Thaksin vows 'iron fist' against rebels in south (Thailand's Muslim uprising)

International Herald Tribune ^ | 11/8/2004

[Mount Athos]

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra headed to a Muslim-dominated part of southern Thailand on Sunday after promising to act aggressively against militants and illegal weapons they have used in deadly attacks there.

"I will have to launch a massive crackdown on weapons," Thaksin said on Saturday in his weekly radio address. "We will use both a soft approach and an iron fist to sweep out these people. Innocent people don't have to fear or worry."

The cause of Thaksin's visit was a ceremony at a Buddhist temple in the southern town of Tak Bai, where 78 detained Muslims suffocated or were crushed to death after being rounded up and piled onto trucks on Oct. 25.

Over the weekend, five Buddhists were shot and killed, the police said. Buddhists are estimated to make up 30 percent of the population in Thailand's three southernmost provinces near the border with Malaysia.

[killjoy]

Toxin is worthless. I will believe it when I see it.

[Kurt_D]

A full-scale crackdown on Mohammedanism is necessary in order to pacify Thailand. What about killing ALL the Islamic clerics? Just a thought...

[daguberment]

Thai's aren't going to have it. They will do it in their own way, but they will stop it and stop it a lot faster than the Dutch. Guaranteed.

[Cicero]

I don't think the Thais will put up with this.

[BookaT]

If they ever needed it they would have a many thousands of ExPats to defend the ladies.

[lulo_08]

Peace with THIS

[ASA Vet]

The fathers of these rag wannabees were pretending to be communists back in the 60's.
Thai are outwardly peaceful and tolerant, but below their "land of smiles"
exterior they can be very violent.

I'll be there in about two weeks, but I'll be far from the infested South.

[killjoy]

Thai's aren't going to have it.

Agreed, but any crackdowns are not going to come from Toxin. The only way he will care is if one of his companies starts losing money because of it. The guy is useless.

[angkor]

Just a few weeks ago he was promoting a softer approach.

[injin]

Toxin/Taksin should require all Thai Moslems to swear an oath to His Majesty the Thai King and swear also to abide peacefully hereafter , if they will not , order them out .
Where to!? Malaysia of course....
Another strategy would be to offer autonomy or even sovereignty to the 4 southern Changwats in question , but only if ALL Thai moslems from every other province throughout the country would move there as their homeland also. Once they have left the rest of Thailand ,demolish all mosques and forbid the construction of any new ones. Finally a very strong border against the new Moslem area . ala the West Bank wall?

[pypo]

Crushed or suffocated huh. Hey. Finally a leader who understands the Muslim psyche.

Maybe he can give the US some practical tips on dealing with happy campers at Guantanimo.

[angkor]

below their "land of smiles" exterior they can be very violent.

I've been noting for months now that it isn't prudent for the jihadis to be messing with the Thai security forces. They should be sticking with innocent monks and students and leave it at that.

Consider the intent a few weeks ago of loading those rioters into enclosed trucks and driving around in 95 degree tropical heat for several hours. That wasn't a mistake, it was a lesson.

[daguberment]

If they ever needed it they would have a many thousands of ExPats to defend the ladies.

Agreed. But aside from the ladies, an overall good place, nice beaches, food, interesting culture, nice people. The thought of these disgusting, monsterous islamic bastards f**king with the nice Thais really pisses me off. Nuke the rock NOW...

[killjoy]

Just a few weeks ago he was promoting a softer approach.

...and in April he was saying there is no Muslim problem... it is just kids doing drugs causing it. The guy will say anything he thinks people want to hear.

[killjoy]

Another strategy would be to offer autonomy or even sovereignty to the 4 southern Changwats in question , but only if ALL Thai moslems from every other province throughout the country would move there as their homeland also. Once they have left the rest of Thailand ,demolish all mosques and forbid the construction of any new ones.

There are Muslims all over Thailand and they do not cause any problems. They should not be punished because of the actions of these terrorists.

[lulo_08]

Washington We have A problem

[clee1]

Might I suggest where you should plant that Iron Fist?

[Kurt_D]

What about converting them back to Buddhism? First, of course, somebody has to take care of the Islamic clerics as they are the true source of terrorism.