Thailand Muslim Insurgency

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
4 april 2004

Trouble in paradise: Thailand's Muslim insurgents

On a quiet Saturday morning recently in southern Thailand, an elderly Buddhist monk slowly made his rounds, clad in traditional saffron robes. His feet bare and his shaved head bowed, he collected alms from the faithful. A motorcycle approached.A man on the bike raised his machete and struck, leaving the holy man dead only moments after a 13-year-old novice standing near a Buddhist temple also was hacked to death.

Another Buddhist monk narrowly survived a machete attack that day in the same Thai province of Yala, one of three Muslim majority provinces in overwhelmingly Buddhist Thailand.Who would have it in for Buddhist monks?The three fell victim to a renewed wave of Islamic extremism now boiling in this traditionally peaceful Buddhist land.

Rebels have killed more than 40 people since the beginning of the year. Most of the dead were security forces, government officials, and Buddhist monks. The attacks have shaken up the country, thrown the leadership off balance, and placed the government in a quandary familiar to virtually every country trying to defeat a terrorist threat.In their most daring assault, the one that launched the current wave of violence, the attackers set fire to 21 schools in a single night.

The fires of Jan. 4 worked as a decoy, allowing militants to raid a government armory and steal hundreds of weapons.To the image-conscious government of Thailand, the Muslim rebellion presented a daunting challenge. The government needed to take action without causing a damaging panic and destroy the terrorist network without sparking a recruiting boom for the enemy.

The requirements of security initially seemed to compete with the public-relations demands of the tourist industry. The explosive growth of tourism in Thailand--the top destination in Southeast Asia--brought 10 million visitors last year, along with billions of dollars.Foreign tourists open their wallets for the image of near-ethereal peace in a Buddhist land of gleaming temples, smiling monks, and sandy white beaches--along with less spiritual pursuits.

An armed rebellion by Muslim extremists is not exactly a draw for tourists.

The initial response from the authorities was to downplay the problem, hoping to keep it out of the headlines. The southern provinces, sitting on the border with Malaysia, have long been rife with smuggling, drug trafficking and other shady pursuits. The government tried to blame the violence on banditry and gang rivalries.The Jan. 4 incident, however, showed just how serious the situation was. The rebels now had hundreds of weapons, and the sophistication of the attack proved that this was no common criminal act.

Intelligence officers in the region and in the United States now say the group Jemaah Islamiyah, known to have links with Al Qaeda, is operating in the area.Only a few months earlier, Thai authorities had been shocked to discover that the Asian terrorist mastermind Hambali had coordinated many of his most destructively successful operations, such as the Bali bombing in 2002 and the Jakarta Marriott attack last year, from a base in Thailand. Now they were discovering that extremism had settled in on their side of the Malaysian border.

When it became clear that ignoring the problem would not make it go away, the government launched a closed-fist crackdown in the South, sparking the outrage of law-abiding Muslims, who claimed that the government's actions would effectively drive the population to the side of the extremists.Like other nations facing terrorism, the Thai government is now straining to find that elusive place where just the right amount of force is brought to bear on just the right people, a nearly impossible balancing act.

Immediately after the twin armory and arson attacks, the government declared martial law in the three southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, where the majority of Thailand's 6 million Muslims live. By some counts, more than 10,000 troops marched into the area, stirring the simmering resentment.Authorities began looking into Muslim education in the area, scrutinizing schools for any sign of training militants and focusing on religion at the expense of the required secular education.As the attacks continued, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra declared he was losing patience. "We must be aggressive from now on," he vowed, claiming that the insurgents were trying to start a religious war.Complicating matters is the fact that no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, and it is not exactly clear what their purpose is.Thailand's Muslim minority has long resented the central government. Separatist movements surfaced in the 1960s and operated into the late 1980s, when the government offered an amnesty to the rebels.Still, the region is plagued by lower incomes and higher crime than the rest of the country, along with social problems typical of low-income border areas.

Many say the violence is a direct result of government neglect. Increasingly, however, it has become clear that the insurgency is the work of Muslim separatists with ties to Al Qaeda, possibly including some who trained in the old terrorist alma mater of Afghanistan.Muslim leaders have condemned the violence. After the machete attacks on the three monks, religious organizations called on authorities to find and punish the killers, describing them as "spreading the disease that poisoned national harmony and peace."But their loudest rebukes these days are reserved for the authorities. At one point, they angrily withdrew their support from government efforts, charging that security forces had crossed the line. Muslim leaders accused soldiers and police officers of repeatedly violating the rights of Thailand's Muslims with their insensitive and intrusive tactics.Authorities have shown some sensitivity to the criticism. Thaksin visited the region and met with local leaders. However, he is not likely to protect human rights if it risks his anti-terrorism campaign. The Thai people, about 90 percent of them Buddhists, have little patience for terrorism, and they like their take-charge prime minister.The Thai leader has demonstrated coldblooded determination in the past; last year he launched a war on drugs that left 2,000 people dead under questionable circumstances.

The government now says it is ready for a carrot-and-stick strategy. Authorities say they will loosen the strict martial law, and the Cabinet has approved a development plan for the region. The $18 million plan calls for infrastructure projects to bring water, roads and electricity. The Thai government, however, is taking no chances with the insurgency.Some of the "development" money is going to training of the police and military forces.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune