Who Is a Terrorist?: Lessons from Thailand and the Philippines

[webfact]

Who Is a Terrorist?: Lessons from Thailand and the Philippines
By Patrick Barron

In Thailand and Philippines, it’s worth digging into the precise definitions of “terrorism.”

TOKYO: -- The 2015 Global Terrorism Index was recently launched by the Institute of Economics and Peace. The timing of the report, released just three days after the Paris attacks, was sadly opportune.

The main message—that terrorism is on the rise and its reach is widening—chimes with a new assertiveness from political leaders who have competed to emphasize that the values of liberty must be preserved and, somewhat in contradiction, that terrorists should be rooted out by military or other means. This may portend an era of liberal interventionism, with participants including unlikely bedfellows such as Russia and China. The GTI, which ranks countries by their experience of terrorism, purports to point to those where anti-terrorist efforts should focus.

Problematically, this is based on a flawed understanding of what terrorism is, who does it, and what it looks like. The report employs a definition of terrorism that conflates many types of violence by many types of non-state groups, including sub-national secessionist movements, ideologically-motivated insurgents and political protesters. This, accompanied by inconsistencies in what is deemed a terrorist act and what is not, leads to misleading findings.

This is dangerous given how states, particularly since 9/11, have consistently used counter-terrorism rhetoric to repress dissent at the expense of finding political solutions to complex problems.

Full story: http://thediplomat.com/2016/01/who-is-a-terrorist-lessons-from-thailand-and-the-philippines/

-- THE DIPLOMAT 2016-01-14

[NeverSure]

Yes, let's talk to the terrorists and reach political solutions. 555.

[leeneeds]

So now it is 2016 and this report has 123 countries who rank as having terrorism experiences , on the list that the GTI has, leaves 38 with no rating,

May be a way of being safe to live in one of the 38 countries, rather than live in 'constant fear that we have in our ranking @ 10 here in Thailand "

No Thanks ,

I love it here come what may!

[NongKhaiKid]

The current Thai definition of terrorist / terrorism seems to be whatever best suits needs will do. The bomb at Erawan wasn't considered terrorism because using that word may have scared tourists and their money away.

[ezzra]

Do you really want to know who is a terrorist? don't go far, look at Iran and Qatar, one is the enabler and facilitator and the

later is the bank and financier of all terrorists groups in the world... and yet in Obama's world, both countries

are his friends and under his patronage....

[simple1]

The OP is specific to understanding the political challenges & lessons learned from transitioning insurgency or if you prefer terrorist groups from open conflict to road maps to peace and overviews of where this has and has not occurred in the Asian region.

If anyone can be bothered to look it up the highly respected Rand Corporation has done similar studies and reached similar conclusion that in the majority of cases political engagement, complementing State armed security activity is the most appropriate path. We all know such an approach isn't applicable to groups such as Daesh, who are in fact not the focus of the OP.

[ggt]

By the time one figures out who is really a terrorist...it is too late...boom!

[klauskunkel]

to simplify things:

if it yells "Akbar", kill it, it's a terrorist

if it yells "Strip bar", don't kill it, it's a tourist

[Krataiboy]

Terrorism is whatever a government decides is in its interest to stick this ubiquitious label on. It's just one of the tools in the politicians' workbox to keep the population in line and ensure their conformance to otherwise unacceptable restrictions on their democratic rights and individual freedom.

[wabothai]

Good question !!

[Docno]

"The GTI defines terrorist acts as those where violence or force is used by non-state groups for political, economic or religious purposes."

Flawed definition as it absolves states from engaging in terrorism.

A better definition (IMHO): where violence or the threat of violence is intentionally used against civilians to promote political, economic, or religious ends.

States could be held responsible for terrorist acts if civilian populations were intentionally targeted to create terror and force the enemy into submission (e.g., the bombings of London, Dresden, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima). Unintended civilian deaths (aka 'collateral damage') would not meet this definition. The actions of the southern insurgents in Thailand are a mix of terrorism (where teachers, nurses, headmen, etc. are targeted) and unconventional warfare (where soldiers are targeted); that first component makes them terrorists.

[Docno]

Yes, let's talk to the terrorists and reach political solutions. 555.

Ah, Texan I'd guess... shoot first, talk later, and all that. Few insurgencies have been defeated on the battlefield alone (the Tamil Tigers come to mind, but they had become a largely conventional force by that point). When was the last time the US wiped out an insurgency through force of arms alone? [And remember - doing so gets exponentially more difficult when dealing with groups that have transnational presence or support].

[WhizBang]

Do you really want to know who is a terrorist? don't go far, look at Iran and Qatar, one is the enabler and facilitator and the

later is the bank and financier of all terrorists groups in the world... and yet in Obama's world, both countries

are his friends and under his patronage....

You left out Saudi Arabia.

[dageurreotype]

Do you really want to know who is a terrorist? don't go far, look at Iran and Qatar, one is the enabler and facilitator and the

later is the bank and financier of all terrorists groups in the world... and yet in Obama's world, both countries

are his friends and under his patronage....

Same ALL oh his notorious predecessors then. Dubya flying the Bin Laden family out on a private jet after 9/11 anyone?

[hawker9000]

See, this is what comes from confusing terrorism with common crime. Enemy combatants on the battlefield cannot be dealt with like bank robbers and wife-beaters, and neither can extremists operating with paramilitary means & methods. Terrorists must be treated as dangerous internal enemies (regardless of citizenship) rather than "criminals".

[CantSpell]

The way 2015 went and the way 2016 started, whatever a terrorist is, I think that, sadly, the world is up for a rocky year....

Paris in Nov; I thought it would be peaceful for some times after such a big hit...

Cologne happy new year celebrations.... Young guy in France trying to cut a Jew with a machete 2 days ago; while another one "suicided" by attacking a police station with a fake bomb belt and a machete 3 days earlier... Turkey... Jakarta today.... I missed a few I think..

And we have been in 2016 for only 14 days ......

[Srikcir]

Yes, let's talk to the terrorists and reach political solutions. 555.

Seems to have worked for The Philippines.

The Philippines' Muslim insurgency was very similar to Thailand's current Muslim insurgency.

One major insurgency was centered in Mindanao, the main southern Philippine island - home to most of the country's five million Muslims vs. an overall Christian majority in The Philippines.

After 50 years of intense insurgency warfare leading to over 210,000 deaths, in 2014 a peace agreement was signed with the elected Philippine government. The Moro rebels agreed to end violence and their demand for a separate state in exchange for broader autonomy.

But the current Thai government doesn't accpet foreign solutions to Thai problems. It's against "Thainess." So violence will continue in the South so long as the Thai military controls the dialog and agenda.

[Norvid 1950]

News - facts - no own opinion. Just fabulous.

[hawker9000]

Yes, let's talk to the terrorists and reach political solutions. 555.

Seems to have worked for The Philippines.

The Philippines' Muslim insurgency was very similar to Thailand's current Muslim insurgency.

One major insurgency was centered in Mindanao, the main southern Philippine island - home to most of the country's five million Muslims vs. an overall Christian majority in The Philippines.

After 50 years of intense insurgency warfare leading to over 210,000 deaths, in 2014 a peace agreement was signed with the elected Philippine government. The Moro rebels agreed to end violence and their demand for a separate state in exchange for broader autonomy.

But the current Thai government doesn't accpet foreign solutions to Thai problems. It's against "Thainess." So violence will continue in the South so long as the Thai military controls the dialog and agenda.

Oh, so the Philippine government acceded to the terrorist demands, gave in to the violence & intimidation, and granted the demanded "autonomy". You call that a "solution"??!! BTW, there IS a non-muslim minority in Mindanao that probably doesn't think quite so much of their newfound "autonomy" under muslim rule...

You're confusing "solutions" with terrorist "successes".