Thai Jihad Update. "One beheaded, two killed in Thai Muslim south," from Reuters:
YALA, Thailand (Reuters) - Suspected Muslim militants beheaded a Buddhist man and shot dead two civilians in southern Thailand on Sunday as an uprising shows no signs of abating.
The head of the 40-year-old farmer was found next to his body and that of his 35-year-old wife at the entrance of their rubber plantation in Yala province, police said.
Both had been shot and a handwritten note next to the bodies said, "We shall kill all Thai Buddhists," they said.
In the same province, a 74-year-old man was shot dead while riding his motorcycle, police said. Two teenagers, also on a motorcycle, had shot the man.
On Saturday, suspected militants shot dead police Sergeant-Major Pak Petmalai, 47, as he headed for work at a station near his home.
[...]
More than 1,900 people have been killed in three years of violence in the south and peace efforts by the country's new military rulers have had little impact in curbing the unrest.
Suspected Muslim militants beheaded a Buddhist man and shot dead two civilians in southern Thailand on Sunday as an uprising shows no signs of abating. (*-
Don't forget the ROP is what it is. Here we see a very small minority that are militants. Islam can be compared to Buddisim, like Mohd. can be compared to Gandi or Gandi can be compared to Mohd.
My understanding is that Buddist monks had nothing better to do, they provoked decent passers by Muslims who in return beheaded them. I also understand that Muslims are the most peace loving people God has ever sent.
Does anyone have a different take on this?
This doesn't occur in a vacuum. If this were happening someplace in the world where they were slaughtering, oh, let's say rich white athiests of European descent, news of it would be shouted from the highest mountains. Because they're only poor Buddhist Thai folk, you have to look for it in order to find it.
Meanwhile, our brand spaking new House Speaker (third in line for the presidency) is hoping to make profiling potential jihad murderers an grievous offense. I believe it will actually have to take something like a dirty bomb or something else that kills tens of thousands of innocent people before they start thinking like there's a problem with these Muslim fanatics.
Personally I hope the Thais who are very friendly people just step on these moslimes so hard that they run and never come back. Having lived there, I can see that happening...
With a "pro-jihadi" pm in charge of Thailand it won't be long before we discover that the violence is all the fault of the Buddhists after all ....
Militants, rebels, insurgents....the press needs to start dealing in more definitive reporting.
And if pigs could fly....
"We shall kill all Thai Buddhists."
The lesser fault for the Muslims that they do and say such things. The greater fault for the non-Muslims that they don't take those deeds and words to heart and come to the correct conclusion.
If only the Israelis would evacuate the West Bank settlements!!!
That's where blogs undermine the "Big 3" and cable news channels' monopoly on deciding what's newsworthy.
The lack of overall coverage is still a shame, though, as the news out of Thailand is a golden opportunity to expose the jihad ideology without mainstream reporting polluted by the "post-colonial guilt"/"it must somehow be our fault" angle that would accompany news of an attack on a Western target.
In fact, it rather surprises me that, given the favorable image of Buddhism in the media, and among Hollywood activist types, this isn't given more attention.
Then again, perhaps the lack of opportunity for cultural self-flagellation is what keeps some of the activist attention away, since one can't pretend to be so much better than one's contemporaries by being "humble" enough to blame one's own people first. (I believe it was Golda Meir who said something to the effect of, "Stop acting so humble, you are not that great.")
Aside from that, I suspect that this sort of story takes a back seat-- along with most "hard" news-- to fluff: "News" is marketed as a form of entertainment, and airtime is bloated with Hollywood tabloid stuff, cheesy human interest stories, professional athletes behaving badly, and whatever journalistic hobbyhorses have been ridden into town at the time, e.g. Paula Zahn's recent series on "prejudice."
So, thank goodness for the Internet's role in enhancing the free market of ideas.
You have to watch out for those pesky Buddhists and their notions of Karma. They are worse than heathens, hell they believe in being nice to people! If somebody is going to be nice then you have to kill them as fast as possible incase it catches on.
Where would the world be if people where incessantly nice? Luckily, the world has Arabs.
can we blame the Jews for the way these muslims are killing? l mean all the unrest in the world by muslims is the fault of the Jews? you know once the Jews leave Israel, peace will follow the lands.. sarcasm off. l have shown these articles over and over to my stupid liberal family members.. and they are so blind to these killings by muslims. they hold one set of standards for us, and lowered standards for the muslims.. thats the liberal way.
liberals are the true racists, they seem to think muslims and other minorities cannot achieve or do as well as the rest of us.
This doesn't occur in a vacuum. If this were happening someplace in the world where they were slaughtering, oh, let's say rich white athiests of European descent, news of it would be shouted from the highest mountains. Because they're only poor Buddhist Thai folk, you have to look for it in order to find it.
[...]
Posted by: yohannbiimu
Actually, it's even sadder than that. Remember how the MSM here were sweeping the moslem car burning riots under the rug? I checked German news websites at the time and they said nary a peep about the car burning riots in neighboring Paris/France.
The opnly thing that gets shouted from the mountains is when *moslems* are magically cast in the role of victim somehow. As they are quite able to do with our fawning and collaborative MSM at their beck and call.
"..they seem to think muslim and other minorities cannot achieve.."
from above posting
muslims are underachievers but minorities they are not.
The Muslims are driving the Buddhists out of Southern Thailand via terrorism which is straight from Mohammed's field manual for war- the Koran. The Muslims need to be pushed into a smaller confined area as punishment for their imperialism
The Thais need to push back the entire Muslim population into a small territory and cut them off from the rest of Thailand. Erect fences & barriers and destroy the bridges. The Muslims there are not fit to live with Buddhists and other peace loving peoples
The press praised the coup leaders for their plan to "dialogue" with the Islamic supremacists in the "restive" south. The "hardline" approach of the deposed president had been "making things worse"...
Well, the Islamic aggression has increased since then, and the press has largely ignored it.
Karma?
The Thai Buddhists have to learn the law of "Do unto them before they do unto you" Jihadists are beyond the nice guy ideas like Karma, you reap what you sow. Jihadists simply have to be wasted before they waste you. The Shaolin monks developed their martial arts to fend off bandits. Nothing wrong with self defense in Buddhism. Killing too if you are attacked
Again, I weep for a hospitable and pleasant country where I was privileged to work for a couple of years. My Christian prayers are with that Buddhist kingdom as it seeks an end to its Muslim southern insurgency--and fr the conversion of both groups.
Before we get too hard on General Sonthi,the new Thai Muslim PM (albeit chosen byy coup), didn't he recently authorize teachers in Yala and Narathiwat to carry guns in self-defense?
Further, southern Thailand was never the exclusive property of any one ethnic group--at least during the time we've had history written. It is home to Aslian-speaking hunter-gatherers, Malay-speaking Muslims, Thai-speaking Muslims, Thai-speaking Buddhists, and even a generous mix of ethnic Chinese.
Alas, alas.
In personal experience with the people there, those Indochina farmers are some of the most sedate people on earth. They raise their rice and have their cow which is more akin to a pet or family member in how familiar they are.
In other words, they are easy pickings for these Muslim thugs just like all nesters are.
The Thai solution should be simple in handing out rifles, putting a thousand dollar a head bounty on Muslims and that will solve the Muslim problem in Thailand very cheaply and effectively.
Once again showing their true colors...i guess the country is too occuppied with rosie and the donald to pay attention to the real news.
We already know that new Congressmen, Keith X Ellison is very concerned about restoring civil rights to Muslims, supposedly lost since 9/11. He has made a big splash since coming to Capitol Hill. Two practicing Buddhists were also elected this term, one man from Georgia and a woman from Hawaii. It will be interesting to see if either Buddhist expresses interest in the human rights abuses/violence/murders ongoing in Thailand. They should take a page from Congressman Ellison. It seems that he is already out front with Islamic concerns; Beheadings should be more important than the issue of a second look at shoes at the airport.
"peace efforts by the country's new military rulers have had little impact in curbing the unrest"
"Peace efforts" never have any impact in curbing Moslem yen for murdering all non-Moslems.
The Thai army, at one time, had a reputation for fierceness, the Thais never having been colonized by a European or any other power.
Apparently "the country's new military rulers" have a touch, or more than a touch, of Moslem in them. Could this be the efforts at "peace" instead of what is needed* to stop jihad?
________________________
*utter ruthlessness, disregard for collateral "casualties," no quarter
"We shall kill all Thai Buddhists"
More of the same from people who don't represent "true" Islam, which is peaceful and far more sophisticated than bloodthirsty Christians (who fought those evil Crusades) and evil Jews.
The Thais need to push back the entire Muslim population into a small territory and cut them off from the rest of Thailand. Erect fences & barriers and destroy the bridges. The Muslims there are not fit to live with Buddhists and other peace loving peoples
Posted by: dennisw at January 14, 2007 04:26 PM
Why can't we do this all over the world? Push them back to Arabia and the hole they crawled out of. (There's a reason Saddam was down that hole - be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!)
The Thai government surely knows that at this point it can react as strongly as it wishes, and no one in the outside world who might cluck-cluck will utter a cheep. That is, no non-Muslim people or polity. Muslims will be aggrieved and outraged. They are already. They will be whenever non-Muslims insist upon defending themselves. And if the Thai government does not react strongly, things will only get worse and worse. Those millions of signs -- or was it origami doves of peace -- had no effect. Force, however, and the uprooting of Muslims in the south so that they are forced into Malaysia, as a warning to others that the Benes Decree is not just for Czechoslovakia any more, will.
This is how the jihadists will attempt to win. They will try to overwhelm us in all areas of the earth. They are attempting to break down our resistance.
They can do this because life means sh*t to them. Hey, you die, you die. That's the way allah willed it.
Think of it this way. You live in America in a fairly quiet neighborhood. Suddenly some people move in a couple houses away. They have parties 'till 4 in the morning. Broken beer bottles left in your driveway. One of the guys hanging around the house starts eye balling you daughter. Oh well you close the blinds and look the other way.
Soon another house on the block is for rent. It just so happens that a cousin of the problem house owner is looking for a house to rent. He moves in and more partying happens.
Now your next door neighbor of 15 years decides to leave the area. Soon your neighborhood is well known by the police, but they can't kick anyone out. So you either stay and put up with the crap or you sell your house.
The moral of the story is you have to decide... before hand... what your limits are, what's the lowest form of civility you will tolerate before you take a stand.
So the Buddists and the Thai government have to decide right now at what point is the breaking point and take whatever action thay need to take so they don't get to that point.
---------
I see a similar problem with illegal immigration in the USA. You need to really start enforcing border control now before you lose control to anarchists. We are veryyyyyyy close to the breaking point and I pray that Mr Bush and all the liberal Democrats start waking up to what is going on in this country.
MarisolJW:
Perhaps this is precisely the reason these stories aren't (mainstream) "news" -- they aren't useful in promoting the dominant media agenda.
Not all voices in the western media are post-colonial guilt mongers, but it seems that this voice dominates and controls the overarching agenda. Thank goodness for Jihadwatch.
Note to any true bluers who have bothered to read this far: The left agenda is hijacked by subversive interests not at all friendly to the peace and justice agenda of pure ideologues of the left (who are looking rarer every day). The right needs to learn to control its loose canons, but the left just needs a few voices of reason who are not prepared to cherry-pick their facts to fit a predetermined and clearly suicidal agenda. Don't abandon the struggle for peace and justice, but get your talking heads to speak some sense about this crisis. They came for the Buddhists in Thailand today, and nobody spoke out (except the right wing flaming hotheads, and we didn't listen to them). When they come to impose Sharia on the nice liberals in the west, who will speak for you?
Sorry, not my usual stuff ... I'm feeling a bit crabby after reading about this anti-Buddhist jihad. I disagree with their theology, or non-theology, as the case may be, but one has to look pretty hard to find a more peaceful group, and one less deserving of genocidal attacks while the powers that be look the other way. Sheesh!
As a Briton living and working in Thailand, I have long been mystified and angered by the refusal of the BBC (and the rest of the main stream media) to report on the ongoing jihad being waged in southern Thailand. It is a disgrace and a wanton act of dishonesty on the part of the Guardianesque PC crowd who have influence over this news organisation. Last week, for example, a Buddhist female school teacher died after having spent eight months in a coma. She was beaten severely by a group of angry Muslim villagers (no doubt, a tiny minority of the villagers) who entered the school where she worked, separated her from her Muslim colleagues and then beat her senseless with sticks and rocks. She never regained consciousness and sadly died last week (see article below lifted from the Bangkok Post online). As far as I know, this has barely been reported by the mainstream international media. Can you imagine the outcry if a Palestinian schoolteacher had died in similar circumstances? Compare also the response of her father, who has forgiven her attackers and called for peace with the blind hatred, fanaticism and intolerance of the jihadi monsters who have now infected every corner of our planet. Where are the crowds of Muslims in far-away places saying loudly and clearly: "Not in my name?"; their silence is deafening.
Article:
SOUTHERN UNREST
Teacher Juling dies, 8 months after militant hostage drama
WICHAYANT BOONCHOTE
Juling: Spent almost eight months in coma
Songkhla _ Teacher Juling Pongkunmul, who was horrifically beaten in a school hostage drama in Narathiwat province, died yesterday after almost eight months in a coma.
The 27-year-old from Chiang Rai was pronounced dead at 4.05pm. Her internal organs failed. Sumet Pirawut, director of Prince of Songkhla Hospital in Hat Yai, said the teacher's condition worsened yesterday morning due to an acute lung infection, very low blood oxygen and extremely low blood pressure.
Dr Sumet said the hospital reported the loss to Her Majesty the Queen, who had accepted the teacher under royal patronage and asked doctors to keep her informed about Juling's condition.
Messages of condolence poured in yesterday for the Pongkunmul family as soon as the news broke. During the past months, the public has prayed for the teacher who never regained consciousness.
Dozens of people, including monks, stopped by at the hospital to extend their condolences and support to the teacher's parents. The parents, Khammee and Soon, yesterday thanked the medical staff for doing their best and the general public for their unwavering support over the past eight months. Her father hoped that Juling's death would mark the end of violence in the strife-torn deep South.
"We forgive those who harmed her, for our peace of mind and the peace of her soul," he said.
Juling and a fellow teacher were taken hostage and beaten by angry villagers who burst into their school in Narathiwat on May 19 last year.
The villagers were demanding the release of two suspected Muslim militants arrested earlier the same day in connection with the brutal killings of two marines.
Pairat Saengthong, director of Narathiwat's Education Zone 1, said the ministry would ask for a royally-sponsored cremation for the teacher.
Bathing rites will be held this morning at Wat Khok Nao opposite the hospital. In the afternoon, the body will be flown on a C-130 air force plane to the teacher's hometown, Ban Pong Noi in Chiang Rai's Doi Luang district, for funeral rites.
It's a little known fact that the Thai Buddhists were actually part of the Crusades and helped throw the muslims out of Jerusalem. This must be payback.
Either that, or the muslims are pissed that a Buddhist monk once set fire to himself in protest instead of letting a peaceful muslim set him on fire.
Is there any organization active in the protest of Islamic oppression in Thailand?
"Before we get too hard on General Sonthi,the new Thai Muslim PM (albeit chosen byy coup), didn't he recently authorize teachers in Yala and Narathiwat to carry guns in self-defense?"
from a post above.
Sonthi Boonratklin is NOT Prime Minister. He is the Army Chief of Staff and, although Sonthi is from a Muslim family, he has proven himself loyal to the monarchy. He is definitely not pro-jihadist.
The Prime Minister is (retired) General Surayud Chulanont, a devout Buddhist and hero of the suppression of the Communists. Early in his army career, Surayud served in several Army divisions including a light artillery unit, a paratrooper unit. He conducted operations against the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) while his own father was a leader of the CPT. He was a close aide to General Prem Tinsulanonda when Prem was appointed Army Commander and later Prime Minister of Thailand. Surayud was appointed Commander of the Special Warfare Command in 1992, where he was the commanding officer of Sonthi.
Upon his retirement from the Army, Surayud briefly joined the Buddhist monkhood. On 14 November 2003, King Bhumibol Adulyadej appointed Surayud to his Privy Council of personal advisors which is led by Prem. From retirement, Surayud and Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda played a key role in the promotion of General Sonthi to the position of Army Commander.
It was Prem and Surayud, acting on the desires of the king, who were behind Sonthi's rightist coup againt the corrupt government of Taksin.
It was Prem and Surayud, acting on the desires of the king, who were behind Sonthi's rightist coup againt the corrupt government of Taksin.
Posted by: Provoslavni at January 14, 2007 10:59 PM
It was Sonthi who addmited that only he alone is the one behind the coup.The King was informed after the coup and had no option as to endorse the coup for the sake of the country.
Before we get too hard on General Sonthi,the new Thai Muslim PM (albeit chosen byy coup), didn't he recently authorize teachers in Yala and Narathiwat to carry guns in self-defense?Posted by: Kepha at January 14, 2007 04:40 PM
Fact is, that rubber planters are not teachers and are not allowed to carry guns.
Fact is, that the situation turned worse since the coup.
Fact is that Sonthi had nothing else to do after the coup then to visit Pakstan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia ... well to the motivation for the Jihad and himself.
I see the bad moon's rising ...
http://www.civoc.com/society/?p=142
troubles ahead
Today more killings were reported
Thais should probably tune in to CCR's "Bad Moon Rising" wherever the see the muselmans.
'Cause the bad moon is still on the rise ...
http://www.civoc.com/society/?p=143
Interior Muselman Aree from Thailand condemned the beheadings and said that a real Muslims never does so.
Did he never read the quran and some of the other books that even command these acts in Islam?
http://www.civoc.com/society/?p=144
Aah, there is no prostitution in the middle east according to muselmans.
About 100 Thai women probably forced into prostitution in Middle East: police
A suspected human trafficker has been arrested for allegedly luring women to the sex trade in the Middle East, police said yesterday.
Officers of the Suppression of Crimes Against Children and Women Monday arrested La-iad Kaewdee, 32, in Muang Samut Prakan. She has been charged with being a member of a gang procuring women for prostitution.
Police said La-iad had admitted the charges but claimed she had only been involved in duping one woman.
Division deputy commander Colonel Jaruwat Vaisaya said a victim who escaped from a brothel in an unnamed Middle Eastern country reported La-iad after being assisted back to Thailand by the Foreign Ministry.
The victim alleges La-iad lured her to the Middle East with the promise of a well-paying job in a restaurant.
When she arrived her passport was seized and she was forced to work as a prostitute. The gang claimed she owed Bt100,000 for transport costs.
"We estimate up to a 100 women remain in the Middle East being forced to work as prostitutes," Jaruwat said. Most of the victims are from the North and Northeast.
Human trafficking "networks" go to different places and lure women with promises of good jobs as domestic helpers or in restaurants.
"The Middle East is becoming a popular destination for human trafficking, however, the most popular are the neighbouring countries of Thailand," Jaruwat said.
The Nation
View a screenshot from a nice muslim in Malay who openly suggested to be for to kill apostates of islam.
http://www.civoc.com/society/?p=144
It's good that the schoolteachers get to carry guns for self-defense now.
One drawback, though, is that the first time they use them, the scenario will change from, "Muslim terrorists picking on defenseless teachers" to "Factional fighting between Muslims and Buddhists." - the teachers will lose some sympathy points.
Those Babylonian, moongod worshipping demons seem to just LIVE TO KILL!!
That is the islamic cult in a nutsheel...these fools worship an ancient moongod that commands to kill all who are not muslims.
I hope the Buddhists have 1 pistol on each side of their belts.
"It was Sonthi who admitted that only he alone is the one behind the coup. The King was informed after the coup" from Arnie above.
This is a soldier acting loyally. The King cannot be seen to be involved. However, Prem does nothing without clearing it first with the royal family.
Of course, Sonthi visited Saudia, Egypt, and Pakistan. These countries are sources of both funding and training for the Pattani jihadists. While in these countries, he let them know that future economic relations depended on cutting off those funds. My source is a Thai diplomat who was with him on the trip.
Coming from a Muslim family, Sonthi is a useful front man for Prem.
Mryrose: My guess that the Buddhist Rep. elect from Hawaii is Mahayana (Chinese, Japanese, Korean); and I don't know a thing about the one from Georgia. A lot of Theravadins (the kind they have in Thailand, Sri Langka, Cambodia, Laos, and Burma) are very negative towards the Mahayana Buddhists, and say that they don't really count as Buddhists. Also, Euro-American "Buddhists" are actually free-form spiritual seekers rather than real Buddhists. Compare the attitude of the Sangha in any Asian country towards abortion with the usual Hollywood or Lisa Simpson "Buddhist" attitude. Further, the shirley Maclean types are too self-absorbed to care what happens to a bunch of rubber tappers in Narathiwat.
It would be more fun to ask what Uncle Abid Ellison has to say.
Hamas better wake up to the Samson Option, if they should try to wipe Israel off the map, they'll go along with it ! Then again, an idiot always looks Islamic anyway.
When the Military does crack down, you'll never hear about it, so don't worry, it's coming.
The Northumbrian wrote:
As a Briton living and working in Thailand, I have long been mystified and angered by the refusal of the BBC (and the rest of the main stream media) to report on the ongoing jihad being waged in southern Thailand.
................................
The Northumbrian is right.
I just read an article about the peace process in Northern Ireland. It mentioned how tired the Irish were of this unending fighting, and suggested that the peace process there serve as a model for other places in the world--the stated implication being peace between Sunnis and Shia.
The above seems a bit off-topic, but I do have a point. The sectarian violence in Ireland has killed about 4000 people since 1969--almost 40 years. This really is a horrifying figure, and the violence has been extensively covered by the MSM for decades. The conflict is widely known.
In contrast, the Muslim violence in Thailand is *not* well known, especially in the West. I have mentioned it to people who consider themselves well informed who have never even heard of the violence, let alone understand that it is a major front in the global Jihad. And yet, I just read that the number of victims of Muslim violence in just the three provinces of southern Thailand had reached about 1900 in just the past three years.
If present trends continue, (assuming they don't worsen) then the toll in Thailand will match Ireland's forty-year blood-bath in just *six years*.
This is in no way to minimize the awfullness of the violence in Ireland, just to note the lack of coverage about Thailand.
This is a soldier acting loyally. The King cannot be seen to be involved. However, Prem does nothing without clearing it first with the royal family. - posted by Provoslavni
Provoslavni, could that mean the Crown Prince only as some suspect? There are always rumours around about a person from Nonthaburi. Who's that?
Of course, Sonthi visited Saudia, Egypt, and Pakistan. These countries are sources of both funding and training for the Pattani jihadists. While in these countries, he let them know that future economic relations depended on cutting off those funds. My source is a Thai diplomat who was with him on the trip.
Coming from a Muslim family, Sonthi is a useful front man for Prem. - posted by Provoslavni
Provoslavni,
Is this not a PM's job? It sounds as if you admit dictatorship in Thailand. This statement sounds more like an excuse than reality.
At least we know from his mouth that he was in Pakistan for shopping military equipment. Doesn't fit together with the diplomatic mission as your source claims. He went to Egypt for visiting Thai students and to Mekka to kiss the black stone.
This is a soldier acting loyally - from Provoslavni
Loyal to what? - We know as a matter of fact that terror in the south has increased due to the apologetic attitude. It all has caused motivation for the terrorists to commit more and more deadly attacks. We wouldn't be surprised if muslim themselves and/or their sympatisants have staged the attacks on New Year. Strange is also that there are no comparations from the case in Chiang Mai and those in Bangkok.
Read about taqiyya and kitman, the role of moderate muslims, so you will get more understanding and closer to the truth.
Posted by: Provoslavni
This is a soldier acting loyally
The King in Thialand has absolute power,and if Sonthi and Co did not show full loyalty,then they would not been able to succeed with the coup.
Thakim is still very popular outside of Bangkok,and a coup was the only way to remove him.The King supported the coup,because Thaksim was very critical of the monarchy But no such criticism is possible in Thailand, and anything remotely critical of him could be seen as lèse-majesté, punishable with jail.
------------------------------------------------
The Northumbrian Posted
As a Briton living and working in Thailand, I have long been mystified and angered by the refusal of the BBC (and the rest of the main stream media) to report on the ongoing jihad being waged in southern Thailand.
Thai governments are not unknown for playing down the terrorist threat (as Thaksin did post September 11 until June 2003) and it is typical of a Thai government to publicly deny any such claims of terrorist threats. They see that the cost of admitting that Bangkok has been attacked by international or domestic terrorists would be too costly. Better to deny and limit the damage.
Now, these industries will suffer anyway because of the bombings, but if it was carried out the southern terrorists it would conjure up images of September 11, Bali bombings, London bombings etc. Part me of thinks that people's threat perception would be different if they knew it was the southern terrorists. At the moment, it seems like a political dispute, which almost doesn't seem as bad.
For these reasons the investigation it likely to rule out southern terrorists as CSMonitor
BANGKOK, THAILAND – In the wake of coordinated bombings that targeted tourist areas here on New Year's Eve, Thailand's military-installed government has sought to pin blame on disgruntled ex-politicians trying to destabilize the regime.
"It is likely related to people who lost their political benefits," Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told reporters Monday, citing preliminary intelligence reports.
Three people were killed, and more than 30 injured - including nine foreigners - in eight blasts across Bangkok. The US and other Western governments have issued warnings to citizens visiting Thailand's capital, though none have urged travelers to stay away.
As investigators search for further clues as to who planted the bombs, another casualty could be Thailand's timetable for a return to democratic rule after a Sept. 19 military coup.
Analysts say the regime could use the threat of further unrest as an excuse to hold on to power, as its support base begins to waiver. It took a hit last month when it bungled an initiative to curb currency speculation, sparking a stock-market meltdown, and opinion polls suggest voters are growing impatient with its rule.
"Even before the bomb blasts, things weren't going well for a return to democracy. Now it's becoming murkier.... The military may use this as a pretext to stay in power longer and postpone the elections," says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute for Security and International Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0103/p04s01-woap.html
Arnie & Shiva,
Taksin was corrupt beyond belief. Nevertheless, he is popular among the poorer, uneducated people in the rural provinces but absolutely hated by the educated middle class. Don't forget, the coup occurred after weeks of popular demonstrations against government corruption and nepotism.
Many of those now in charge are veterans of the defeat of the communists. Prem was in charge at the time. Using a Muslim as a front man makes sense in defeating the jihad. Surayud became the major player in defeating the reds precisely because his own father was the commander of the Communist guerillas. He understood them and could act effectively against them. Likewise with Sonthi.
As for Taksin's dealings with the jihad, he was worse than ineffective, he was stupid. Remember his bright idea of dropping origami birds on Muslim towns to win their hearts. It is even likely that Taksin played a double game with the Pattani terrorists for his own advantage. After all, the New Years eve bombings in Bangkok were done by pro-Taksin criminals to embarrass Surayud. Am I alone in seeing a connection?
Regarding the question about the Crown Prince, all I can say is that he is very close to the military, especially the Air Force. I would suspect that, like most Thais, he wasn't pleased with Taksin's repeated lese majeste. Still, I doubt he would do anything publicly.