Posted on 11/29/2006 7:07:07 AM PST by ASA Vet
Schools in far South municipalities reopening
PATTANI, Nov 29 (TNA) - Despite the weekend action by teachers to close schools in Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, many schools in municipality areas in the three southern border provinces have reopened.
Most schools in Thailand's southern border provinces remained closed Wednesday due to teacher fears of escalating violence, but educational institutions in the towns and cities were resuming classes.
In Pattani, where two teachers were killed by insurgents last week, over 300 schools remained closed for the third day since the Pattani Teachers Federation voted last weekend to close all 322 schools in the province following the slaying of a teacher in Sai Buri district.
However, a number of schools situated in the municipality resumed classes Wednesday.
Likewise, in Narathiwat, where most schools reopened, even though some schools in remote and otherwise more vulnerable areas remained closed for the safety of both students and teachers.
Narathiwat Provincial Education Zone 2 chief Pakorn Thepsorn said most of the 161 schools in his zone resumed classes. School directors can decide to suspend classes if teachers in their schools are not confident in their security, he said.
Narathiwat Provincial Education Zone 1 chief Phairat Saengthong said 70 per cent of schools in Zone 1 reopened, except for schools in Rangae district where violence continues to grow.
In Yala, 118 schools in Provincial Education Zone 1 encompassing three districts remained closed, as did most schools in Zone 2 covering five districts. Only six schools situated in Yala Municipality and 21 schools in Betong resumed classes. (TNA)-E009
Thai Ping
To the Thai gov't:
Just do an Iraq. Your not America, people don't give a d@mn.
Unless you like PRes. Bush. In that case, just have a flag burning, Bush bash and the $#!+head liberals will leave you alone.
WTF? Alai Wa?
Meaning, send troops in and drive out the terrorists. Heck, the situation is quite similar, relatively stable government, peaceful population, violent minority.
Unfortunately, it will not solve the problem. There has never been a counter-insurgency campaign that was won through force. Sounds good but doesn't work in real life. All it will do is result in more dead soldiers.
Somehow we are getting the disparate groups in IRaq to work together. We should do the same here. A purely violent solution would be stupid. OF course we have to come to a compromise with the non-terrorists.
If only it was that simple. In the next few days I will try to post an interview with a good friend who is stationed in Narithiwat. It goes into a lot of these details. The problems in Thailand are going to continue for a while. There are too many issues involved.
These same ethnics in the same provinces called themselves communists back in the 60's.
They weren't, but had to say they were to get support $$ and equipment from the USSR/PRC funders.
Looking forward to it. Hopefully the region will return to peace.
Last time I was in the south, the year before the big tsunami, I couldn't believe all the bullet holes in a few of the road signs out in the boonies. A sign on one curve had to have had at least 20 holes in it.
I can remember going through the region back in 1977 or '78, and was concerned about the bus getting stopped.
Muen Deum (if that's how you spell it in Tinglish). Same old stuff...
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