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11 bombings in one day: “When Thai police say they have ruled out terrorism, they have done nothing of the sort”

Aug 13, 2016 11:54 am By Robert Spencer

“When Thai police say they have ruled out terrorism, they have done nothing of the sort. The authorities in Thailand […] are desperate to minimise the damage to tourism, and will say anything they think will achieve this.” Just as in the West, the authorities are desperate to minimize the damage to their migrant scheme, and will say anything (i.e., jihad terrorism has nothing to do with Islam) they think will achieve this.

thailand-bomb-attack

“Muslim separatists and anti-military forces in the frame as bomb blasts hit Thai tourist hot spots,” by Orlando Crowcroft, International Business Times, August 12, 2016:

As the dust settles on the bomb blasts that struck Hua Hin and Phuket on Friday attention has turned to the motivation of the bombers and, most notably, to whether the attacks that killed three and injured dozens are linked to the violent insurgency being fought in the south of the country between Muslim separatists and the Thai state.

The Thai authorities have not revealed who they believe were behind the attacks, which targeted popular tourist sites almost exactly a year after 20 were killed at the Erawan shrine in Bangkok in 2015, but ruled out a terrorist motive. But critics note that this denial may be an effort to downplay the impact on tourism, Thailand’s lifeline.

“When Thai police say they have ruled out terrorism, they have done nothing of the sort. The authorities in Thailand […] are desperate to minimise the damage to tourism, and will say anything they think will achieve this,” said Andrew MacGregor Marshall, author of A Kingdom in Crisis: Thailand’s Struggle for Democracy in the Twenty-First Century. “In fact, police have no idea at this stage who was behind the bombings.”

The nightmare scenario for the Thai government, MacGregor Marshall said, was that Muslim separatists in the south of the country had transposed what has been a localised conflict with the Thai state for over a decade to high-profile attacks on tourist centres.

“The southern border area has been restive and lawless for decades, but some analysts have long predicted that the conflict could escalate, with international jihadists joining the fight and attacks being staged beyond the deep south. It is possible that these attacks herald the beginning of a new phase in the southern insurgency,” he said.

Thailand suffered a renewed outbreak of hostilities in the southern provinces of Yala and Pattani in February 2016, which saw arson attacks, drive-by shootings and roadside bombs targeting the Thai military. Over 12 years the conflict between the army and a number of Muslim separatist groups has cost between 5,000 and 6,500 lives.

In July, militants shot dead two Thai soldiers and burned their bodies, the Thai authorities claimed, three days after one soldier was killed and another three injured in a roadside bomb. The population of Yala, Pattani and a third Muslim-majority province, Narathiwat, are mostly ethnic Malays who complain of years of poverty and neglect since the provinces were incorporated into the Thai state a century ago.

Back in 2015, Paul Chambers, director of research at the Institute of Southeast Asian Affairs in Chiang Mai, told German broadcaster DW that the type and magnitude of rebel attacks had been increasing – with the use of road-side bombs “an alarming trend”. He said that the change in tactics indicated a desperation on the part of insurgents and a willingness to dare to be more destructive and radical.

Speaking to IBTimesUK on Friday, Chambers said that Muslim insurgents in the south were the most likely culprits given that they had both the access to explosives and weapons and the wherewithal to carry out such an orchestrated and multi-pronged attack. But there were other culprits too: anti-junta forces allied to exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, said that Muslim separatists in the south had, with very few exceptions, concentrated their attacks to southern provinces where they can carry out violence at will. If they had wanted to send a message to the Thai government, he said, they would have likely targeted major cities like Bangkok or Chang-Mai.

He ruled out the involvement of international jihadi groups: “External terrorism from the likes of Islamic State and elsewhere also has not been able to make inroads into Thailand’s Malay-Muslim insurgency, and terrorism is thus an unlikely cause this time,” he said….

But whoever carried out the attacks, their significance should not be underplayed. Not since the Communist insurgency of the 1960s and 1970s has Thailand seen such a well-planned and coordinated attack against multiple locations: “Whoever is behind this, it is a turning point,” Chambers said. “Thailand has never experienced bomb orchestration of this magnitude.”

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Filed Under: Featured, Thailand, willful ignorance Tagged With: Hua Hin, Phuket


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Comments

  1. Jay Boo says

    Aug 13, 2016 at 12:00 pm

    The traitors to US (Obama and NPR) sympathize with the Muslim separatists traitors to their host country Thailand.

  2. Angemon says

    Aug 13, 2016 at 12:12 pm

    The Thai authorities have not revealed who they believe were behind the attacks, which targeted popular tourist sites almost exactly a year after 20 were killed at the Erawan shrine in Bangkok in 2015, but ruled out a terrorist motive.

    Oh, can’t wait to hear the excuse they’ll give…

    • paul says

      Aug 14, 2016 at 10:12 am

      Blame the Israelis is usual

  3. Dom107 says

    Aug 13, 2016 at 12:37 pm

    Yes it was nothing to do with terrorism.It was a charming and quaint local tradition to save the tourists the bother of going home again.!!!!
    How thoughtful ??
    How dumb do they think we are ??? Duhhhh !

  4. marina says

    Aug 13, 2016 at 3:37 pm

    Everybody these days are bowing their heads to the mohammedans.

    • nicu says

      Aug 14, 2016 at 3:47 am

      sad but true – I don’t get that why the modern world submits to these KORANDERTALS 🙁

  5. Karen says

    Aug 13, 2016 at 3:49 pm

    “authorities are desperate to minimize the damage to their migrant scheme, and will say anything”

    “Scheme” being the operative word, in the American usage.

  6. brane pilot says

    Aug 13, 2016 at 5:26 pm

    Muslim minorities have high birthrates, zero tolerance for other religions, and must expand their territory at the expense of their non-Muslim neighbors. Terrorism is how you do this.
    It works.

  7. Pong says

    Aug 13, 2016 at 5:47 pm

    Thais are not very generous with immigration. Tourists visas are limited to 30 days and only foreigners, who are pensioners, over 55 years old and show income of a certain amount can obtain 1 year visa. There are other kinds of visas, but those are very few and very restricted. I, myself, have a 2 yeas visa, but never met anyone with the same kind. Buddhism in Thailand is strong and respected. Monks are not like catholic prists and are not friendly to islam, to say the least. Reaction to loss of life among thais is very different to ours. Bombing will continue, but in Thailand it will make much lesser impact. Probably it will make life much harder for moslems rather then improving theirs position.

    • gravenimage says

      Aug 14, 2016 at 1:22 am

      Most of these Jihadis are not immigrants, but are Muslims from the south of Thailand.

    • linnte says

      Aug 14, 2016 at 1:47 am

      My brother and his wife live in Thailand. They come to the States for Summer but they own a house in both Thailand and Michigan. I hate hearing about these attacks there! I never though about asking him about Muslim Thai relationships there. Guess I will now.

      • Pong says

        Aug 15, 2016 at 3:15 pm

        That means one of them is a thai national. Foreigners can buy a condo (usually 49% of the building), but not a house. Buying property in Thailand is a very pleasant experience, compared to Australia. If there are not many people in the land department, it would take about 1 hour. Foreigners need proof (a letter from a local bank) that the money came from overseas.

  8. gravenimage says

    Aug 14, 2016 at 1:20 am

    11 bombings in one day: “When Thai police say they have ruled out terrorism, they have done nothing of the sort”
    ……………….

    And the global Jihad proceeds apace…

    • ScottM says

      Aug 14, 2016 at 2:19 am

      Yes…its certainly does. BUT I think it might be interesting to see how the Thais react to this situation which is unprecedented. I have a friend there who tells me the Thais can be ruthless when required and now that their tourism is definitely affected – we might see see quite a few muslims meeting Allah.

      • TR says

        Aug 14, 2016 at 10:11 am

        It will be seen to that the perpetrators will be unfit and will not meet with Allah.

  9. Baucent says

    Aug 14, 2016 at 4:45 am

    The thing that is significant about these attacks is the obvious co- ordinated nature of the attacks and a change in tactics to hit the Tourism industry (Thailand’s golden goose). Past attacks by southern separatists have usually been small bomb attacks on Police or Army. And usually confined to the three southern provinces. These attacks targeted tourists clearly to damage the industry and the country’s reputation as a safe tourist destination. I think it’s fairly safe to conclude this was an attack by “a muslim group”. They could be separatists, but they could also be global caliphate Jihadists aligned to ISIS. But you won’t ever hear that from the Thai authorities.

  10. Petet says

    Aug 14, 2016 at 6:50 am

    So, it’s 99.9% certain that were muslims.

    Denial means muslims did it.

    Denial is a global sickness that’s increasing the problem fast!

    Stop Islam before it’s too late.

  11. TR says

    Aug 14, 2016 at 10:08 am

    The Thai’s are masters at Passive resistance and will not blab all their information out to the public. believe me the perpetrators will be caught and killed and will be so covered in pig product they will never see their paradise. This will be done without tipping their hand to the press before the investigation is complete.
    I expect more of this to occur but less willingly once the word of the perpetrators demise is leaked out. The Thai’s should also be aware of any possible Arms deal being worked out between Obama, Soros and Vietnam

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