As the jihadist insurgency in southern Thailand continues to rage, long-time insurgent leader Lukman Lima has broken his decades-long silence to issue an ominous threat directed at Thailand’s leaders, according to the Associated Press: (thanks to Terminator)
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’s provoking a new generation of Muslim fighters.
In his first interview with a news organization, Lukman B. Lima told The Associated Press 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.
“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,” he said.
Mr. Lima goes on to decry all the supposedly horrible actions taken by the Thai government against the Muslim minority in the south, and calls for a negotiated cessation to the violence. However, Lima betrays his true intentions with this quote:
“I’ve never been on the battlefield. 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 the diplomatic way and dialogue,” he said, adding that he had been an activist for 34 years.