[Tlc] WASHINGTON POST: Rights Group Documents Brutality OfInsurgents in Southern Thailand

[robert muscat]

You are quite right about the ethnography. I take it, however, that you do 
not otherwise disagree with the Human Rights Watch report. Am I correct?
Thanks.
Robert J. Muscat
rjmuscat at hotmail.com
Timonium, MD


>From: Robert Albritton <ralbritt at olemiss.edu>
>To: "Michael Montesano" <seamm at nus.edu.sg>, <tlc at lists.ucr.edu>,        
><seap-l at cornell.edu>
>CC: "Malley,Michael" <mike.malley at yahoo.com>, jthomas2064 at yahoo.com
>Subject: Re: [Tlc] WASHINGTON POST: Rights Group Documents Brutality 
>OfInsurgents in Southern Thailand
>Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:42:08 -0500
>
>One of the issues that affect the insurgency area in Thailand is the 
>general lack of knowledge - even in Thailand - about the region. This 
>article perpetuates this mis-information by classifying Songkla as a 
>"predominantly ethnic Malay" province. Songkla is, at most, only 40 percent 
>Muslim. The rest of the province are Buddhists. Even the Muslims are 
>primarily Thai-speaking.; only a small minority speak Malay. Because most 
>people in the three Malay-speaking provinces consider speaking Malay to be 
>essential to Malay identity, I would not consider Songkla a Malay provinces 
>under any conceptualization. Satun is composed of a large majority of 
>Muslims, but they are mostly Thai-speaking. I hope that this helps in the 
>struggle with the Washington Post Foreign Service against reporting 
>mis-information.
>RBA
>
>
>
>At 11:10 PM 8/27/2007, Michael Montesano wrote:
>>Content-class: urn:content-classes:message
>>Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
>>         boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C7E929.6F96C79A"
>>
>>
>><http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082701355.html>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082701355.html
>>
>>
>>Rights Group Documents Brutality Of Insurgents in Southern Thailand
>>By <http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/nora+boustany/>Nora 
>>BoustanyWashington Post Foreign Service
>>Tuesday, August 28, 2007; Page A09
>>Separatist militants in 
>><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Thailand?tid=informline>Thailand's 
>>mostly Muslim southern provinces have stepped up a decades-long, 
>>low-intensity insurgency into a wave of brutal bomb attacks, 
>>assassinations, machete hackings and, in some cases, beheadings and 
>>mutilations in the past 3 1/2 years, an extensive 
>><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Human+Rights+Watch?tid=informline>Human 
>>Rights Watch report said today.
>>
>>Interviews with witnesses, family members, academics, lawyers, journalists 
>>and human rights activists painted a bloody picture of the predominantly 
>>ethnic Malay provinces of 
>><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Pattani?tid=informline>Pattani, 
>>Yala, 
>><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Narathiwat?tid=informline>Narathiwat 
>>and 
>><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Songkhla?tid=informline>Songkhla 
>>from January 2004 to last month.
>>
>>Of the 2,463 people killed in attacks during that time, a total of 2,196, 
>>or 89 percent, have been civilians. "Violence against civilians is being 
>>used by separatist militants to scare Buddhist Thais away from these 
>>provinces, keep ethnic Malay Muslims under control and discredit the Thai 
>>authorities," said Brad Adams, 
>><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Asia?tid=informline>Asia 
>>director at Human Rights Watch.
>>
>>Village-based militants who call themselves the Patani Freedom Fighters 
>>have emerged as the core of a more violent generation of separatists bent 
>>on carving up the southern border provinces between ethnic Malay Muslims 
>>and so-called "infidels." They claim the land is a religious "conflict 
>>zone" that must be freed from what they term a Buddhist Thai occupation.
>>
>>More than 3,000 attacks have targeted civilians since January 2004, 
>>including attacks on schools. Teachers, public health workers, hospital 
>>staff and infants in their mothers' arms have been victims of violent 
>>rampages that have terrorized inhabitants.
>>
>>Summary executions based on ethnicity have been carried out by green-clad 
>>gunmen with assault rifles, who ambush victims along country roads, the 
>>report said.
>>
>>Ethnic Malay Muslims suspected of collaborating with Thai authorities or 
>>known for their opposition to the militants have also come under attack. 
>>Those Malay Muslims are treated as "traitors or hypocrites" for betraying 
>>what Human Rights Watch described as "a radical blend of Malay nationalism 
>>and Islamist ideology."
>>
>>One example was the killing of the son of one Muslim Malay village chief. 
>>Usman Jaema told Human Rights Watch that his 15-year-old son was hacked 
>>with machetes and axes in January 2004 by separatists who wanted to warn 
>>the chief not to oppose their operations.
>>
>>"There are around 10 Muslim youths in this village who join the militants. 
>>They have been trained to become guerrilla fighters. They do not like me," 
>>Jaema was quoted as saying. "After the attack, my villagers look down on 
>>me. They said I could not protect my own son, then how could I be able to 
>>protect them? Some of them even said that it might be practical to give 
>>support to the militants to ensure their safety."
>>
>>
>>
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>


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