They said it. The conflict isn’t about poverty or development; it’s about imposing Islamic law, which is, of course, the aim of jihad. Indeed, Thailand’s own control of those provinces arose from attacks on Siam by the Malay sultanate amid the war between Siam and Burma. More on this story. “Money won’t stop south Thai violence, Muslims say,” by Martin Petty for Reuters, June 18:
BAN TALUBOH, Thailand, June 18 (Reuters) – In the rustic villages of Thailand’s Muslim south, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s promise of large-scale development aid to tackle a brutal insurgency sounds all too familiar.
“Money can’t change what’s happening, no one can buy an end to the problems here,” said Yousuf, referring to a shadowy five-year rebellion that has claimed nearly 3,500 lives in the southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.
“It’s the policies of Thai governments that are to blame,” he said in a village tea shop in Pattani. “They have to understand that our way of life is different to other Thais and money won’t make a difference”.
Other villagers gave similar views on Abhisit’s three-year plan to win “hearts and minds” by pouring 54 billion baht ($1.58 billion) into the region bordering Malaysia. […]
“Each government is the same,” said Abdulloh, a villager. “They have never listened to the people. Our culture is a Malay culture and we follow the rules of Islam.”