And this Reuters article, true to form, says that the Muslims are fighting to gain autonomy in what was up until a hundred years ago a Malay sultanate — but it does not mention, of course, that the Malay Sultanate was making war against the Siamese during the war between Siam and Burma, and Thailand conquered it in that context. That makes it Thai land by a right of conquest that has been universally recognized throughout human history — except, of course, when it comes to Israel and to any Muslim land that is conquered by non-Muslims.
Note also the tortured language in the last paragraph: “The violence has ranged from drive-by shootings to bombings and beheadings. It often targets Buddhists and Muslims associated with the Thai state.” As if “the violence” were something that is conscious and acts of its own volition. Look out, Mabel, here comes The Violence again, and it’s targeting us this time!
The mainstream media will do anything to avoid saying that Islamic jihadists, the most prolific and energetic mass murders of our time, are responsible for any of the evil they perpetrate.
And finally, the fifteen scholars of the Mardin conference need to make their way to southern Thailand and clue in the Thai jihadists that “the entire world” is now “a place of tolerance and peaceful co-existence between all religious, groups and factions.” Or is their declaration designed to reassure jittery Infidels, and isn’t intended to dissuade jihadists from their jihads at all?
“Six killed in Thailand’s insurgency-plagued south,” from Reuters, April 1 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):
NARATHIWAT, Thailand (Reuters) – Suspected Islamic insurgents shot dead six Buddhist villagers in Thailand’s restive south Thursday, police said, the latest attack in the troubled region bordering Malaysia.
The villagers in Narathiwat province were believed to have been ambushed, said police Colonel Sanit Suwanno…
Ten policemen and soldiers were also wounded when a roadside bomb exploded as they were traveling to the scene of the shootings, police said.
More than 3,900 people have been killed in six years of unrest as ethnic Malay Muslims fight for autonomy from Thailand’s Buddhist majority in the region just a few hours by car from some of Thailand’s best-known tourist beaches.
Local Muslims largely oppose the presence of tens of thousands of police, soldiers and state-armed Buddhist guards in rubber-rich region, which was part of a Malay Muslim sultanate until annexed by Thailand a century ago.
About 80 percent of Thailand’s three southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat are Muslim.
The violence has ranged from drive-by shootings to bombings and beheadings. It often targets Buddhists and Muslims associated with the Thai state, such as police, soldiers, government officials and teachers.