A good primer on the insurgency in Thailand can be found here:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/thailand2.htm

Posted by: Quijybo at March 28, 2006 7:15 PM

"Yes, those "peace birds" were definitely a highlight of the global anti-jihad resistance."

From the BBC about those peace birds:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4069471.stm

Of course if Muslims actually desired peace their hearts might have been softened by this gesture of goodwill. But they don't desire peace. They demand submission and the only peace they have to offer to those who refuse to submit to their demands for complete control of our minds, bodies and souls is the peace of the grave.

Posted by: Caroline at March 28, 2006 7:32 PM

bombing the region with millions of paper "peace" birds by Air Force warplanes

So they dropped millions graven images on a troubled, predominantly Muslim region.

Yeah, someone didn't do their homework.

Posted by: Shinoliite at March 28, 2006 7:38 PM

"meeting about the school curriculum" my a$$...

Give me an hour with them (and a soldering iron and an old extension cord) and I'll find out what they're REALLY up to!

Posted by: Den_Man at March 28, 2006 7:57 PM

"They claimed to have a meeting about the school curriculum"

At least they're being honest.

Posted by: kufr at March 28, 2006 8:09 PM

This is yet another koranic miracle of 19. Along with the allafish and the cockerel that crowed allah to spare its head from the chopping block, how can we doubt Islam now?

Posted by: Lisa at March 28, 2006 8:15 PM

Maybe somebody should put Brahma statues there as decoys.

Posted by: Infidel Pride at March 28, 2006 8:17 PM

One thing is clear, Thai policy towards the Muslim insurgency is about to change. The Thaksin Shinowatra government has been listening to the US and such advice has been worse than useless.

Fortunately, Thaksin is on his way out. There are massive demonstrations against corruption in his government and it is becoming clear that the King would prefer he step down. With a new prime minister, Thailand may do what's needed to destroy the terrorists without worrying about US approval.

Posted by: Provoslavni at March 28, 2006 10:04 PM

The arrests would fuel more resentment among ethnic Malays in the mainly Muslim region, where more than 1,100 people have been killed in the violence, Muslim leaders and lawyers said.

Can there ever be any step, even the most minimal and moderate, to control the small minority of extremists that does not result in further threats of violence from them?

Posted by: special_guest at March 28, 2006 10:32 PM

"Fuel more resentment"? All the resentment any Believer needs is for there to an Infidel to blame, to hate, and to attack. That Infidel may be harsh or gentle, attempt appeasement (those origami birds, fluttering down by the millions, bringing a message of "peace") or try crackdown -- it doesn't matter. All that matters is that the Infidel is -- an Infidel. That's enough. That's more than enough.

See the Qur'an. See the Hadith. See the Sira. Don't try to rewrite them. Don't pretend that no one takes them seriously. Read what they say. Take it in.

Posted by: Hugh at March 28, 2006 11:09 PM

plwase read.

http://regimechangeiran.blogspot.com/2006/03/another-iranian-woman-on-brink-of.html

Posted by: werter5075 at March 29, 2006 12:47 AM

This is good, read it all:

"The soft spoken Lukman wants negotiations with the government to hand over 'his country'- he lives in Sweden and travels freely around the world. Why is he not in the slammer?He wants his own Islamic republic by 2010

Thaksin warned on Muslim foreign fighters

A veteran leader of Thailand's insurgency has issued a warning: militants from Indonesia and Arab nations might join the fight for a separate homeland if the Thai government continues a crackdown that is provoking a new generation of Muslim fighters.

Sutin Wannabovorn

Saturday, September 24, 2005

A veteran leader of Thailand's insurgency has issued a warning: militants from Indonesia and Arab nations might join the fight for a separate homeland if the Thai government continues a crackdown that is provoking a new generation of Muslim fighters.
Lukman Lima said in Jakarta that violence could spread from Thailand's southern provinces to the capital unless the government accepts an offer to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Although he suggested peace talks, Lukman lashed out at the government of Thaksin Shinawatra.

"If the government opts to kill and kill without reason, perhaps fighters from Indonesia and Arab countries will help us because, according to Islam, real Muslims cannot just stand by when their brother Muslims are being slain."

The 21-month-old insurgency, in which more than 1,000 Muslims and Buddhists have been killed, is getting moral, financial and diplomatic support from abroad, especially from Islamic sympathizers in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, according to Lukman. But weapons have been locally obtained and wielded by Thai Muslims, he claimed.

"I assure you that many among the young generation are being trained to use the weapons to defend themselves," he said. "We train them in the mountains, jungles and sometimes in villages, but only inside Thailand."

Malaysia denies Thai suspicions that rebel training camps exist on its soil. Still, it has served as a sanctuary for Thai Muslim dissidents and a source of funds from sympathetic Muslims.

Lukman is vice president and acting head of the Pattani United Liberation Organization, one of several linked groups involved in the century-old struggle to gain independence for the predominantly Muslim far south of Buddhist-majority Thailand.

The PULO works "hand-in-hand" with other groups involved in the fighting, Lukman said, with his organization focused on the political arena, although it also has fighters on the ground. It is unknown, however, to what extent his comments reflect the views of the shadowy insurgent groups or how much influence he and PULO exert over rebel military operations.

Lukman said there could be talks with the Thai government on condition that it removes all the more than 20,000 troops from the south, revokes tough emergency measures aimed at an insurgency thought to be about 2,000 fighters strong, stops killing innocent people, and releases PULO president Abdul Rohman Bazo and its military chief after seven years of imprisonment.

Thai Defense Minister Thammarak Isarangura na Ayutthaya said informal talks with the insurgents were possible, but not formal negotiations. "We don't want to elevate their status," he said.

Prime Minister Thaksin has set up a reconciliation council - comprising military officers, academics, Muslim community leaders, and other concerned parties - to explore solutions to the conflict. But he has been criticized at home and abroad for trying to stamp out the problem with military force.

In two separate incidents last year, nearly 200 Muslims died when security forces gunned down militants, protesters and bystanders and put some into army trucks, where they suffocated.

Lukman blamed Thaksin for the violence, saying previous governments were more flexible in dealing with Muslim aspirations. Thaksin recently replaced martial law in the south with an emergency act that critics say is describe as a "license to kill" because of the powers and immunity it affords security officials.

"The wrongful policy of Prime Minister Thaksin instilled fear and forced people to fight back," Lukman said.

"I would like to send Thaksin this message: don't touch our pondok [religious schools], don't touch our religious teachers or otherwise the bloody days will continue, and I cannot stop this young generation from turning their aggression against other parts of Thailand, like Bangkok."

Lukman spoke on condition the interview not be released until he left Indonesia Friday. An exile in Sweden, he is not wanted in Thailand or Indonesia, although as a separatist he could become a government target.

"I've never been on the battlefield," the soft-spoken 54-year-old said. "Killing people is not my objective. I prefer to fight for my right to return back to my country, which is occupied by Thailand, through dialogue."

A native of Pattani, Lukman said he finished his high school education in Pakistan. He then studied medicine in Cairo, attended military schools in Arab countries and Poland, and continued his studies in Sweden and Britain.

Lukman, who said had approached Norway to act as a mediator in any peace talks, claimed to speak on behalf of all the insurgent groups.

Lukman estimated negotiations could take five years, saying the provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala and parts of Songkhla could become an independent Islamic republic by 2010.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted by: sheik yer'mami at March 29, 2006 2:00 AM

Sheikh

This is shocking. Thailand needs to do what it did during the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, and crack down heavily on the south. Seal off the border, and do what the Russians did in Chechenya.

Other thing to do - try winning over China. After all, ethnic Chinese have been at the receiving end of Malaysia's bhumiputra policies, so get outsource this activity to Chinese troops. Put them on the Malay border, even have them invade if necessary. The US may protect Taiwan, but why do anything about Malaysia? Also, this eliminates the need for Thailand to get the Dhimmi US government (too militarily streched anyway) on its side.

It is important that Thailand cracks down. The worst thing for that part of the world would be Thailand succumbing - that would threaten Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and even India.

Side note - Myanmar, which President Bush slammed in the SOTU address in January, - had been cracking down on Muslims, and driving them into Bangladesh. While I sympathize with the Burmese (excuse me for not getting the word for 'citizens of Myanmar') who would like freedom and democracy, like all of us, the fact that their government is cracking down on Muslims in the Arakan regions makes it obvious that they are the right people for the job.

Posted by: Infidel Pride at March 29, 2006 3:47 AM

Provoslavni, I hardly think Thaksin has been a slave to US policy. His incompetence is all his own. Thai police forces have done some excellent work against the insurgents, but they are continually hampered by a misunderstanding that the insurgents are really just criminal gangs, evidenced by the criminal records of so many of the captured/killed. Their failure to understand the role of Islam in "redeeming" these criminals and converting them to muhajideen is a serious failure of judgement. Thus, they will not crack down sufficiently now, and will have even greater problems later. And it is well known that the pondok are the source of the problem, as are the pesaren (sic) in Indonesia. These schools are isolated, Saudi-funded, indoctrination centers, and produce little more than trouble, very much like the madrassas of Pakistan. Even our favorite loony, Mahathir of Malaysia, understood that, and shut down the Saudi-funded schools in Malaysia with a vengeance (room for only one gang in that state, UMNO will tolerate no rivals).

Infidel Pride, I'm all with you that appropriate stiffer measures now will prevent greater bloodshed later. But seriously, Chinese troops in Thailand on the Malaysian border? That would throw the whole region into war and suck us in faster than anything. The Malaysian regime is probably the least offensive of the regimes we sully ourselves with, and they are very cooperative and pro-active on the counterterrorism front. Since our friends the Philippines tossed us out, the ports in Sembawang, Singapore and Klang, MY, have become very, very important to supporting our deep draft vessels (the next nearest port that can support them is Perth, Australia). Strategically, we can never, under any circumstances, let anyone, especially the Chinese, threaten the Strait of Malacca. Hell, even the Japanese have started sending warships to the Strait, it's that important. Malaysian/Chinese antipathy is bad enough with the squabbles over the South China Sea gas fields (wonder why the Chinese want aircraft carriers and long-range air-superiority aircraft like the Flanker?), forcing us to have to take sides between then would be grossly stupid.

Posted by: longtime lurker at March 29, 2006 9:47 AM

Lurker,
Sometimes the negative US influence is not "official" but through the medium of business interests that Thaksin is deeply tied into.

There are some, such as the Crown Prince, who want to deal with the Muslims the same way they dealt with the Communists in the 1960s. He may be onto something.

Posted by: Provoslavni at March 29, 2006 10:21 AM

Infidel Pride, I'm all with you that appropriate stiffer measures now will prevent greater bloodshed later. But seriously, Chinese troops in Thailand on the Malaysian border? That would throw the whole region into war and suck us in faster than anything. The Malaysian regime is probably the least offensive of the regimes we sully ourselves with, and they are very cooperative and pro-active on the counterterrorism front. Since our friends the Philippines tossed us out, the ports in Sembawang, Singapore and Klang, MY, have become very, very important to supporting our deep draft vessels (the next nearest port that can support them is Perth, Australia). Strategically, we can never, under any circumstances, let anyone, especially the Chinese, threaten the Strait of Malacca. Hell, even the Japanese have started sending warships to the Strait, it's that important. Malaysian/Chinese antipathy is bad enough with the squabbles over the South China Sea gas fields (wonder why the Chinese want aircraft carriers and long-range air-superiority aircraft like the Flanker?), forcing us to have to take sides between then would be grossly stupid. Posted by: longtime lurker

longtime lurker

These days, I use a different criteria than what I used to, when I used to ask, "Is this in US interests?" Given how not just the US, but Europe, India, Israel, Russia, et al have variantly pursued dhimmi policies, the question I now ask is a more specific, "Is this in Infidel interests?" Thereby, the US may support an Israeli pullout of West Bank, or pressurize Myanmar into not cracking down on their Mohammedan insurgents, but if that policy is not in the interests of Infidels, I simply don't support it. And that goes for any country - US, India (where I'm originally from), Thailand, Israel, et al.

In the above case, I know that we don't want China to have control of the Malacca straits. But regardless of how we perceive any Chinese threat, it diminishes when contrasted to the Jihadist threat - whether in Malaysia or Indonesia. If the latter 2 were infidel countries, it would be more of a regional conflict, and I wouldn't have a problem with keeping Beijing out of it. But they aren't, and in the last few years, they have become hotbeds of Jihad, not just to the detriment of their indigenous Infidels, such a Dayaks, but also a threat to the Thai, Burmese, and if they are successful, they will spread. The US may turn a blind eye to such a situation, but the Thai don't owe it to anyone to commit civilizational suicide. Therefore, the best thing they can do is bring in the Chinese. In the process, if that ends up reading the riot act to Washington and Tokyo, that would be a wake-up call badly needed.

It also has the added benefit of making the Chinese spread out the world's largest army, and put the PLA into the war against Jihad. They will not do it for the US, but they may do it for ethnic Chinese in the region. And if they do, so much the better.

Posted by: Infidel Pride at March 29, 2006 2:18 PM

Infidel Pride, fair enough, but I think the results of such a Chinese incursion would be increased conflict between us infidels, not a successful cooperation against the jihad. In any case, I don't think the Thais are going to go for it.

Posted by: longtime lurker at March 29, 2006 7:49 PM

As a long time resident of Thailand I can tell you that the law to arrest someone for 30 days without charge has been in effect for a very long time. By getting a judge to grant an extension they can extend this process for up to 12 months without charge. The successive government's, via the police, have a long history of arresting anyone handy for the show of getting the job done even if they know they did not do anything.

On some of the other comments: Insurgents from a number of Muslin countries have already traveled to southern Thailand to 'help.' Taksin on the way out?, even if he does get voted out (unlikely) he will be back. The Chinese have already colonized Thailand, they own the businesses, run the government and have added their own cultural identity to many aspects within the country. Theoretically they don't run the military, theoretically.

Posted by: JamesThailand at March 29, 2006 8:00 PM