Insurgency in the deep South is not a religious conflict

[Lite Beer]

EDITORIAL
Insurgency in the deep South is not a religious conflict
The Nation 

 

BANGKOK: -- Thinking in Bangkok must change to find the bold and correct policies that can resolve this crisis

Over the last couple of weeks, Thai authorities in the southernmost provinces have been boasting how they have stepped up security measures to ensure that the last 10 days of Ramadan will be a peaceful period.

And while there have been acts of violence here and there, the incidents were not serious enough to force the government to change its public relations line. Then came Friday's massive car bombing in Yala's Betong district. The incident claimed three lives and left at least 34 injured, four of them seriously.

Nevertheless, our officials love to play up the religious card, presumably to give the impression that they know their stuff.

What is amazing, however, is their failure to see the arrogance of it all. Think about it: A predominantly Buddhist state is using the Islamic religious card to contain insurgency that is rooted in ethno-nationalist sentiment.

If this conflict was about religion, Muslims in other pockets of Thailand - from Hat Yai to Chiang Rai - would have joined the bandwagon as well. State understanding has always been that there are good Muslims and bad Muslims. The good ones are with the state and the bad ones take up arms.

Our officials are not able to see the ongoing conflict for what it is because they are blinded by their own prejudice and shallow analyses from their own people.

Take last year, for example, when the then government was supposedly engaging in peace talks with a group of self-proclaimed Barisan Revolusi Nasional-Coordinate (BRN-C). The so-called BRN-C "liaison", Hasan Taib, was supposed to make a public announcement about a Ramadan ceasefire but backed off because he knew the real BRN - people with real command-and-control over insurgents on the ground - did not support this highly politicised plan that was originally cooked up by Thai officials.

The first day of Ramadan, July 8, last year, saw a powerful roadside blast injuring eight soldiers in Pattani's Mayo district.

More than a week later, the then National Security Council secretary-general, Lt-General Paradon Pattanabut, was clinging to the same fantasy about a Ramadan ceasefire when in fact, the previous 10 days had seen a plenty of violence: A couple who sold vegetables were killed in Narathiwat's Rangae district; a couple who were rubber tappers in Pattani's Yaring district were shot dead; a kamnan from Yala's Katong survived a gunshot wound; a former ranger was shot dead in Narathiwat's Rusoh district; a 15-minute gunfight in Narathiwat's Joh Ai Rong left two soldiers seriously wounded; a roadside bomb injured a ranger in Yala's Bannang Sata district; a local religious figure was killed in Bannang Sata; a villager was shot dead in Rusoh; and, a roadside blast injured eight soldiers in Raman istrict.

Despite all those acts of violence, Thai officials and self-proclaimed security analysts were still trying to put on a brave face as if there had been a ceasefire deal. This year, however, no one is talking about a ceasefire during Ramadan. But there has been the rhetoric on how security has been tightened. And then came the Betong blast this Friday.

Instead of looking for ways to spin things for domestic consumption, perhaps our authorities should try to see the conflict for what it is and go from there.

The military junta that rules the country does not have opposition parties to worry about, so they should come up with bold ideas and understand that any policy failure will not have any affect on their national standing because Thai people's apathy towards the Malays in the deep South will give them the needed freedom to do whatever they want.

If Bangkok can get away with the Tak Bai massacre, go back on the promise of autonomy after securing an election victory, then policy failure in the deep South is the last thing they have to worry about. There is nothing to prevent them from taking bold action in this highly contested region that never got the respect that it deserved.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Insurgency-in-the-deep-South-is-not-a-religious-co-30239546.html

 

[thenation]2014-07-27[/thenation]

[ChrisY1]

There will always be someone or some group to blame......when in reality, it is the administrations lack of understanding and determination to halt this terrorism

[ezzra]

Terrorism by any other mean or cause is still a terrorism, no matter what the reason are or what the

ultimate goal is, they say that this is not about religion, but strangely enough, all the terrorist in the 

south are Muslim and most if not all, are non Muslims,

 

And before the protesting Muslims of Thailand will vilifies Israel for it's so called atrocities in Gaza , look and

 see what is going on in your own back yard....

[noitom]

Acts of violence "here and there." Overall, this is a very disturbing troublesome editorial that looks like it is suggesting that the majority of Thais don't care that close to 7,000 are dead in the Thai south and tens of thousands injured for over 12 years. It is in fact a put down of the majority of THais who care deeply about their muslim and buddhist brothers in the south. The editorial should not be insinuating that muslims all around Thailand would be "on the band wagon" as if it's some kind of festival going on down in the Thai souh. It is a very shameful disturbing Thai point of view.

[chainarong]

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Acts of violence "here and there." Overall, this is a very disturbing troublesome editorial that looks like it is suggesting that the majority of Thais don't care that close to 7,000 are dead in the Thai south and tens of thousands injured for over 12 years. It is in fact a put down of the majority of THais who care deeply about their muslim and buddhist brothers in the south. The editorial should not be insinuating that muslims all around Thailand would be "on the band wagon" as if it's some kind of festival going on down in the Thai souh. It is a very shameful disturbing Thai point of view.

 

The point of view here is alarming to say the least

[noitom]

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Acts of violence "here and there." Overall, this is a very disturbing troublesome editorial that looks like it is suggesting that the majority of Thais don't care that close to 7,000 are dead in the Thai south and tens of thousands injured for over 12 years. It is in fact a put down of the majority of THais who care deeply about their muslim and buddhist brothers in the south. The editorial should not be insinuating that muslims all around Thailand would be "on the band wagon" as if it's some kind of festival going on down in the Thai souh. It is a very shameful disturbing Thai point of view.

 

The point of view here is alarming to say the least

Yes, it's downright appalling and scary.

[IamNoone88]

The "why"is deeply rooted in the region's history and is complex but the violence has moved beyond a cause to a way of life. In most insurgencies there are attempts by the government to remove the offending leadership and force negotiation. It seems the leadership behind the violence remains unchecked and building fences around schools is no help. Unless something changes, this cycle will continue for another generation.

[Oziex1]

''Bold action''? Ethnic cleansing, No!

 

Use methodical policing measures, the tried and proven relentless patrolling to keep the thugs on the move. OK I'm not there and I have no military experience, no doubt the solution is more complex than my simple outlook. Or maybe it isn't.

 

 

[impulse]

Terrorism by any other mean or cause is still a terrorism, no matter what the reason are or what the

ultimate goal is, they say that this is not about religion, but strangely enough, all the terrorist in the 

south are Muslim and most if not all, are non Muslims

 

 

And the terrorists in Ireland have historically been Catholics, as have the terrorists in S. America.  

 

And the terrorists in 1940's Palestine were Jews.

 

And the terrorists picking on the Muslims in Myanmar are Buddhists.

 

Religion isn't why the terrorism happens.  It's just one of the many criteria for how they pick which side they're on.  Like skin color, family name, ancestral home, nationality- and dozens of others.

 

Pick any population in the world, take away so much that they have very little to lose (and they feel as if they have nothing to lose), and terrorism will be the result- regardless of what religion they are.

Edited July 27, 2014 by impulse

[Hawk]

It is not a religious conflict but pure terrorism at its worst. A minority trying desperately to destroy the fabric of society for their own selfish interests.

No agenda other than control, intimidation and butchery. Muslims as well as Buddhists are killed, so no agenda or plan.

[simple1]

Terrorism by any other mean or cause is still a terrorism, no matter what the reason are or what the

ultimate goal is, they say that this is not about religion, but strangely enough, all the terrorist in the 

south are Muslim and most if not all, are non Muslims,

 

And before the protesting Muslims of Thailand will vilifies Israel for it's so called atrocities in Gaza , look and

 see what is going on in your own back yard....

 

Is this a typo / grammar error? Most sources claim deep South population is around 1.8 million, not 100% sure, but think the Buddhist population is approx 400k. More Muslims deaths, attributed to the conflict, than Buddhists
 

Edited July 27, 2014 by simple1

[phuketandsee]

And maybe some of this is a result of turf wars for control over the rampant cross-border sex industry.

[FangFerang]

The deep Thai South is just like the Philippine island of Mindanao -- the majority are Muslims...but somehow --  a miracle occurs -- the religious majority of the capital city in both countries (Catholic in Manila and Buddhist in Bangkok) wins all the elections.  

 

The South is a Democrat stronghold (in a pig's eye, with such elections being wildly outside probity and more suspicious than a child with one hand in the cookie jar claiming innocence).  More likely -- the South are the best vote-buying, election box stuffing, undemocratic districts in the country.

 

Resume rants.

[Nampetch]

It is not a religious conflict but pure terrorism at its worst. A minority trying desperately to destroy the fabric of society for their own selfish interests.

No agenda other than control, intimidation and butchery. Muslims as well as Buddhists are killed, so no agenda or plan.

Pure terrorism is religiously based, and then progresses to the political.

 

http://www.academia.edu/322255/Al-Qaeda_and_the_Nature_of_Religious_Terrorism

 

I was taught never to discuss religion or politics when having a party.

[simple1]

 

It is not a religious conflict but pure terrorism at its worst. A minority trying desperately to destroy the fabric of society for their own selfish interests.

No agenda other than control, intimidation and butchery. Muslims as well as Buddhists are killed, so no agenda or plan.

Pure terrorism is religiously based, and then progresses to the political.

 

http://www.academia.edu/322255/Al-Qaeda_and_the_Nature_of_Religious_Terrorism

 

I was taught never to discuss religion or politics when having a party.

 

 

To help get an understanding of the conflict in the deep South have a read of the paper accessible at URL below, written by a Thai military officer.

 

Preamble:

 

 

The insurgency in southern Thailand is inherently complicated, and no single factor can explain why violence resumed in southern Thailand in 2004. While the struggle has taken on more of a religious orientation in recent years, it is not apparent that this has changed the underlying ethno‐nationalist cause. This paper argues that the conflict in southern Thailand essentially remains a localised conflict over territory and identity. This paper explores and explains the background to the insurgency in southern Thailand and assesses the government’s responses to the insurgency.

 

http://www.defence.gov.au/adc/docs/Publications2012/SheddenPapers12_120306_ConflictinThailand_Nurakkate.pdf

Edited July 27, 2014 by simple1

[Hawk]

It is not a religious conflict but pure terrorism at its worst. A minority trying desperately to destroy the fabric of society for their own selfish interests.

No agenda other than control, intimidation and butchery. Muslims as well as Buddhists are killed, so no agenda or plan.

Pure terrorism is religiously based, and then progresses to the political.
 
http://www.academia.edu/322255/Al-Qaeda_and_the_Nature_of_Religious_Terrorism
 
I was taught never to discuss religion or politics when having a party.

Religion is the new fashionable rallying call but the south is not a religious conflict. Terrorism is primely terrorism and nothing more, and this conflict is neither religious or political, just renegades causing mayhem because they can.

[impulse]

Religion is the new fashionable rallying call but the south is not a religious conflict. Terrorism is primely terrorism and nothing more, and this conflict is neither religious or political, just renegades causing mayhem because they can.

 

With a little business conflict component thrown in occasionally, disguised as the insurgency.

[bangrak]

A small minority of terrorists could not inflict such damage armed with stones and clubs, trace the money, arms and equipment, you will find who the people behind the massacres are, and what their motivations are. IMO, some 'important persons' in neighbouring Malaysian Sultanates might well have 'the answers'...

(f.i. Do you remember that attack of a police station about 4-5 years ago, where the RTA was previously informed of, and it went very wrong indeed for the terrorists, well, from a credible source on the spot, I have heard many/most of the attackers were driving brand new motorbikes, all the same ones, were wearing the same, new, branded jogging trousers and sweat shirts, had the same, new, Nike shoes on their feet, and were armed with same, new, erm..., Thai Army issue, stolen/bought M16 rifles, isn't the picture clear enough...)

Edited July 27, 2014 by bangrak

[ikke]

Our officials love to play up the religious card, presumably to give the impression that they know their stuff.

This one suits about all officials ......

[seajae]

maybe the person that wrote this needs to get out a bit more, not every muslim is a terrorist, some are very happy with what they have while others just want to kill everyone else, just look at the middle east and you see muslim killing muslim. The problem is that the muslim terrorists in the south want their own personal state separate from Thailand and dont care who they have to kill to get it. Somehow I think the so called journalist that is claiming that it isnt a religious thing is simply too juvenile or stupid to understand the truth of the matter, they probably also think that the pro russians in the Ukraine dont want to be part of Russia either

[jvs]

In an ongoing conflict like this one both sides are pointing fingers and blaming each other for the violence that occurs.

It seems the original issues are forgotten and unfortunately all that remains is violence fed by a feeling of needing revenge.

Until some very wise people on both sides realize that hatred has to stop before violence can end ,until that day a lot of innocent people again on both sides will continue to suffer.

I have no clear answers how to solve this issue but i would bet there are a lot more people wanting this to end than people who want to go on.

 

 

[surangw]

its a power trip for their leaders using  religion to get their stooges to do their bidding.

[nami]

Are these comments for real or every poster is being ironical? O_o

How can you say this is just terrorism without reason? That area was a semi independent sultanate just 100 years ago. Now everything comes dictated by the central government: Local community leaders have no power, their language is not taught at school, Islam is not taught at school but Buddhism is ... That without mentioning they are treated worst than animals (remember the big group suffocated to death in the truck? Or how they were forced to walk like worms while the standing soldiers kicked them?)

I don't know what planet you guys come from but many would be doing the same if they were in their situation. The solution is easy, start giving them a certain degree of autonomy and respect them, their language and their culture.

It is actually surprising that this only happened there with that central Thai mentality to impose a homogeneous culture, language and religion to a country with so many ethnic backgrounds. They could start by declaring all the different languages cooficial to Thai and stop forcing students to learn Buddhism. Then give more autonomy to the regions that historically weren't controlled by a central government or with a strong sense of identity and let them decide their stuff instead of imposing things from a Bangkok that is so far away that doesn't know a thing about the reality there.

[Jim walker]

Ethno-nationalist sentiment. We don’t want any of this in peace loving Buddhist Thailand this needs to be completely stamped out straight away no foreign influenced religions needed here,  

[DrDweeb]

 

 

It is not a religious conflict but pure terrorism at its worst. A minority trying desperately to destroy the fabric of society for their own selfish interests.

No agenda other than control, intimidation and butchery. Muslims as well as Buddhists are killed, so no agenda or plan.

Pure terrorism is religiously based, and then progresses to the political.
 
http://www.academia.edu/322255/Al-Qaeda_and_the_Nature_of_Religious_Terrorism
 
I was taught never to discuss religion or politics when having a party.

Religion is the new fashionable rallying call but the south is not a religious conflict. Terrorism is primely terrorism and nothing more, and this conflict is neither religious or political, just renegades causing mayhem because they can.

 

 

Rather like the communist insurgents of the 70s? Whatever happenned to them anyway? All dead then?
 

[DrDweeb]

A small minority of terrorists could not inflict such damage armed with stones and clubs, trace the money, arms and equipment, you will find who the people behind the massacres are, and what their motivations are. IMO, some 'important persons' in neighbouring Malaysian Sultanates might well have 'the answers'...

(f.i. Do you remember that attack of a police station about 4-5 years ago, where the RTA was previously informed of, and it went very wrong indeed for the terrorists, well, from a credible source on the spot, I have heard many/most of the attackers were driving brand new motorbikes, all the same ones, were wearing the same, new, branded jogging trousers and sweat shirts, had the same, new, Nike shoes on their feet, and were armed with same, new, erm..., Thai Army issue, stolen/bought M16 rifles, isn't the picture clear enough...)

It is pretty widely accepted that Saudi arabia provide both the religious teaching as well as the funding for their activities.

 

Follow the money!

[bunuel]

A small minority of terrorists could not inflict such damage armed with stones and clubs, trace the money, arms and equipment, you will find who the people behind the massacres are, and what their motivations are. IMO, some 'important persons' in neighbouring Malaysian Sultanates might well have 'the answers'...
(f.i. Do you remember that attack of a police station about 4-5 years ago, where the RTA was previously informed of, and it went very wrong indeed for the terrorists, well, from a credible source on the spot, I have heard many/most of the attackers were driving brand new motorbikes, all the same ones, were wearing the same, new, branded jogging trousers and sweat shirts, had the same, new, Nike shoes on their feet, and were armed with same, new, erm..., Thai Army issue, stolen/bought M16 rifles, isn't the picture clear enough...)

It is pretty widely accepted that Saudi arabia provide both the religious teaching as well as the funding for their activities.
 
Follow the money!

Precisely! While there may be indigenous causes for this conflict, it certainly appears that the terrorists are getting outside support. It also seems very odd that the insurgents have not made public demands for autonomy, as they did in Aceh in Sumutra, for example. Indeed, not at all clear who these insurgents are - but the problem is real, with the death toll rising . This will be the litmus test for the Thai military government, with no one to blame if things do not improve.

[rickirs]

When the Head of State MUST be Buddhist, Buddhist ceremonies are INCORPORATES into all State functions, and Buddhist Temples under the protection of the State, a muslim whose faith denies obediance to a secular State leadership under any faith other than Islam may disagree. If the insurgents were Buddhists do you truly believe the conflict would still exist? As we witnessed in Iraq and Northern Ireland, a strictly military approach to religious conflicts will ultimately fail.

[simple1]

When the Head of State MUST be Buddhist, Buddhist ceremonies are INCORPORATES into all State functions, and Buddhist Temples under the protection of the State, a muslim whose faith denies obediance to a secular State leadership under any faith other than Islam may disagree. If the insurgents were Buddhists do you truly believe the conflict would still exist? As we witnessed in Iraq and Northern Ireland, a strictly military approach to religious conflicts will ultimately fail.

 

In Thailand there is quite a different dynamic concerning Islam/Muslims. The King has Islamic advisers and attends some Islamic events.  Under the Constitution HM protects all faiths, including Islam and the Thai State provides funds for the maintenance and building of mosques amongst other supportive actions

 

I have visited a number of Thai Muslim households that display pictures of HM and as common in Thailand Rama V, don't know if the same practice occurs in the deep South.

[NoshowJones]

 

Terrorism by any other mean or cause is still a terrorism, no matter what the reason are or what the

ultimate goal is, they say that this is not about religion, but strangely enough, all the terrorist in the 

south are Muslim and most if not all, are non Muslims

 

 

And the terrorists in Ireland have historically been Catholics, as have the terrorists in S. America.  

 

And the terrorists in 1940's Palestine were Jews.

 

And the terrorists picking on the Muslims in Myanmar are Buddhists.

 

Religion isn't why the terrorism happens.  It's just one of the many criteria for how they pick which side they're on.  Like skin color, family name, ancestral home, nationality- and dozens of others.

 

Pick any population in the world, take away so much that they have very little to lose (and they feel as if they have nothing to lose), and terrorism will be the result- regardless of what religion they are.

 

So the Black and Tans were Catholics? Was Oliver Cromwells lot Catholics? Are you just referring to the Republic of Ireland? What about the terrorists in Northern Ireland? Are they Catholic?

No, I'm not a Catholic.