manarak]

Well, they didn't enter Thailand legally either!

So the question remains: why choose Thailand over muslim countries to flee to? (I don't believe a second that when leaving they even know what "asking for asylum" means).

There are 111.000 Rohingya refugees in Thailand already, under the supervision of the UNHCR.

I don't understand why they should get Thai nationality, but I understand there are vested interests in favor of that.

And I'm not Christian - the persecution of the Chins is just another regrettable act of the fuc_ked up Burma regime.

[simple1]

Well, they didn't enter Thailand legally either!

So the question remains: why choose Thailand over muslim countries to flee to? (I don't believe a second that when leaving they even know what "asking for asylum" means).

There are 111.000 Rohingya refugees in Thailand already, under the supervision of the UNHCR.

I don't understand why they should get Thai nationality, but I understand there are vested interests in favor of that.

And I'm not Christian - the persecution of the Chins is just another regrettable act of the fuc_ked up Burma regime.

Rohingya cannot enter Thailand legally as they are stateless. You would logically assume large number of Rohingya refugees in Thailand due to the land border. Rohingya refugees have attempted to enter Thailand by sea, but were towed out to sea and many died. Malaysia used the same tactic with the Vietnamese refugees, no idea if Rohingya have tried the same method of entry and the response of the Malaysian government. There are a lot of NGO organisations in Myanmar who are trying to assist the Rohingya so not so sure they are not aware of their human rights. Some regional governments (e.g. Bangladesh) have attempted to stop NGO activity with assisting the Rohingya as it's seen as encouraging the flow of stateless refugees into their territory.

EDIT: The URL below may assist in understanding the Malaysian government response to Rohingya

http://www.demotix.com/news/62221/myanmar-rohingya-refugees-malaysia#slide-1

Edited September 12, 2012 by simple1

[chinook]

Well done Nualnoi, Thailand needs these kind of film makers and journalists, I hope somebody goes to the trouble to subtitle this movie to put it on the world stage.

[Will2011]

Why can't the "insurgents" just do their religion in their mosque and leave the rest of the world be instead of having to insist to control and change everything around them and to submit everybody to their religion?

The answer to your question: Islam only worships one God and is only submissive to one God. Muslims will never kneel in front of anybody else!

[manarak]

Why can't the "insurgents" just do their religion in their mosque and leave the rest of the world be instead of having to insist to control and change everything around them and to submit everybody to their religion?

The answer to your question: Islam only worships one God and is only submissive to one God. Muslims will never kneel in front of anybody else!

but civil society works ok in Germany and Turkey...

[khunken]

Well said, that lady. The usual Islamophobia is present in some of the above posts. The Rohingya have nothing to do with the southern insurgency, but of course that doesn't prevent the ignorance being written.

[sunshine51]

Why can't the "insurgents" just do their religion in their mosque and leave the rest of the world be instead of having to insist to control and change everything around them and to submit everybody to their religion?

The answer to your question: Islam only worships one God and is only submissive to one God. Muslims will never kneel in front of anybody else!

FYI...Allah...or...God...is the same entity. The main difference is that in Islam Ishak (Jesus) is

considered a prophet and there is also a prayer for/to Ishak (Jesus) it is the last prayer call

of the Day. Things get twisted around especially in Catholicism when Catholics began to

relate to Jesus as God and not simply as The Son of God...There's more to the quagmire

than just my simple explanation...go look it up for yourselves...the truth is out there but yer

gonna have to dig and not just look at Wiki's BS answer.

[Rancid]

I don't know, sort of sounds like a Thai version of Springtime for Hitler. Visions of happy smiling Muslims tossing bombs and deacpitating monks as they gyrate to a bosanova...should be a winner.

[manarak]

Well said, that lady. The usual Islamophobia is present in some of the above posts. The Rohingya have nothing to do with the southern insurgency, but of course that doesn't prevent the ignorance being written.

Rubbish!

The Rohingya practice fundamentalist Islam and Sufism.

Easy to see how granting them Thai citizenship could contribute to destabilize even more the Thai south.

Think before you write.

[simple1]

Well said, that lady. The usual Islamophobia is present in some of the above posts. The Rohingya have nothing to do with the southern insurgency, but of course that doesn't prevent the ignorance being written.

Rubbish!

The Rohingya practice fundamentalist Islam and Sufism.

Easy to see how granting them Thai citizenship could contribute to destabilize even more the Thai south.

Think before you write.

Looks like you got this info from Wikipedia, but failed to quote "Because the government restricts educational opportunities for them, many pursue fundamental Islamic studies as their only educational option" Fundamental Islam is diametrically opposed to Sufism and Sufi's are aggressively oppressed in some Islamic states. How about you stop to think before posting your BS.

Edited September 12, 2012 by simple1

[manarak]

Well said, that lady. The usual Islamophobia is present in some of the above posts. The Rohingya have nothing to do with the southern insurgency, but of course that doesn't prevent the ignorance being written.

Rubbish!

The Rohingya practice fundamentalist Islam and Sufism.

Easy to see how granting them Thai citizenship could contribute to destabilize even more the Thai south.

Think before you write.

Looks like you got this info from Wikipedia, but failed to quote "Because the government restricts educational opportunities for them, many pursue fundamental Islamic studies as their only educational option" Fundamental Islam is diametrically opposed to Sufism and Sufi's are aggressively oppressed in some Islamic states. How about you stop to think before posting your BS.

Guilty, your honor.

I confused sufism with salafism. Sorry!

But the "fundamentalist" bit still doesn't sound good to me!

Edited September 12, 2012 by manarak

[hellodolly]

Well done Nualnoi, Thailand needs these kind of film makers and journalists, I hope somebody goes to the trouble to subtitle this movie to put it on the world stage.

I have to agree the film sounds like a good idea.

I do have reservations though. I am quite sure all the terrorists are known to the peaceful Muslims who will not divulge there names. So in a way the peaceful one's are still contributing to the problem and not the solution.

As for the RohingyaI wish that had been left out of the article it is another problem in it's own right.