Car-bomb has left a psychological impact

[Lite Beer]

NATION ANALYSIS
Car-bomb has left a psychological impact
PAKORN PUENGNETR
THE SUNDAY NATION February 22, 2015 1:00 am

NARATHIWAT: -- The first car-bomb attack of the year in the deep South on Friday caused much structural damage in Narathiwat town and left 13 people wounded. It has also taken a psychological toll on locals, and sabotaged the government's attempt to restore peace in the region.

The psychological impact relates to the following:

- The location. The karaoke bar hub in Muang district near the main road will undoubtedly resulted in people deeming the downtown area to be unsafe;

- The bomb type. The use of a car-bomb, which is rare in the area, highlighted the severity of the unrest because a car bomb is particularly destructive;

- The timing. The daytime attack during the Chinese New Year holiday has surely caused even more angst. The public knows security is beefed up during festivals, and the nature of this attack will surely make people think the insurgents can strike anytime they want, which is not necessarily true;

- The attack coincided with the 200-kilometre march led by Mahidol University's Centre for Peacebuilding director Gothom Arya, as it headed for the province's Tak Bai district, where it concluded yesterday. The participants called for the restoration of peace in the region. So the car-bomb may dim the atmosphere surrounding those united in their call for peace;

- The attack took place after national security agencies searched a pondok school in Pattani's Yarang district and found serious weapons and ammunition. That prompted the decision to extend the operation to other pondok schools. It is thought Friday's attack could have been a response to that;

- The attack took place as the government is preparing for peace talks to resume and after it said it had a "certain level of control over the area". So this attack could aversely affect the government's credibility.

Southern Border Province Police Bureau commander Pol Lt-General Anurut Krissanakaraket told the Isara News Agency that he did not think the aim of the insurgents was to hurt the province's economy because the area where the blast occurred was not key economically.

He said it was most likely a retaliation to two state operations - social development initiatives and the government's related push to win the hearts and minds of locals, which had reportedly led to more people watching out for insurgents, as well as recent searches that led to arrests and weapon seizures.

"The bombing doesn't aim to ruin the peace-building atmosphere and isn't linked to the Thai government's ongoing peace dialogue with separatists," he said.

The attack should prompt security forces to have a balanced deployment of day and night patrols because they had thought any attack would take place at night, he said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Car-bomb-has-left-a-psychological-impact-30254603.html

-- The Nation 2015-02-22

[noitom]

How many dead now in the Thai south since 2004? Various global press has 6,000, 6,500, over 7,000. What's the true death count in the Thai south?

[keith101]

radicals don't want peace and will do anything to stop it from happening . the amount of innocent people who die just don't matter to them as they have no sense of right or wrong only death .

[siam2007]

radicals don't want peace and will do anything to stop it from happening . the amount of innocent people who die just don't matter to them as they have no sense of right or wrong only death .

agree

you can see the same thing in Southern Philippines. Even though the government and moderate Muslim groups made a peace agreement, the radicals just ignore it as it is not on their agenda.

it has, like many things religious, a lot to do with "power" and "having people under control"

[gchurch259]

Insurgents are like Cobra's and Rattlesnakes, kill them were you find them. Do not negotiate or try to understand, just kill them, the World does not need them !!

[Srikcir]

"sabotaged the government's attempt to restore peace in the region."

All the while that the Junta is forming military alliances with China and Russia, presumbly to help protect Thailand from foreign invaders, it cannot resolve internal armed conflict within its own borders. And that's despite the military's 2014 strategy to use the same failed "Hearts and Minds" approach used by the USA in Vietnam against communist insurgents.

Gen. Prayuth PROMISED peace with the insurgents by end of 2015. That was after he didn't fulfill his promise for 2014. Nor did the military accomplish any peace talks since the conflicts first began. So one might say that the military now carries deep phsycological scars from the accumulation of Malay-Thai insurgency hostilities which may paralize it from any rational behavior. And that may be unfortunate for Thailand as the military controls the government.

Maybe the CDC will save the day by suggesting a Muslim-Buddhist coalition government be formed in the South. Just like Northern Ireland.

[FireMedic]

Maybe the good general could get some help from China or Russia on how to deal with insurgents.

[lvr181]

"- The attack coincided with the 200-kilometre march led by Mahidol University's Centre for Peacebuilding director Gothom Arya, as it headed for the province's Tak Bai district, where it concluded yesterday. The participants called for the restoration of peace in the region. So the car-bomb may dim the atmosphere surrounding those united in their call for peace;"

A nice thought for those wishing for peace, but totally unrealistic. Criminals are only interested in what they want to achieve and that is total control NOT peace, unfortunately!

[willyumiii]

Insurgents are like Cobra's and Rattlesnakes, kill them were you find them. Do not negotiate or try to understand, just kill them, the World does not need them !!

Poor example.

I come from an area with a lot of rattle snakes and now live in an area with quite a few cobras.

These snakes serve a very important purpose.

They keep the rodent population under control.

Without snakes like these, we would be overrun with mice and rats and diseases like the bubonic plague!

I agree, you do not want one in your yard or under your porch where they present a danger to you or your family.

But, in their own habitat, you should never kill one!

Better to stay out of areas you do not belong.

You are not "the world" and you do not own it.

This applies to other human beings as well.