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Southern Thailand: five killed in less than 24 hours

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Despite the overtures of the provisional government, there is no letup in violence in the southern provinces. A Muslim official of Narathiwat administration was among the victims.

Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Five people were killed and a dozen injured throughout the last 24 hours of violence in southern Thailand. Yesterday, in the late evening, three Muslims were shot dead by suspected Islamic militants in Narathiwat, one of three southern provinces bordering Malaysia. The victims, a local government official and two of his friends, were killed as they were having tea. The episode confirms that, despite government overtures, there does not seem to be a way out of the complex crisis.

A few hours ago, the Thai army reported that two people had been killed and 11 injured in another incident this morning, when a bomb went off near a market in Sungai Kolok not far from the border. A soldier and a local resident were killed and the injured are currently in hospital.

Since 2004, separatist violence in the provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani has claimed 1,600 lives, most of them civilians. The provisional government that was put in place after the military coup d’etat in September has made resolving the crisis in the south one of its main objectives. But stated availability to dialogue does not seem, for now, to have yielded any positive impact.

The Muslim majority region was an independent sultanate until 1902, when Buddhist Thailand annexed it. The masterminds of the violence, which has become a daily occurrence, have not been clearly identified yet. The interests of different groups clash in the area: ethnic Malay separatists, Islamic extremists and criminal gangs, as well as local corrupt officials.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=7789

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To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

-{SpoonmaN}-

Corruption? In Thailand? I never!
Man thats a bigger problem than this insurgency, seeing as how its one of the major reasons people in the South are so mad with the Central Government. And I don't blame them, it's endemic, between my four trips to the country I must have spotted at least 15 open bribes taking place between people and the cops, because the cops make such a godaweful wage that they depend upon the bribes to make ends meat.
If they fight the corruption, they fight the poverty, and that will fight the insurgency for them, on more levels than one, as this article pointed out, crooked officials feed the problem because they dont care about the country or society, all they care about is their wallets. Unfortunately there are few people to rat to in Thailand, if you're even prepared to do so.

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"I have this to say to the people of Australia: Kick me, I'm different."

SilleEllis

The military junta in Thailand is islamistic. An election is more that a year away. The junta want a new constitution. An islamic constitution. Even though the muslims is a minority. It is not looking good...

SilleEllis

Here is a link about the junta. International Harold Tribune:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/07/news/thai.php

-{SpoonmaN}-

Huh? An Islamic constitution? Did you even read the article you posted? It says they're considering allowing people in Muslim majority areas of the South set up an autonomous legal system based around Sharia law. That would be a proposal, not yet a policy, and in the end it would probably be preferable to the cureent level of violence, especially considering Thailand has a national legal system to which any Sharia court would have to be answerable.
Here's the wikipedia article on the interim PM, he happens to know what he's doing, even if he probably is as corrupt as the rest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surayud_Chulanont#Other

You'll happen to note that the majority of his policies have nothing islamist about them. There are also 45 references on there, check them at your will.
And I don't know if it all comes in Danish.