Posted on 09/20/2006 3:54:59 AM PDT by excludethis
Thailand must negotiate with leaders of an ethnic Malay Muslim separatist insurgency if it wants to end bloodshed in its troubled Muslim-majority southern provinces, the country’s army chief said on Friday.
General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin said the violence, which has claimed more than 1,500 lives, would not be quelled if authorities only arrested the foot-soldiers of the militancy, but refused to talk to its instigators. “It is necessary to talk to make lasting peace,” Gen Sondhi, the first Muslim to head the Thai army, told Thai journalists on Friday.
ADVERTISEMENT The appeal for talks with insurgents came a day after bombs in 22 banks across the province of Yala exploded almost simultaneously, killing a retired official, and injuring 28 people.
The highly co-ordinated attacks on the banks, including two state-owned Islamic banks, demonstrated the militants’ rising technical capacity, and their willingness to strike at the foundations of the economy of the region, an ethnic Malay Muslim-majority enclave in Buddhist-majority Thailand.
“Nothing is spared,” said Sunai Phasuk, a political analyst with Human Rights Watch. “So far, they have targeted administrative structures, security forces, law enforcement, educational structures, and cultural structures, like Buddhist monks. Now they attack the economic structure, which means nothing put in place by the Thai state is accepted.”
Since the renewed flare-up in January 2004 of a decades-old separatist insurgency, Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister, has promised to shower the troubled region with money to accelerate economic growth, while also imposing a state of emergency that allows security forces to use harsh measures to crack down on suspected militants.
Mr Thaksin has, in public, staunchly refused to engage in negotiations to end the long-standing conflict, which has at its roots resistance by ethnic Malay Muslims against forcible assimilation into the Thai state, and resentment at discrimination against them in jobs and education.
Yet behind the scenes, some Thai officials have been quietly engaging over the last year with “certain individuals” – including prominent southern Thai Muslims in political exile – who are seen as potentially able to influence the insurgents.
“The army has been trying to talk with the intellectual leaders of the militant groups,” Mr Sunai said.
However, Mr Sunai said negotiations still faced formidable obstacles, including ensuring that those southern Thai Muslims in contact with officials could actually exert influence on the ground.
Hey....I got the prize too! LOL!:-)
No.
Most people on this thread get the prize except one or two stupes who can't read the writing on the wall. MUSLIM HEAD OF ARMY SUGGEST URGES TALKS WITH MUSLIM INSURGENTS. How blind could one be? KILLJOY BLIND!
I know obama has a muslim sounding name but thats because his family comes from kenya, a predominately christian african country. Obama himself is a protestant although im not sure which denomination. Dont spread ignorance, find another reason to not like the man, its not hard to find one. But dont make assumptions based on an african name.
It is a symptom of Iran's pressure to change Thailand's direction.
It was responding to U.S. diplomacy and becoming a ally in the WOT.
This trend was not good for Iran and I believe the likelihood of Iranian complicity in the new, weak, and apparently corrupt Thai government brought paralysis and the eventual military takeover.
Now this statement seems to indicate the new direction that the governance will now be pursuing, both nationally and internationally.
Not a good development for the U.S. IMHO.
You can't negotiate with terrorists, no matter who or what the ideology is.
This guy has telegraphed something that is quite contrary to what the U.S. wanted, and indicates a major shift.
Huh!?!?!? You have no clue what you are talking about. General Sondhi has been the one wanting to get tougher on the Muslims in the South but he has been restrained by the central government led by the former PM. Now that the gloves are off, things are going to change. There have been NO attacks in the south since the coup and that is not by chance. They know if they try anything now they will be delt with very swiftly. No more playing games.
The situation is the exact opposite of what you are posting.
"Buddhists are too complacent to defend themselves."
The Thais, Khmer, and Vietnamese?
Too stoopid to even comment on.
"Explain it to us then."
I have to agree with Killjoy that many posts regarding the Thai coup reflect an [understandable] lack of knowledge regarding Thailand and its politics. I don't claim to be an expert, but I have a passing knowledge of events there, and I have been paying attention to Thai politics for about the past twenty years. I was there during the aftermath of the May 1992 events, during which time I met Taksin's Deputy Prime Minister Surikiart Sathirathai on a few occasions. I later lived there for a couple of years during the mid-90s, including the time when the new Constitution was being hammered out and took effect. I have a few close aquaintances who are at the highest level of the Thai civil service and of Thai society, as well as plenty of more "Lo-so" friends and relations.
How many posters here were paying attention to Thailand in March and April, when the Thai elections were boycotted, and the constitutional crisis which was the proximate cause of the coup began? Probably very few. After all, it is an obscure topic for most people in the US. I cannot recall seeing any discussions on Free Republic. The only Free Republic thread I can recall on Thailand lately is with the JonBenet Ramsey idiocy. Any more serious thread regarding Thai politics probably got at most a half-dozen replies and died quickly.
Unfortunately it would take a whole lot to "explain" the events that just took place - it is even hard to say where to start - April 2006? May 1992? 1976? 1973? 1932? - all key dates in Thai political development, but based on the general buzz among educated urban Bangkok Buddhist Thais since the beginning of the year, the coup is not so surprising. Their complaints were primarily corruption and heavy-handedness by Taksin, not so much the Moslem violence, which has been essentially restricted to the five southern provinces way down the Malay peninsula, far removed from the rest of the country. It is a problem that has to be solved, but it is not what has been bugging people in Bangkok for the past year or so.
For all we now you are a muslim yourself.So what if he is? For all we know, you're one....attempting to stir up American distruct of Muslims-in-general.
Ad hominems do not blur the obvious facts.
-Eric
I have noticed that world-wide, when pushed, even the most moderate of Muslims come down on the side of 'there would be peace if only the U.S. didn't...' fill in the blank. Never is there a comment like, 'there would be peace if only the Muslims didn't...' fill in this blank.
Anotherwords, there's an agenda that runs just under the surface for "ALL" Muslims. On the surface this general may look really good. And in all honesty, perhaps he is.
I think you're suggestion that we wait and see how this plays out is a good one. I'd keep a close eye on this guy and see how it plays out. My thought is that it's not going to wind up good, but we'll see.
I don't know any Khmer or Vietnamese but Thai's are some of the most aggressive people I have ever met in my life. Thailand wasn't colonized for a reason.
OK, what IS going on?
Born Southern-Babtist, Girlfriend is Buddhist.
Maybe he can talk them to death?
Born Southern-Babtist, Girlfriend is Buddhist.I didn't think you were, but I've suspected for awhile that some of our "kill all the dirty mohammedans" posters are shilling for the Islamofascists.
-Eric
There has been a political stalemate for the past 6 months or so. The (former) prime minister has made a lot of enemies and there have been a few attempts to get him kicked out of office legally. He has refused to give up power and instead lashed out against anyone who says anything bad about him.
About two weeks ago, there was an 'assassination attempt' against the PM. It appears to have been a setup by the PM in order to use it as an excuse to reshuffle the military and put his cronies into power (Sondhi was going to be one of the ones kicked out). After this, the (former) prime minister went on a public rampage attacking the military every chance he got.
This greatly pissed off the military since they saw it as a trick for him to stay in power. Of course, I don't know all the details, but this led to the coup. The (former) PM, in NY, tried to remove Sondhi from power, and Sondhi checkmated him by shutting him down.
With the (former) Prime Minister out of the picture, the heads of the military and police (all Buddhist except Sondhi) have met with the King (Buddhist) and prepared the way to restore civilian leadership and new elections.
That is it in a nutshell.
OK...........Fine....
Believe what you will. The consequences of this coup will be felt largely by the people of Thailand. As for the U.S., we will have one more country to aim our intel satellites at. One more country that distances it's self from the WOT and jumps the shark to the other side. A haven for the people we are trying to arrest and take off the playing table of terror.
If you cannot see this aspect coming, then you deserve to have it.
Ignorance is bliss .....Always has been.
The future has changed for the Thai's, and you can't convince me that this coup is a good idea. It is a rejection of democracy and the beginning of a dangerous period of time for Thailand, and not a return to the good ole days.....
WTF are you talking about? Do you know anything about Thai politics at all? Do you know the last election was thrown out becuase of corruption and voting irregularities created by the (former) Prime Minister's TRT party? Do you realize the ONLY reason for the coup was the complete contempt the (former) Prime Minister showed for democracy?
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