Thai Govt: Surrender Of Insurgents 'genuine'

[webfact]

Surrender of insurgents 'genuine'

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapha and Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat yesterday lashed out at suggestions that the surrender of 93 insurgents was staged, saying such criticism discouraged military operations and insisting that all the surrenders were genuine.

Yuthasak flew to the deep South yesterday to work with Fourth Army Region commander Udomchai Thammasarorat to speed up the mass-surrender process.

"This issue has psychological implications. If the process is too slow, other extremists might change their minds and the number of surrenders will decrease," he said.

The deputy prime minister said a group of Thai citizens had set up the website www.ambranews.com outside the country to discredit the military by saying that the surrender of insurgents led by Wae-aricopter Waji was staged. The insurgents are not the real orchestrators of the violence in the deep South since 2004, the site claims.

"The Foreign Ministry should talk with Malaysia and ask Kuala Lumpur to take care of this matter," Yuthasak said, pointing out that the website was registered in Malaysia and is in the Malay language.

Sukampol said all insurgents who surrendered were genuine, and authorities had records of them.

They turned themselves in because they saw no way to win the armed struggle, and the government is dealing with the situation in the right manner, he said.

There will be more insurgents surrendering to authorities, he said. "If we obtain good cooperation like this, I think the violence in the deep South will be over soon."

Violence erupted in the predominantly Muslim region at the beginning of 2004. It has claimed more than 5,000 lives since then.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the violence, and there has been no manifesto to explain the purpose of the insurgency, most of the victims of which have been fellow Muslims.

Authorities believe a number of separatist organisations are behind the violence, including the Barisan Revolusi Nasional and Runda Kumpalan Kecil.

The military is engaging with spiritual leader Sapae-in Basoh and militant leader Masae Useng to have militants surrender, a source said.

With a bounty of Bt10 million on his head, Sapae-in, a former head of Thammawittaya School in Yala, is accused of masterminding violence in the deep South since 2004.

Masae, who has a Bt3-million bounty on his head and is the subject of a number of arrest warrants, is the suspected operative commander.

Both are believed to live in exile in Malaysia. Masae reportedly goes back and forth between his home town in Narathiwat and Malaysia, but authorities have been unable to take him down.

The Fourth Army Region has sent military officers and religious leaders to negotiate secretly with the pair to stop the violence, the source said, adding that if both of them returned to the legal fold, more than 20 key persons in the separatist movement would likely follow them.

-- The Nation 2012-09-15

[BookMan]

As i understand it from the www.ambranews.com article, (malay converted to English) the 93 who surrendered were given assurances there all criminal charges and arrest warrants against them would be cancelled?

[TomTao]

We will have to see what comes of this, as far as I am aware it is not normal practice for hardline muslim militants to simply surrender, it may well be that the people who are surrendering are not as militant as the real hardliners, but time will tell, if there are no more attacks then the program the government engaged in could be called a success, otherwise it could be called another smokescreen. One other question that needs to be considered is whether the program which has culminated with the mass surrender was started with the previous government, or if it is the work of the current government alone? In my opinion, this would have taken some time to come to fruition, not a short time, meaning work going on behind the scenes for a number of years.

[asiawatcher]

I think this is a fairly genuine move and I only hope it works.

[simple1]

As i understand it from the www.ambranews.com article, (malay converted to English) the 93 who surrendered were given assurances there all criminal charges and arrest warrants against them would be cancelled?

Udomchai said those insurgents who committed crimes will be prosecuted, while others will be rehabilitated and allowed to return to peaceful lives with their families. link below; same info in BKK Post:

http://www.abcnews4.com/story/19511792/suspected-insurgents-surrender-in-thailands-south

[Thaddeus]

Posted Today, 09:19

RT @191Thailand: Insurgents shot & killed 4 people & then burned their bodies in an attack in Yala this morning (Pic @idongphoto) http://thai.vi/RSOUFf

Edited September 15, 2012 by Thaddeus

[55Jay]

Good and I hope it takes.

It has to start with the people's rejection, tired of their sons, daughters, mothers and fathers being killed.

I predict (but hope against) a spike in violence by motivators to intimidate the people against jumping ship and continue to pressure the people and the government with mounting casualties, fear and chaos.

Without bigger numbers, these 90 odd folks are in danger of being made an example of. Beheading and burning a few on the road will send a 5x5 message to the population.

The people, if they are on side, and the Army, together, can proverbially run these guys into the sea.

[Dap]

The longer I live with this constant BS the more difficult it becomes to believe anyone in authority.

[sunshine51]

I hope this good news continues...it's a start.

So much for the other threads that say that Malaysia isn't involved

when one considers where the website is hosted eh? " the website www.ambranews.com outside the country".....Hmmmm.

Edited September 15, 2012 by sunshine51

[Mosha]

Excuse me for being a cynic, however were we not at a similar stage a couple of years back. With some "insurgents" offering a cease fire?

[dcutman]

I hope this good news continues...it's a start.

So much for the other threads that say that Malaysia isn't involved

when one considers where the website is hosted eh? " the website www.ambranews.com outside the country".....Hmmmm.

Sunshine51

With all the great information and experiences you share with all of us, I think there are going to be many Middle East outside forces that will prevent anything positive coming from these southern provinces anytime in the near future.

[ThailandMysteries]

We will have to see what comes of this, as far as I am aware it is not normal practice for hardline muslim militants to simply surrender, it may well be that the people who are surrendering are not as militant as the real hardliners, but time will tell, if there are no more attacks then the program the government engaged in could be called a success, otherwise it could be called another smokescreen.

Three soldiers and their maid were shot dead and burned this morning in Yala. It was on MCOT earlier today, but I can no longer find the link.

According to AP:

Officials say about 100 suspected insurgents have surrendered to authorities in Thailand's restive south, including the alleged leader of a 2004 attack that reignited longstanding violence in the region.

Are there any photos showing this?

Edited September 15, 2012 by ThailandMysteries

[GentlemanJim]

I have only just got hold of this story and to be honest I find the whole thing too unbelievable. Insurgents do not surrender. terrorists do not surrender. there can only be one of a few options. These guys are low level criminals who have been assured that they will have their slates wiped clean, or they are not insurgents but have been paid to surrender. Lets say 1 million baht each to go through the process and then be released. Everyone in the south says how brilliant the government is and suddenly PTP get a foothold in the South come the next elections. I just cannot believe what I am reading when it says 100 insurgents have surrendered. If it's true then they don't make insurgents like they used to !!!! Could you ever possibly have imagined a single member of the IRA walking into a police station or army barracks and saying'I surrender, I don't believe there is any way we can win an armed struggle' ! Complete bolleux. Miracle Thailand!

Edited September 15, 2012 by GentlemanJim

[Thaddeus]

The longer I live with this constant BS the more difficult it becomes to believe anyone in authority.

You are not alone.

[simple1]

I have only just got hold of this story and to be honest I find the whole thing too unbelievable. Insurgents do not surrender. terrorists do not surrender. there can only be one of a few options. These guys are low level criminals who have been assured that they will have their slates wiped clean, or they are not insurgents but have been paid to surrender. Lets say 1 million baht each to go through the process and then be released. Everyone in the south says how brilliant the government is and suddenly PTP get a foothold in the South come the next elections. I just cannot believe what I am reading when it says 100 insurgents have surrendered. If it's true then they don't make insurgents like they used to !!!! Could you ever possibly have imagined a single member of the IRA walking into a police station or army barracks and saying'I surrender, I don't believe there is any way we can win an armed struggle' ! Complete bolleux. Miracle Thailand!

Most of the insurgents in the Deep South (don't know why we call them insurgents in their own country) are not motivated by hatred of the West and radical Islam, but independence from the Thai government so their is no comparison to radical Arab terrorists. In other media stories, if true, the background to these people surrendering after months of negotiations, was their regret of the damage to their fellow villagers, their families and a sense of being let down by their fellow separatists and resultant belief in the futility of their actions. May be others in their community will carry on with their operations, but at least this group will no longer be killing.

I would say the Taliban are one of the most aggressive terrorist groups yet it's recently announced that some have indeed surrendered; refer:

http://www.tolonews....han-authorities

Edited September 15, 2012 by simple1

[sunshine51]

I hope this good news continues...it's a start.

So much for the other threads that say that Malaysia isn't involved

when one considers where the website is hosted eh? " the website www.ambranews.com outside the country".....Hmmmm.

Sunshine51

With all the great information and experiences you share with all of us, I think there are going to be many Middle East outside forces that will prevent anything positive coming from these southern provinces anytime in the near future.

You could be correct on this....if it's true at least it's a start though.

Edited September 16, 2012 by sunshine51

[dcutman]

I hope this good news continues...it's a start.

So much for the other threads that say that Malaysia isn't involved

when one considers where the website is hosted eh? " the website www.ambranews.com outside the country".....Hmmmm.

Sunshine51

With all the great information and experiences you share with all of us, I think there are going to be many Middle East outside forces that will prevent anything positive coming from these southern provinces anytime in the near future.

You could be correct on this....if it's true at least it's a start though.

Yeh for sure, all violence stops practically overnight. would be a great thing. I would love to go down there and visit, it is the only part of Thailand I have not explored. However I suspect it all isnt that easy, and there are many groups in the waiting to pick things right up again.It seems for some morbid reason or another radical Muslims want to be just that, and spread fear and terror. Edited September 16, 2012 by dcutman