Quote:
Originally Posted by blueangel
You have a very good point regarding the problem of ethnic vs. Thai. I'm sure that is part of the problem as well.
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Ma'am, don't take this the wrong way, but you state this above, then go on and post these quotations:
Quote:
Originally Posted by blueangel
"While Muslims account for only 4.6% of Thailand's total population, their presence in the country (a relic of a 1909 deal with the British that left three Muslim-majority Malay states in Thai hands) has been a major factor in the coup in Thailand last week that ousted democratically-elected PM Thaksin Shinawatra, a businessman who was so widely accused of corruption that even the US did not call for his restoration"
"More than 1400 people have died in the conflict in Thailand's far south since early 2004. The violence has been blamed on Malay separatism, religious extremism and organised crime in the border region.
Thaksin Shinawatra, the former premier ousted in last week's coup, has been accused of inflaming tensions there with heavy-handed tactics. There have been hopes the Muslim army chief who led the coup, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, may be able to ease the unrest. "
"The dormant conflict awoke in 2001, when the newly elected Thaksin dismantled a security network in the South that provided Bangkok with a link to local Muslim leaders. The move was designed to shut down what the government regarded as an opposition-run organization. The conflict then exploded in January 2004, when a coordinated attack on a weapons arsenal by more than 30 militants unleashed a wave of carnage that has claimed more than 1,700 lives over the past 21 months.
Thaksin's administration had fought the insurgency with an iron fist, allowing security forces to tap phones, ban meetings, detain suspects without charge and impose curfews. This approach raised the ire of human rights groups, who accused the government of extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, and torture.
Moreover, Thaksin's aggressive strategy was failing; by nearly all measures, the violence was escalating. "The heavy-handed policies could not solve the problem," said Srisompob Jitpiromsri, a lecturer of political science at the Prince of Songkhla University in Pattani. "The military can't do this alone; we also need a political solution."
"The general who led the coup, Sonthi Boonyaratglin, is himself a Muslim and had clashed with Thaksin over the government's southern policy. Only days before the coup, Sonthi proposed negotiations with the insurgents, only to be brushed off by Thaksin."
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I can't imagine how you think these state anything other than the conflict being mostly about Malay separatism, and the Muslim aspect of this is noted only for completeness, noting the difference between the two populations. This does not mean it's a religious problem - and it CERTAINLY does not make the Muslim community violent, warring or any other sort of 'non-peaceful' moniker you'd like to assign. It definitely does not reflect on all Muslim cultures.
It's purely 'ethnic vs. Thai' - your own quotations prove MysticCat's points . . . can you elucidate for me how you're getting where you're at? We're not even on the same map.
Hybrid Mode
